The mediating role of CSR on the market orientation and strategic performance relationship-A study of the public housing companies in Sweden

Abstract

This article serves to analyze the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on (1) the market orientation and strategic performance relationship related to public housing companies' choice of construction strategies and (2) the companies' responsiveness to gathered and disseminated customer information. The quantitative method is applied, with data analyzed by the PROCESS analysis. The result is based on a survey sent to 289 public housing companies in Sweden. Previous research suggests a positive relationship between market orientation and strategic performance, which was not confirmed by this study. When testing the mediation effects of CSR on the market orientation and construction strategies relationship, these hypotheses were confirmed related to social and environmental dimensions-not economic ones. This study was limited to public housing companies, a sector that radically differs from the situation of companies in the open market. The study increases public housing companies' knowledge of CSR effects on the market orientation and strategic performance relationship. This result contributes useful information for companies implementing CSR in their activities. The study highlights the importance of integrating CSR into an organization's market orientation work and shows how CSR improves the companies' ability to meet customers' strategic needs.