IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/sagope/v13y2023i1p21582440231152123.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Firm Performance and Corporate Social Responsibility: Spatial Context and Effect Mechanism

Author

Listed:
  • Jiafeng Gu

Abstract

This study investigates the effect of firm performance on corporate social responsibility (CSR) in a specific spatial context. The results for a sample of 1,557 listed companies in China suggest that a firm’s CSR performance level is influenced by that of nearby firms. This study also confirms the indirect link between financial and CSR performance through the mediating role of institutional and executive shareholding rates. In addition, the empirical evidence in this study not only supports the spatial context-sensitive thesis but, more importantly, proposes a spatiotemporal context-sensitive thesis. It provides strong empirical support for the true relative value of the spatiotemporal context affecting CSR performance, which yields important theoretical, methodological, and policy implications.

Suggested Citation

  • Jiafeng Gu, 2023. "Firm Performance and Corporate Social Responsibility: Spatial Context and Effect Mechanism," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(1), pages 21582440231, January.
  • Handle: RePEc:sae:sagope:v:13:y:2023:i:1:p:21582440231152123
    DOI: 10.1177/21582440231152123
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/21582440231152123
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/21582440231152123?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. José V. Frias‐Aceituno & Lazaro Rodriguez‐Ariza & I.M Garcia‐Sanchez, 2013. "The Role of the Board in the Dissemination of Integrated Corporate Social Reporting," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 20(4), pages 219-233, July.
    2. Md. Al Mamun & Kazi Sohog & Ayesha Akhter, 2013. "A Dynamic Panel Analysis of the Financial Determinants of CSR in Bangladeshi Banking Industry," Asian Economic and Financial Review, Asian Economic and Social Society, vol. 3(5), pages 560-578.
    3. Koh, Ping-Sheng, 2007. "Institutional investor type, earnings management and benchmark beaters," Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 26(3), pages 267-299.
    4. Arno Riedl & Paul Smeets, 2017. "Why Do Investors Hold Socially Responsible Mutual Funds?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 72(6), pages 2505-2550, December.
    5. Sebestyen, Tamas & Parag, Andrea, 2010. "The dynamics of link formation in patent innovator networks," Perspectives of Innovations, Economics and Business (PIEB), Prague Development Center (PRADEC), vol. 4(1), pages 1-5, February.
    6. Michelon, Giovanna & Pilonato, Silvia & Ricceri, Federica, 2015. "CSR reporting practices and the quality of disclosure: An empirical analysis," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 59-78.
    7. Zhu, Qinghua & Lai, Kee-hung, 2019. "Enhancing supply chain operations with extended corporate social responsibility practices by multinational enterprises: Social capital perspective from Chinese suppliers," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 213(C), pages 1-12.
    8. Farah Zamir & Abubakr Saeed, 2020. "Location matters: Impact of geographical proximity to financial centers on corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure in emerging economies," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 37(1), pages 263-295, March.
    9. Uwalomwa Uwuigbe, 2011. "An empirical examination of the risk associated with corporate social responsibility disclosures and firms size," International Journal of Business Continuity and Risk Management, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 2(3), pages 284-294.
    10. Wei Huang & Agyenim Boateng, 2017. "Executive shareholding, compensation, and analyst forecast of Chinese firms," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 49(15), pages 1459-1472, March.
    11. Battisti, Enrico & Nirino, Niccolò & Leonidou, Erasmia & Thrassou, Alkis, 2022. "Corporate venture capital and CSR performance: An extended resource based view’s perspective," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 1058-1066.
    12. repec:eme:ijlma0:ijlma-06-2015-0029 is not listed on IDEAS
