Title: Materialism and corporate social responsibility: the moderating role of board characteristics and industry type

Authors: Majid Ashrafi

Addresses: Department of Accounting, Aliabad Katoul Branch, Islamic Azad University, Aliabad Katoul, Iran

Abstract: Despite the important role of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in decision-making, it has always been influenced by the boards' behavioural characteristics. The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of the boards' materialism on the social responsibility of the firm. The statistical sample of the study includes 85 companies listed in the Tehran Stock Exchange during the years 2019 to 2022. Multivariate linear regression model and cross-sectional data are used to test the hypotheses. The findings show that the boards' materialism has a negative and significant effect on CSR. In addition, we find that the boards' education mitigates and the boards' tenure intensifies the negative effect of materialism on CSR. Moreover, the type of industry moderates the relationship between materialism and CSR. In fact, the results show that the materialistic directors are less willing to provide a clear and complete report on the company's social responsibility.

Keywords: materialism; corporate social responsibility; CSR; industry; board of directors.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMFA.2026.152747

International Journal of Managerial and Financial Accounting, 2026 Vol.18 No.2, pp.125 - 146

Received: 30 Mar 2024
Accepted: 26 Jul 2024
Published online: 09 Apr 2026 *

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