IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/corsem/v27y2020i1p65-73.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Corporate social responsibility activities and firm performance: The moderating role of strategic emphasis and industry competition

Author

Listed:
  • Xingping Jia

Abstract

This study extends the literature on the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities and firm performance by incorporating the role of strategic emphasis, defined as the resources that firms allocate to value appropriation (with the emphasis on advertising expenditure) versus value creation (with the emphasis on research and development investment), and how industry competition creates a three‐way interaction with CSR and strategic emphasis to affect firm performance. Using data from 3,401 publicly traded firm‐year observations in China for the years 2009–2015, the study demonstrates that CSR enhances firm performance when the firm's strategy emphasizes value appropriation over value creation. The interaction effect of CSR and strategic emphasis is also shown to vary with the level of competition in the industry. The results not only contribute to the literature on the relationship between CSR and firm performance, but can also inform firms' resource allocation decisions, enabling them to gain instrumental value from CSR initiatives.

Suggested Citation

  • Xingping Jia, 2020. "Corporate social responsibility activities and firm performance: The moderating role of strategic emphasis and industry competition," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(1), pages 65-73, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:corsem:v:27:y:2020:i:1:p:65-73
    DOI: 10.1002/csr.1774
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.1774
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/csr.1774?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Clyde Eiríkur Hull & Sandra Rothenberg, 2008. "Firm performance: the interactions of corporate social performance with innovation and industry differentiation," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(7), pages 781-789, July.
    2. Jaepil Choi & Heli Wang, 2009. "Stakeholder relations and the persistence of corporate financial performance," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(8), pages 895-907, August.
    3. Joseph Taylor & Joseph Vithayathil & Dobin Yim, 2018. "Are corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives such as sustainable development and environmental policies value enhancing or window dressing?," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 25(5), pages 971-980, September.
    4. Abagail McWilliams & Donald Siegel, 2000. "Corporate social responsibility and financial performance: correlation or misspecification?," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(5), pages 603-609, May.
    5. Yadong Luo, 2003. "Industrial dynamics and managerial networking in an emerging market: the case of China," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(13), pages 1315-1327, December.
    6. Brett W. Josephson & Jean L. Johnson & Babu John Mariadoss, 2016. "Strategic marketing ambidexterity: antecedents and financial consequences," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 44(4), pages 539-554, July.
    7. Lumpkin, G. T. & Dess, Gregory G., 2001. "Linking two dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation to firm performance: The moderating role of environment and industry life cycle," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 16(5), pages 429-451, September.
    8. Siah Hwee Ang, 2008. "Competitive intensity and collaboration: impact on firm growth across technological environments," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(10), pages 1057-1075, October.
    9. MinChung Kim & Guiyang Xiong & Kwang-Ho Kim, 2018. "Where does pride lead? Corporate managerial hubris and strategic emphasis," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 46(3), pages 537-556, May.
    10. Sylvia Grewatsch & Ingo Kleindienst, 2017. "When Does It Pay to be Good? Moderators and Mediators in the Corporate Sustainability–Corporate Financial Performance Relationship: A Critical Review," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 145(2), pages 383-416, October.
    11. Henri Servaes & Ane Tamayo, 2013. "The Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility on Firm Value: The Role of Customer Awareness," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 59(5), pages 1045-1061, May.
    12. Zhihong Wang & Tien‐Shih Hsieh & Joseph Sarkis, 2018. "CSR Performance and the Readability of CSR Reports: Too Good to be True?," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 25(1), pages 66-79, January.
    13. Roberto Garcia-Castro & Ruth V. Aguilera, 2015. "Incremental value creation and appropriation in a world with multiple stakeholders," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(1), pages 137-147, January.
    14. Zhi Tang & Clyde Eiríkur Hull & Sandra Rothenberg, 2012. "How Corporate Social Responsibility Engagement Strategy Moderates the CSR–Financial Performance Relationship," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(7), pages 1274-1303, November.
    15. Julie Juan Li & Laura Poppo & Kevin Zheng Zhou, 2008. "Do managerial ties in China always produce value? Competition, uncertainty, and domestic vs. foreign firms," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(4), pages 383-400, April.
    16. Alok R. Saboo & Anindita Chakravarty & Rajdeep Grewal, 2016. "Organizational Debut on the Public Stage: Marketing Myopia and Initial Public Offerings," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 35(4), pages 656-675, July.
    17. Di Giuli, Alberta & Kostovetsky, Leonard, 2014. "Are red or blue companies more likely to go green? Politics and corporate social responsibility," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 111(1), pages 158-180.