    13. Kiyoung Chang & Jean Kabongo & Ying Li, 2021. "Geographic proximity, long-term institutional ownership, and corporate social responsibility," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 56(1), pages 297-328, January.
    14. Bryan W. Husted & Dima Jamali & Walid Saffar, 2016. "Near and dear? The role of location in CSR engagement," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(10), pages 2050-2070, October.
    15. Margaret Griesse, 2007. "The Geographic, Political, and Economic Context for Corporate Social Responsibility in Brazil," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 73(1), pages 21-37, June.
    16. Mingyuan Guo & Shuyu Shen, 2019. "Managerial Shareholding and CSR: Does Internal Control Quality Matter?—Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(15), pages 1-21, August.
    17. Md. Al Mamun & Kazi Sohog & Ayesha Akhter, 2013. "A Dynamic Panel Analysis of the Financial Determinants of CSR in Bangladeshi Banking Industry," Asian Economic and Financial Review, Asian Economic and Social Society, vol. 3(5), pages 560-578, May.
    18. Bryan Hong & Zhichuan Li & Dylan Minor, 2016. "Corporate Governance and Executive Compensation for Corporate Social Responsibility," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 136(1), pages 199-213, June.
    19. Park, Sungbeen & Song, Sujin & Lee, Seoki, 2017. "Corporate social responsibility and systematic risk of restaurant firms: The moderating role of geographical diversification," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 610-620.
    20. Jay C. Hartzell & Laura T. Starks, 2003. "Institutional Investors and Executive Compensation," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 58(6), pages 2351-2374, December.
    21. Jiafeng Gu, 2021. "Spatial Dynamics between Firm Sales and Environmental Responsibility: The Mediating Role of Corporate Innovation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-18, February.
    22. Nuttaneeya Torugsa & Wayne O’Donohue & Rob Hecker, 2012. "Capabilities, Proactive CSR and Financial Performance in SMEs: Empirical Evidence from an Australian Manufacturing Industry Sector," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 109(4), pages 483-500, September.
    23. Nofsinger, John R. & Sulaeman, Johan & Varma, Abhishek, 2019. "Institutional investors and corporate social responsibility," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 700-725.
    24. Haixin Zhang & Mengying Zhang & Donghong Ding & Hongwei Liu, 2016. "A framework for spillover effect of corporate social responsibility with a case study of Chinese dairy industry," International Journal of Information and Decision Sciences, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 8(4), pages 404-424.
    25. Hsiang-Lin Chih & Hsiang-Hsuan Chih & Tzu-Yin Chen, 2010. "On the Determinants of Corporate Social Responsibility: International Evidence on the Financial Industry," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 93(1), pages 115-135, April.
    26. Huiguan Ding & Jiansheng Cai & Yanxia Niu, 2012. "Correlations between Executive Pay, Equity Incentive and Corporate Performance: Empirical Analysis Based on Panel Data of China¡¯s Listed Companies," International Journal of Financial Research, International Journal of Financial Research, Sciedu Press, vol. 3(3), pages 24-31, July.
    27. Michal Franta & Jan Libich & Petr Stehlík, 2011. "The Big Picture of Monetary–Fiscal Interactions," Economic Papers, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 30(1), pages 6-14, March.
    28. Minghui Yang & Paulo Bento & Ahsan Akbar, 2019. "Does CSR Influence Firm Performance Indicators? Evidence from Chinese Pharmaceutical Enterprises," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(20), pages 1-18, October.
    29. Niklas Kreander & Ken McPhail & Vivien Beattie, 2015. "Charity ethical investments in Norway and the UK," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 28(4), pages 581-617, May.
    30. Robert Hanson & Moon Song, 2003. "Long-term performance of divesting firms and the effect of managerial ownership," Journal of Economics and Finance, Springer;Academy of Economics and Finance, vol. 27(3), pages 321-336, September.
