Does corporate social responsibility lead to superior financial performance? Evidence from BSE 100 index

Abstract

This study attempts to examine the impact of corporate social responsibility on financial performance in the Indian context. For this purpose, the study has selected BSE 100 index for the period of 9 years (2010–2018) as a sample study. The panel regression analysis reveals that corporate social responsibility has positive impact on concurrent profitability and stock returns. Likewise, results show that corporate social responsibility has positive impact on future profitability, potentially indicating that corporate social responsibility carries impact over a long period of time. However, positive relationship doesn’t exist between corporate social responsibility and future stock returns. Overall, the findings indicate that market compensates those firms that consciously engage with stakeholders.