Title: When corporate social responsibility matters: an empirical investigation of contingencies

Authors: Stephen R. Luxmore; Zhi Tang; Clyde Eiríkur Hull

Addresses: E. Philip Saunders College of Business, Rochester Institute of Technology, 108 Lomb Memorial Dr., Rochester, NY 14623, USA ' E. Philip Saunders College of Business, Rochester Institute of Technology, 108 Lomb Memorial Dr., Rochester, NY 14623, USA ' E. Philip Saunders College of Business, Rochester Institute of Technology, 108 Lomb Memorial Dr., Rochester, NY 14623, USA

Abstract: Rather than re-examine the question of whether doing good generally helps a company to do well, this study draws on contingency theory to empirically examine when doing good helps a company do as well as possible. Using panel data, we examine the effects of industry life cycle, munificence, and instability on the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate financial performance (CFP). Our findings indicate that life cycle has a significant impact on the CSR-CFP relationship, as does industry instability. These findings suggest that CSR helps the bottom line considerably - if it is applied at the right time.

Keywords: corporate social responsibility; CSR; corporate financial performance; CFP; industry life cycle; munificence; industry instability; contingencies; bottom line.

DOI: 10.1504/IJCG.2012.051856

International Journal of Corporate Governance, 2012 Vol.3 No.2/3/4, pp.143 - 162

Published online: 10 Apr 2015 *

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