    31. Shaista Wasiuzzaman & Ali Uyar & Cemil Kuzey & Abdullah S. Karaman, 2022. "Corporate social responsibility: Is it a matter of slack financial resources or strategy or both?," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 43(6), pages 2444-2466, September.
    32. Som Sekhar Bhattacharyya & Arunditya Sahay & Ashok Pratap Arora & Abha Chaturvedi, 2008. "A toolkit for designing firm level strategic corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives," Social Responsibility Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 4(3), pages 265-282, August.
    33. Hafiz Yasir Ali & Rizwan Qaiser Danish & Muhammad Asrar‐ul‐Haq, 2020. "How corporate social responsibility boosts firm financial performance: The mediating role of corporate image and customer satisfaction," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(1), pages 166-177, January.
    34. Nguyen, Phuong-Anh & Kecskés, Ambrus & Mansi, Sattar, 2020. "Does corporate social responsibility create shareholder value? The importance of long-term investors," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 112(C).
    35. Fu, Limin & Boehe, Dirk & Orlitzky, Marc, 2020. "Are R&D-Intensive firms also corporate social responsibility specialists? A multicountry study," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(8).
    36. Shah Md Taha Islam & Ratan Ghosh & Asia Khatun, 2021. "Slack resources, free cash flow and corporate social responsibility expenditure: evidence from an emerging economy," Journal of Accounting in Emerging Economies, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 11(4), pages 533-551, April.
    37. Jiafeng Gu, 2021. "Spatiotemporal context and firm performance: The mediating effect of strategic interaction," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(1), pages 371-391, March.
    38. Huijin Cheng & Hao Ding, 2020. "Incentive Decision for Supply Chain with Corporate Social Responsibility and Lag Effect," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-19, March.
    39. Ma Zhong & Rong Xu & Xinyi Liao & Shuangli Zhang, 2019. "Do CSR Ratings Converge in China? A Comparison Between RKS and Hexun Scores," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(14), pages 1-20, July.
    40. Olivier Meier & Philippe Naccache & Guillaume Schier, 2021. "Exploring the Curvature of the Relationship Between HRM–CSR and Corporate Financial Performance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 170(4), pages 857-873, May.
    41. repec:eme:aaaj00:aaaj-09-2012-1113 is not listed on IDEAS
    42. Som Sekhar Bhattacharyya & Arunditya Sahay & Ashok Pratap Arora & Abha Chaturvedi, 2008. "A toolkit for designing firm level strategic corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives," Social Responsibility Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 4(3), pages 265-282, August.
    43. Liu Wu & Zhen Shao & Changhui Yang & Tao Ding & Wan Zhang, 2020. "The Impact of CSR and Financial Distress on Financial Performance—Evidence from Chinese Listed Companies of the Manufacturing Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-19, August.
    44. Piotr Ratajczak, 2021. "The mediating role of natural and social resources in the corporate social responsibility—corporate financial performance relationship," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 42(1), pages 100-119, January.
    45. Huang, Kaixing & Sim, Nicholas & Zhao, Hong, 2020. "Corporate social responsibility, corporate financial performance and the confounding effects of economic fluctuations: A meta-analysis," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    46. You-Hua Chen & Xiao-Wei Wen & Ming-Zhong Luo, 2016. "Corporate Social Responsibility Spillover and Competition Effects on the Food Industry," Australian Economic Papers, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(1), pages 1-13, March.
    47. Niklas Kreander & Ken McPhail & Vivien Beattie, 2015. "Charity ethical investments in Norway and the UK," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 28(4), pages 581-617, May.
    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. Ngoc Khuong Mai & Khoa Truong An Nguyen & Thanh Tung Do & Long Nhat Phan, 2023. "Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy Practices, Employee Commitment, Reputation as Sources of Competitive Advantage," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(4), pages 21582440231, December.

