The impact of ISO 26000 social responsibility standard adoption on firm financial performance

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between the ISO 26000 (global corporate social responsibility standard) adoption and financial performance. The current study aims to explore whether ISO 26000 social responsibility standard adoption has an impact on financial performance. Design/methodology/approach The study is based on a sample consisting of French companies listed on the CAC-All-Tradable index for the period 2010-2017. This study is motivated by using panel data estimated feasible generalized least squares method. Findings The results show that that good corporate governance can improve the financial performance. This positive impact is also noticed in the case of labor relations and conditions, environment and community involvement. However, it does not apply to human rights, fair operating practices and consumer issues, as there is no significant relationship between these dimensions and the financial performance. Practical implications The findings may be of interest to the academic researchers, investors and regulators. For academic researchers, it is interested in discovering how the adoption of ISO 26000 can improve financial performance. For investors, the results show that it is appropriate for different countries to adopt the ISO 26000 guidelines and introduce societal practices in their activities. Originality/value This paper extends the existing literature by examining the effect of the ISO 26000 standard for financial performance in the French context. The study of corporate social responsibility through its seven societal dimensions has enabled us to understand the guidelines relating to the ISO 26000 standard.

The impact of ownership structure on corporate social responsibility: the moderating role of financial performance

“…It is noticeable that there is a high divergence in CSR levels across the firms in our sample as the minimum is 7.251 and the maximum 92.66, notably close to the study of Salhi et al (2019) who found that CSR activities in French firms spans from a minimum of 6.852 to a maximum of 90.332. Over the period 2007–2018, the average FP variable is 1.65 considerably lower than the mean value reported by Chakroun et al (2019), 5.628. This difference can be explained by the fact of the difference in the period of study 2010–2017.…”

“…These factors are firm size and firm leverage. Firm size is measured by taking the natural log of total assets; one of the most frequently used measures for firm size (Salhi et al , 2019; Kachouri et al , 2020; Chakroun et al , 2019). As larger firms possess more resources, they are thus more likely to invest in CSR (Acabado et al , 2020; Godos-Díez et al , 2020).…”

Does financial performance moderate the relationship between board attributes and corporate social responsibility in French firms?

“…Based on the literature, we included two control variables that are expected to influence CSR, namely, firm size and leverage (D'Amato and Falivena, 2020; Ongsakul et al, 2019;Dwekat et al, 2020;Mouakhar et al, 2020). Firm size was measured by taking the natural log of total assets, one of the most frequently used measures for firm size (Salhi et al, 2019;Kachouri et al, 2020;Chakroun et al, 2019) as larger firms possess more resources and are thus more likely to invest in CSR (Acabado et al, 2020;Godos-Díez et al, 2020). Also, they are likely to issue more voluntary disclosures because they receive more attention from the public and thus are under higher pressure to disclose more information about CSR activities to legitimize their activities (Gavana et al, 2017;El-Bassiouny and Letmathe, 2018;Orazalin, 2019).…”

Does CSR Affect the Profitability and Valuation of Energy Companies? An Example from Poland

“…The reasons for the success of CSR activities in the form of improved profitability and increased value on the market are most often indicated in the improvement of the image, competitive position, and positive response from customers and stock market investors [77][78][79][80]. Publications emphasize that in order to achieve such an effect, CSR activities should be properly directed and constitute a relatively coherent system, and the environment should be informed about CSR activities [81][82][83].…”