The Moderating Effect of Dividend Policy on the Relationship between Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Financial Performance of Listed Consumer Goods Firms in Nigeria

The moderating effect of dividend policy on the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and the financial performance of firms is gradually gaining attention in the literature. However, most of the past works of literature in this area have concentrated on investigating the direct relationship between CSR and dividends or CSR and firm performance. This paper examined the relationship between Corporate Social Responsibility and the Financial Performance of Listed Consumer Goods Firms in Nigeria. and how dividend policy moderates these relationships. The study used an ex post facto research approach and secondary data were retrieved from the annual financial reports of selected consumer goods firms in Nigeria for eleven years from 2013-2022. E-views version 12 was used to carry out correlation and regression analysis of the direct and moderating effects of relevant variables. The study found that dividend payment has a weakening but insignificant moderating effect on the relationship between Community Corporate Social Responsibility (C-CSR) and Return on Capital Employed (ROCE) of listed consumer goods firms in Nigeria. The study also found that dividend payment has a reversing but insignificant moderating effect on the relationship between Employee Relations Corporate Social Responsibility (ER-CSR) and Return on Capital Employed of listed consumer goods firms in Nigeria. The study recommends that managers and board members in the consumer goods industries in Nigeria should seek investments and policies that would create a balance in the social behavior components and dividend policies of the firms since the interests of the shareholders, communities, and employees are key in maintaining impressive financial performance.