Corporate social responsibility and firm’s financial characteristics from an international perspective

Resumo

Considering different conceptual frameworks, the main objective of this doctoral thesis is to analyse the relationships between sustainability at the country level, corporate social responsibility (CSR), corporate social irresponsibility (CSI), and financial characteristics at the firm level from an international perspective. In particular, it seeks to meet the following specific objectives: 1. Build a sustainability indicator at the country level, using a methodology that is understandable and replicable, establishing the fundamental elements that should be incorporated into this indicator. 2. Apply the indicator described above in a study with an international perspective that relates it to macroeconomic variables. 3. Establish the impact of CSR on corporate financial performance, determining whether this impact lasts over time, from an international perspective. 4. Determine if the correlation between CSR and corporate financial performance is influenced by national-level sustainability and its foundational elements. 5. Analyse, internationally, whether financial constraints lead to CSI, in addition to establishing whether the impact of financial restrictions on CSI is maintained over time. 6. Establish whether the relationship between financial constraints and CSI is moderated by country-level sustainability and its pillars. Objectives 1 and 2 are developed in Chapter 1. This chapter discusses the lack of consensus in measuring sustainability at the country level. Using Principal Component Analysis, an indicator composed of 14 variables grouped into the dimensions of environmental, social and governance performance is proposed. The World Bank's database on development and governance indicators is used for 47 countries for the period between 2005 and 2018. Then, using the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM), the relationship between sustainability at the country level and trade openness is established. It is concluded that the country's sustainability, as well as the environmental and social performance pillars, are negatively and statistically significant related to trade openness, while the governance pillar is positively related. Objectives 3 and 4 are developed in Chapter 2, in which the relationship between CSR and corporate financial performance is established, in addition to the moderating effect of country sustainability, and its pillars. Through the multilevel analysis, with two levels, and panel data analysis using a sample of 3,651 firms belonging to 47 countries, with data from the period 2005-2018, the study reveals a positive and significant relationship between CSR and financial performance, in addition to the negative moderation of the country's sustainability in this relationship. It also emphasizes how a country's sustainability performance directly impacts corporate financial performance regardless CSR. Finally, Chapter 3 addresses objectives 5 and 6, and explores the relationship between financial constraints and CSI, with the moderating effect of sustainability at the country level. This chapter uses a large international sample that covers 47 countries and 4,746 firms between 2005 and 2020. The findings demonstrate a positive and significant relationship between financial constraints and CSI, in addition to determining how this relationship varies depending on the country context and institutional factors. These thesis contributes significantly to the literature and confirms most of the hypotheses established in each of its chapters, also aligning itself with the theories.