    18. J. Myles Shaver, 1998. "Accounting for Endogeneity When Assessing Strategy Performance: Does Entry Mode Choice Affect FDI Survival?," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 44(4), pages 571-585, April.
    19. Juan Andres Bernal‐Conesa & Carmen de Nieves Nieto & Antonio Juan Briones‐Peñalver, 2017. "CSR Strategy in Technology Companies: Its Influence on Performance, Competitiveness and Sustainability," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 24(2), pages 96-107, March.
    20. Christopher Marquis & Cuili Qian, 2014. "Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting in China: Symbol or Substance?," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 25(1), pages 127-148, February.
    21. Stephen Brammer & Andrew Millington, 2008. "Does it pay to be different? An analysis of the relationship between corporate social and financial performance," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(12), pages 1325-1343, December.
    22. Taiyuan Wang & Pratima Bansal, 2012. "Social responsibility in new ventures: profiting from a long‐term orientation," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(10), pages 1135-1153, October.
    23. Jordi Surroca & Josep A. Tribó & Sandra Waddock, 2010. "Corporate responsibility and financial performance: the role of intangible resources," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(5), pages 463-490, May.
    24. Baruch Lev & Christine Petrovits & Suresh Radhakrishnan, 2010. "Is doing good good for you? how corporate charitable contributions enhance revenue growth," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(2), pages 182-200, February.
    25. Pi‐Hui Ting & Hsien‐yu Yin, 2018. "How do corporate social responsibility activities affect performance? The role of excess control right," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 25(6), pages 1320-1331, November.
    26. Caterina Tantalo & Richard L. Priem, 2016. "Value creation through stakeholder synergy," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(2), pages 314-329, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ren, Xiaohang & liu, Ziqing & Jin, Chenglu & Lin, Ruya, 2023. "Oil price uncertainty and enterprise total factor productivity: Evidence from China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 201-218.
    2. Van Ha Nguyen & Frank W. Agbola & Bobae Choi, 2022. "Does Corporate Social Responsibility Enhance Financial Performance? Evidence from Australia," Australian Accounting Review, CPA Australia, vol. 32(1), pages 5-18, March.
    3. Lorena Para‐González & Carlos Mascaraque‐Ramírez & Clara Cubillas‐Para, 2020. "Maximizing performance through CSR: The mediator role of the CSR principles in the shipbuilding industry," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(6), pages 2804-2815, November.
    4. Ko, Kuan-Cheng & Nie, Jun & Ran, Rong & Gu, Yuan, 2020. "Corporate social responsibility, social identity, and innovation performance in China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    5. Maya Novitasari & Anggita Langgeng Wijaya & Nindya Mariana Agustin & Ardi Gunardi & Leo‐Paul Dana, 2023. "Corporate social responsibility and firm performance: Green supply chain management as a mediating variable," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(1), pages 267-276, January.
    6. Muhammad Mubushar & Shahid Rasool & Muhammad Imtiaz Haider & Roberto Cerchione, 2021. "The impact of corporate social responsibility activities on stakeholders' value co‐creation behaviour," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(6), pages 1906-1920, November.
    7. Chen Ma & Latif Yasir, 2023. "Carrot or Stick? CSR and Firm Financial Performance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 188(2), pages 349-365, November.
    8. Qianqian Hu & Tianlun Zhu & Chien-Liang Lin & Tiejun Chen & Tachia Chin, 2021. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Firm Performance in China’s Manufacturing: A Global Perspective of Business Models," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-17, February.
    9. Saeed, Asif & Alnori, Faisal & Yaqoob, Gohar, 2023. "Corporate social responsibility, industry concentration, and firm performance: Evidence from emerging Asian economies," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    10. Briseño-García, Arturo & William Husted, Bryan & Arango-Herera, Eduardo, 2022. "Do birds of a feather certify together? The impact of board interlocks on CSR certification homophily," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 336-344.
    11. Zia ur Rehman & Asad Khan & Asim Rahman, 2020. "Corporate social responsibility's influence on firm risk and firm performance: the mediating role of firm reputation," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(6), pages 2991-3005, November.
    12. Fu‐Chiang Chen & Imen Tebourbi, 2021. "The relationship between business performance, corporate social responsibility, and innovation capital: A case study of Taiwan," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 42(2), pages 360-368, March.
    13. Yuan Qiu & Di Zhou, 2024. "De‐politicization and corporate social responsibility: Empirical evidence from China," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(4), pages 3668-3684, July.
    14. Jyotirani Gupta & Niladri Das, 2022. "Multidimensional corporate social responsibility disclosure and financial performance: A meta‐analytical review," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(4), pages 731-748, July.
    15. Guangfan Sun & Changwei Guo & Bin Li & Honglei Li, 2023. "Cultural inclusivity and corporate social responsibility in China," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-12, December.
    16. Yura Kim & Taeyeon Kim & Hye-Jeong Nam, 2021. "Marketing Investments and Corporate Social Responsibility," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-12, April.
    17. Tian, Meng & Chen, Yang & Tian, Guanghao & Huang, Wei & Hu, Chuan, 2023. "The role of digital transformation practices in the operations improvement in manufacturing firms: A practice-based view," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 262(C).
