Responsible behavior in relations with third parties as a driver of business performance in times of economic crisis

Abstract

Due to the significant contraction in economic activity and employment throughout the world caused by Covid-19, it is especially pertinent to continue advancing in the study of the effect that the implementation of socially responsible practices has on profitability. Thus, in this empirical research, carried out with a sample of 6,186 companies, it is intended to deepen the existing relationship between the effort made by the Spanish business fabric within the manufacturing sector in social responsibility policies and the results obtained in its financial indicators. For this, we focus on the relationships that the company maintains with its external stakeholders, the community, with human resources and policies related to quality management, and we analyze how they contribute to improving the company's economic profitability (ROA), using a dashboard of data. The results show that the implementation of collaboration policies to increase and improve relationships with suppliers, competitors and institutions has a significant positive effect on increasing ROA. However, collaboration with clients had a negative impact on ROA. In addition, the application of human resources practices aimed at improving relations with employees and the implementation of quality policies also have a positive and relevant impact on ROA