    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. Uyar, Ali & Lodh, Suman & Nandy, Monomita & Kuzey, Cemil & Karaman, Abdullah S., 2023. "Tradeoff between corporate investment and CSR: The moderating effect of financial slack, workforce slack, and board gender diversity," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    2. Lin Zhang & Xiaochen Zhang & Jingjing An & Wei Zhang & Jingshen Yao, 2022. "Examining the Role of Stakeholder-Oriented Corporate Governance in Achieving Sustainable Development: Evidence from the SME CSR in the Context of China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-22, July.
    3. Salim, Kinan & Disli, Mustafa & Ng, Adam & Dewandaru, Ginanjar & Nkoba, Malik Abdulrahman, 2023. "The impact of sustainable banking practices on bank stability," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 178(C).
    4. Al-Shaer, Habiba & Uyar, Ali & Kuzey, Cemil & Karaman, Abdullah S., 2023. "Do shareholders punish or reward excessive CSR engagement? Moderating effect of cash flow and firm growth," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    5. An-Pin Wei & Chi-Lu Peng & Hao-Chen Huang & Shang-Pao Yeh, 2020. "Effects of Corporate Social Responsibility on Firm Performance: Does Customer Satisfaction Matter?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-18, September.
    6. Ahmed A. Sarhan & Basil Al‐Najjar, 2023. "The influence of corporate governance and shareholding structure on corporate social responsibility: The key role of executive compensation," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(4), pages 4532-4556, October.
    7. Ali Uyar & Mehmet Ali Koseoglu & Cemil Kuzey & Abdullah S Karaman, 2023. "Does firm strategy influence corporate social responsibility and firm performance? Evidence from the tourism industry," Tourism Economics, , vol. 29(5), pages 1272-1301, August.
    8. Haozhe Han, 2023. "Does increasing the QFII quota promote Chinese institutional investors to drive ESG?," Asia-Pacific Journal of Accounting & Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(6), pages 1627-1643, November.
    9. Liang, Lien-Wen & Chang, Hai-Yen & Shao, Hao-Ling, 2018. "Does sustainability make banks more cost efficient?," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 13-23.
    10. He, Jingbin & Ma, Xinru, 2023. "Is corporate social responsibility engagement influenced by nearby firms? Evidence from China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    11. Cao Thi Mien Thuy & Nguyen Vinh Khuong & Nguyen Thi Canh & Nguyen Thanh Liem, 2021. "Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure and Financial Performance: The Mediating Role of Financial Statement Comparability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(18), pages 1-15, September.
    12. Hina Yaqub Bhatti & M. Mercedes Galan-Ladero & Clementina Galera-Casquet, 2023. "Cause-related marketing: a systematic review of the literature," International Review on Public and Nonprofit Marketing, Springer;International Association of Public and Non-Profit Marketing, vol. 20(1), pages 25-64, March.
    13. Hongjin Zhu & Yue Pan & Jiaping Qiu & Jinli Xiao, 2022. "Hometown Ties and Favoritism in Chinese Corporations: Evidence from CEO Dismissals and Corporate Social Responsibility," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 176(2), pages 283-310, March.
    14. Simone Pizzi, 2018. "The Relationship between Non-financial Reporting, Environmental Strategies and Financial Performance. Empirical Evidence from Milano Stock Exchange," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 8(4), pages 1-9, November.
    15. Riccardo Torelli & Federica Balluchi & Katia Furlotti, 2020. "The materiality assessment and stakeholder engagement: A content analysis of sustainability reports," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(2), pages 470-484, March.
    16. Kladakis, George & Chen, Lei & Bellos, Sotirios K., 2023. "Ethical bank disclosures and liquidity creation," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    17. Yuyuan Chang & Wen He & Jianling Wang, 2021. "Government Initiated Corporate Social Responsibility Activities: Evidence from a Poverty Alleviation Campaign in China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 173(4), pages 661-685, November.
    18. Mitzi Cubilla‐Montilla & Ana‐Belén Nieto‐Librero & Ma Purificación Galindo‐Villardón & Ma Purificación Vicente Galindo & Isabel‐María Garcia‐Sanchez, 2019. "Are cultural values sufficient to improve stakeholder engagement human and labour rights issues?," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(4), pages 938-955, July.
    19. He, Feng & Du, Hanyu & Yu, Bo, 2022. "Corporate ESG performance and manager misconduct: Evidence from China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    20. Alexandre Garel & Jose Martin-Flores & Arthur Petit-Romec & Ayesha Scott, 2021. "Institutional investor distraction and earnings management," Post-Print hal-03096196, HAL.

    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:sae:sagope:v:13:y:2023:i:1:p:21582440231152123. 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: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    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.