    18. Slobodan Marić & Nemanja Berber & Agneš Slavić & Marko Aleksić, 2021. "The Mediating Role of Employee Commitment in the Relationship Between Corporate Social Responsibility and Firm Performance in Serbia," SAGE Open, , vol. 11(3), pages 21582440211, August.
    19. Meftah Gerged, Ali & Kuzey, Cemil & Uyar, Ali & Karaman, Abdullah S., 2023. "Does investment stimulate or inhibit CSR transparency? The moderating role of CSR committee, board monitoring and CEO duality," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Hans B. Christensen & Luzi Hail & Christian Leuz, 2021. "Mandatory CSR and sustainability reporting: economic analysis and literature review," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 26(3), pages 1176-1248, September.
    2. Łukasz Matuszak & Ewa Różańska, 2019. "A Non-Linear and Disaggregated Approach to Studying the Impact of CSR on Accounting Profitability: Evidence from the Polish Banking Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-21, January.
    3. Sylvia Grewatsch & Ingo Kleindienst, 2017. "When Does It Pay to be Good? Moderators and Mediators in the Corporate Sustainability–Corporate Financial Performance Relationship: A Critical Review," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 145(2), pages 383-416, October.
    4. Saridakis, Charalampos & Angelidou, Sofia & Woodside, Arch G., 2023. "How historical and social aspirations reshape the relationship between corporate financial performance and corporate social responsibility," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    5. Sanja Pekovic & Sebastian Vogt, 2021. "The fit between corporate social responsibility and corporate governance: the impact on a firm’s financial performance," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 15(4), pages 1095-1125, May.
    6. Encarna Guillamon-Saorin & Magdalena Kapelko & Spiro E. Stefanou, 2018. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Operational Inefficiency: A Dynamic Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-26, July.
    7. Franck Brulhart & Sandrine Gherra & Bertrand V. Quelin, 2019. "Do Stakeholder Orientation and Environmental Proactivity Impact Firm Profitability?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 158(1), pages 25-46, August.
    8. Eduardo Duque-Grisales & Javier Aguilera-Caracuel, 2021. "Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Scores and Financial Performance of Multilatinas: Moderating Effects of Geographic International Diversification and Financial Slack," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 168(2), pages 315-334, January.
    9. Jacob Brower & Peter A. Dacin, 2020. "An Institutional Theory Approach to the Evolution of the Corporate Social Performance – Corporate Financial Performance Relationship," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 57(4), pages 805-836, June.
    10. Emmanuel Lawal & Gökan May & Bojan Stahl, 2017. "The Significance of Corporate Social Disclosure for High‐Tech Manufacturing Companies: Focus on Employee and Community Aspects of Sustainable Development," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 24(4), pages 295-311, July.
    11. Weiwei Wu & Rizwan Ullah & Syed Jamal Shah, 2020. "Linking Corporate Environmental Performance to Financial Performance of Pakistani Firms: The Roles of Technological capability and Public awareness," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-18, February.
    12. Amal Aouadi & Sylvain Marsat, 2018. "Do ESG Controversies Matter for Firm Value? Evidence from International Data," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 151(4), pages 1027-1047, September.
    13. Tai-Hsi Wu & Hsiang-Lin Chih & Mei-Chen Lin & Yi Hua Wu, 2020. "A Data Envelopment Analysis-Based Methodology Adopting Assurance Region Approach for Measuring Corporate Social Performance," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 148(3), pages 863-892, April.
    14. Li, WeiWei & Padmanabhan, Prasad & Huang, Chia-Hsing, 2024. "ESG and debt structure: Is the nature of this relationship nonlinear?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    15. Yongqiang Gao & Haibin Yang & Taïeb Hafsi, 2019. "Corporate giving and corporate financial performance: the S-curve relationship," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 36(3), pages 687-713, September.
    16. Jun Li & Di (Andrew) Wu, 2020. "Do Corporate Social Responsibility Engagements Lead to Real Environmental, Social, and Governance Impact?," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 66(6), pages 2564-2588, June.
    17. Yongqiang Gao & Jian Wu & Taïeb Hafsi, 2017. "The Inverted U‐Shaped Relationship between Corporate Philanthropy and Spending on Research and Development: A Case of Complementarity and Competition Moderated by Firm Size and Visibility," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 24(6), pages 465-477, November.
    18. Ben Lahouel, Béchir & Ben Zaied, Younes & Managi, Shunsuke & Taleb, Lotfi, 2022. "Re-thinking about U: The relevance of regime-switching model in the relationship between environmental corporate social responsibility and financial performance," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 140(C), pages 498-519.
    19. Chen, Chung-Jen & Guo, Ruey-Shan & Hsiao, Yung-Chang & Chen, Kuo-Liang, 2018. "How business strategy in non-financial firms moderates the curvilinear effects of corporate social responsibility and irresponsibility on corporate financial performance," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 154-167.
    20. Zeeshan Ullah, 2021. "Sustainable product attributes and firm performance: The moderating role of marketing resource intensity," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(8), pages 4107-4120, December.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wly:corsem:v:27:y:2020:i:1:p:65-73. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://doi.org/10.1002/(ISSN)1535-3966 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.