Are Socially Responsible Behaviors Paid Off Equally? A Cross-cultural Analysis

Abstract

Based on the strong influence that national culture has on corporate social and responsibility (CSR) actions (institutional theory), it is necessary to study how the financial outcomes of CSR actions could be affected by these cultural characteristics. This fact is particularly interesting for managers whose companies operate in different cultures given that they have to deal with this aspect. The aim of this paper is to analyze the moderator role that national culture could have on the CSR and firm performance (CSR-FP) relationship through a meta-analysis, hence helping to clarify the debate existing about this relationship in the literature. The results show that this relationship is greatly affected by national culture. In this sense, countries with a high assertiveness and gender egalitarianism show a very negative relationship. Nevertheless, those with a higher future orientation, institutional collectivism, and a humane orientation reveal a positive correlation which reaches its maximum value in those countries with a high uncertainty avoidance.