Corporate social responsibility and corporate financial performance - Is there a link?

Abstract

The "business as usual" model is no longer possible. Globalization, technological and demographical changes have lead to the change in the internal organization structures, processes and behaviour. Environmental, social and governance issues are becoming extremely powerful means of gaining competitive advantage on the global market. The purpose of the paper is to underline the importance of socially responsible business practices for the corporation. In order to emphasize the importance of socially responsible behaviour with regards to financial performance, the research was enriched with of the comparative analysis of the financial performances of 45 corporations listed on Dow Jones Sustainability World Index 2009/2010 that represent the top 10% of the leading sustainability companies out of the biggest 2500 companies in the Dow Jones Global Total Stock Market Index compared with non CSR corporations - not listed on DJSWI. Authors are presenting results of the econometric model which further confirmed that CSR firms in the average enjoy better financial performance that non-CSR firms.