The impact of corporate social responsibility on firms’ financial performance, evidence from the food and beverage industry

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on firms’ financial performance (FP) in the food and beverage (F&B) sector. Design/methodology/approach The authors developed a conceptual model that hypothesizes a positive effect of CSR governance on CSR outcomes (environmental and social) and these on firm’s FP. Gathering data from 190 F&B companies, the authors empirically tested the validity of the model through an ordinary least squares regression analysis. Findings The findings highlight the positive impact of CSR governance on environmental and social outcomes, showing real societal concerns among companies’ stakeholders in the F&B industry. Studies on the effect of CSR outcomes on FP have shown mixed results. On one side, the social outcomes positively impact a firm’s performance; on the other side, environmental outcomes show insignificant or non-positive effects depending on different measurements of FP. Originality/value Despite the mixed set of results between CSR and a firm’s performance in the literature, this research provides a new framework in which the impact of CSR on FP is analysed through the effectiveness of CSR governance on CSR outcomes (social and environmental). Moreover, this study contributes to the CSR literature understanding the impact of both environment and social concerns by companies on firm’s FP in F&B context.

Sustainability and short-term profitability in the agri-food sector, a cross-sectional time-series investigation on global corporations

“…This result confirms what assumed in H1a and previous studies' evidence (e.g. Nirino et al , 2019; Gangi et al , 2020). We presume that this positive relationship is due to the nature of social sustainability activities which do not need strong investment as environmental ones and concurrently produce immediate both financial returns and higher ESGP (Nirino et al , 2019).…”

“…On the other hand, the analysis highlighted that eco-friendly corporate activities and the management commitment to sustainability affect negatively the one-year lagged ROA , especially for those companies with lesser ESGP. These findings are in line with those of Nirino et al (2019) and support H1b. We presume that the negative correlation between environmental sustainability and firms' profitability is due to the following reasons.…”

“…Nirino et al , 2019; Gangi et al , 2020). We presume that this positive relationship is due to the nature of social sustainability activities which do not need strong investment as environmental ones and concurrently produce immediate both financial returns and higher ESGP (Nirino et al , 2019). Moreover, results of regressions on both panels data highlighted moderating effects of slack resources on ESGP and CFP relationship, supporting both H2a/b, and confirming prior studies' mixed results (e.g.…”

“…Brammer et al , 2006; Hillman and Keim, 2001; López et al , 2007) following Shareholders Theory insights found that sustainability is detrimental for subsequent CFP. Moreover, despite such a flourishing debate, the relationship between sustainability and CFP is still under-investigated in the AF&B context which distinguishes for critical ESG issues (Nirino et al , 2019; Gangi et al , 2020). Therefore, the present study, considering a period of ten years, performed a cross-sectional time-series analysis to deepen whether and how prior ESG performance (ESGP) affect future CFP.…”

Modelling Internet of things (IoT)-driven global sustainability in multi-tier agri-food supply chain under natural epidemic outbreaks

“…Multi-tier configuration type and IoT-based governance mechanisms are the key elements for sustainable development in global AFSC. Global AFSC encompassed the IoT-based involvement of multi-tier sustainable practices with initiatives driven by FF (external supports (ES) supported by government and NGOs, third parties (TP) and some other stakeholders for information processing) (Nirino et al 2019 ; Cane and Parra 2020 ). Direct governing mechanisms need FF to provide time and capital for effectively establishing the associations with multi-suppliers, and indirect governing mechanisms depend on third parties’ standards and regulation without any direct influence of FF (Formentini and Taticchi 2016 ).…”