The Worth of Values – A Literature Review on the Relation Between Corporate Social and Financial Performance

Abstract

One of the older questions in the debate about Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is whether it is worthwhile for organizations to pay attention to societal demands. This debate was emotionally, normatively, and ideologically loaded. Up to the present, this question has been an important trigger for empirical research in CSR. However, the answer to the question has apparently not been found yet, at least that is what many researchers state. This apparent ambivalence in CSR consequences invites a literature study that can clarify the debate and allow for the drawing of conclusions. The results of the literature study performed here reveal that there is indeed clear empirical evidence for a positive correlation between corporate social and financial performance. Voices that state the opposite refer to outdated material. Since the beginnings of the CSR debate, societies have changed. We can therefore clearly state that, for the present Western society, ''Good Ethics is Good Business.''

The differentiated effects of CSR actions in the service industry

“…However, the majority of these studies on the relationship between CSR and firm performance document a positive relationship. As noted by Halme and Laurila (2009), and Stuebs and Sun (2009), a recent literature review (Beurden and Gössling, 2008), two meta-analyses (Margolis and Walsh, 2003;Orlitzky et al, 2003), and several recent studies (e.g., Brammer and Millington, 2008) support the positive link. Additionally, most of the studies have reached a common conclusion that CSR behavior contributes to a firm's long-term sustainability and growth (Taneja et al, 2011).…”

Do Entrepreneurial SMEs Perform Better Because They are More Responsible?

“…The proponents of a positive effect of SD practices on performance and those who argue for a contingent, or even negative, relationship are involved in a heated debate (for reviews on this subject, see Beurden and Gössling 2008;Margolis and Walsh 2003;Orlitzky et al 2003).…”

“…However, in most cases, empirical studies have reported a positive relationship between CSR and performance (Beurden and Gössling 2008;Margolis and Walsh 2003;Orlitzky et al 2003). This positive relationship extends to SMEs, in terms of both environmental actions (Aragon-Correa et al 2008;Dixon-Fowler et al 2013) and social actions (Hammann et al 2009).…”

Understanding Complexity: the Curvilinear Relationship Between Environmental Performance and Firm Performance

“…Investigation of this link has been the topic of several research studies in the past. A recent literature review on this topic is provided by Beurden and Gössling (2008). However, the available evidence is inconclusive; there are some studies that have found a positive link (e.g., Waddock and Graves 1997), some have found a negative link (e.g., Konar and Cohen 2001), while others have found no link at all (e.g., Berman et al 1999).…”