Corporate Social Responsibility and Financial Performance Within the Business Sector in Greece

Abstract

The present study investigated the association between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and financial performance. The study sample was composed of 124 listed companies in the Athens Stock Exchange during the period 2006–2012. Firm financial performance was measured by return on assets (ROA), return on equity (ROE), return on sales (ROS) and earnings per share (EPS). Information was extracted from the balance sheets of the companies. We used repeated measurement analysis to analyze the data. A linear mixed model was run to determine whether the CSR had an effect on financial performance and whether this effect was dependent on the Wider Section that companies were classified. The analysis showed that there is significant evidence for concluding association between CSR and financial performance.