Regional and national CSR variations: analyzing cross-country differences in CSR adoption and effectiveness in Czechia, Poland, and Slovakia

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) plays a crucial role in navigating sustainable business practices and enhancing long-term competitiveness globally. Specific features of this phenomenon are reached in transitioning economies where national contexts and specific structures of organizations shape CSR strategies. This study examines them and examines the impact of CSR on business performance and sustainability across the Visegrad region (Czechia, Poland, and Slovakia). It is built based on stakeholder theory and analyses data from 375 companies using descriptive statistics, Principal Component Analysis (PCA), and k-means clustering. Our findings point to significant cross-country differences in CSR impact, where Slovakia shows the highest levels of integration across monitored CSR dimensions, especially in organizational culture, brand sustainability, and investor engagement. Factor analysis unveils a strong underlying construct driving CSR impacts using variables such as human capital empowerment and risk management. Outcomes show consistent importance across countries, but cluster analysis points to two business profiles in the region: companies with integrated CSR practices and those with emerging or fragmented approaches. Slovakia predominantly involves the more advanced type, while Poland and the Czech Republic show more variability. This paper contributes to CSR literature by providing empirical evidence on regional nuances in CSR strategies and their link to firm performance. It offers insights for policymakers usable to harmonize CSR frameworks in the region and for businesses to strengthen CSR-driven value creation. Also, the specifically tailored national interventions and stronger regional collaboration are recommended to close gaps and foster sustainable economic growth.