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Doing Good and Different! The Mediation Effect of Innovation and Investment on the Influence of CSR on Competitiveness

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  • Longinos Marin
  • Pedro J. Martín
  • Alicia Rubio

Abstract

In recent decades, the debate about the strategic potential of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and the existence of a possible relationship between CSR and competitiveness has become increasingly relevant. However, the literature has not analysed in detail why this influence occurs and what the key elements that determine increasing competitiveness are. This study analyses the roles of innovation and investment in the ways in which CSR influences competitiveness. The results from an empirical study of 236 companies show no direct influence of CSR on competitiveness, but innovation and investment are shown to affect CSR's influence on competitiveness indirectly and significantly. These results demonstrate a total mediation effect of innovation and investment on CSR's influence on competitiveness. The theoretical and practical implications of this study are discussed together with its limitations and potential for future research. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment

Suggested Citation

  • Longinos Marin & Pedro J. Martín & Alicia Rubio, 2017. "Doing Good and Different! The Mediation Effect of Innovation and Investment on the Influence of CSR on Competitiveness," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 24(2), pages 159-171, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:corsem:v:24:y:2017:i:2:p:159-171
    DOI: 10.1002/csr.1412
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    3. Tsitaire Jean Arrive & Mei Feng & Yafen Yan & Samwel Macharia Chege, 2019. "The involvement of telecommunication industry in the road to corporate sustainability and corporate social responsibility commitment," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(1), pages 152-158, January.
    4. Wenhao Song & Hongyan Yu, 2018. "Green Innovation Strategy and Green Innovation: The Roles of Green Creativity and Green Organizational Identity," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 25(2), pages 135-150, March.
    5. Thanh Tiep Le & Marcos Ferasso, 2022. "How green investment drives sustainable business performance for food manufacturing small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises? Evidence from an emerging economy," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(4), pages 1034-1049, July.
    6. Abdullah Jihad Rabaya & Norman Mohd Saleh, 2022. "The moderating effect of IR framework adoption on the relationship between environmental, social, and governance (ESG) disclosure and a firm's competitive advantage," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(2), pages 2037-2055, February.
    7. Stefanella Stranieri & Luigi Orsi & Alessandro Banterle & Elena Claire Ricci, 2019. "Sustainable development and supply chain coordination: The impact of corporate social responsibility rules in the European Union food industry," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(2), pages 481-491, March.
    8. Mariana Toussaint & Pablo Cabanelas & Alicia Blanco‐González, 2021. "Social sustainability in the food value chain: An integrative approach beyond corporate social responsibility," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(1), pages 103-115, January.
    9. Omonijo, Oluwole Nurudeen & Yunsheng, Zhang, 2022. "Impact mechanism of technological innovation by Chinese companies on CSR in Africa mobile communication industry," Innovation and Green Development, Elsevier, vol. 1(2).
    10. Verónica León‐Bravo & Antonella Moretto & Raffaella Cagliano & Federico Caniato, 2019. "Innovation for sustainable development in the food industry: Retro and forward‐looking innovation approaches to improve quality and healthiness," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(5), pages 1049-1062, September.
    11. Dimitrios J. Dimitriou, 2020. "Evaluation of Corporate Social Responsibility Performance in Air Transport Enterprise," Journal of Public Administration and Governance, Macrothink Institute, vol. 10(2), pages 261278-2612, December.
    12. Feifei Yu & Dong Jiang & Teng Wang, 2022. "The impact of green innovation on manufacturing small and medium enterprises corporate social responsibility fulfillment: The moderating role of regional environmental regulation," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(3), pages 712-727, May.
    13. María del Mar Ramos-González & Mercedes Rubio-Andrés & Miguel Ángel Sastre-Castillo, 2022. "Effects of socially responsible human resource management (SR-HRM) on innovation and reputation in entrepreneurial SMEs," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 18(3), pages 1205-1233, September.
    14. Xin Pan & Paresha Sinha & Xuanjin Chen, 2021. "Corporate social responsibility and eco‐innovation: The triple bottom line perspective," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(1), pages 214-228, January.
    15. Elg, Ulf & Welinder, Axel, 2022. "Sustainabilty and retail marketing: Corporate, product and store perspectives," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).

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