Business Strategy, Corporate Social Responsibility, and Future Financial Performance: Evidence from Data Envelopment Analysis

نوع مقاله : مقاله پژوهشی

نویسندگان

1 1Assistant Professor, Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, Shahrood University of Technology, Shahrood, Iran

2 Assistant Professor, Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, Shahrood University of Technology, Shahrood, Iran

3 Assistant Professor, Department of Management and Economics, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Golestan University, Gorgan, Iran

10.22077/jgdms.2025.9954.1342

چکیده

This study examines how corporate social responsibility (CSR), when combined with different business strategies, influences firms’ future financial performance. While CSR is widely acknowledged for promoting societal well‑being and aligning corporate activities with ethical and organizational values, firms simultaneously rely on strategic choices to achieve sustainable economic outcomes. Using financial data from 140 firms listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange over the period 2008–2024, the study employs a panel-data multivariate regression model to analyze these relationships. In addition, data envelopment analysis (DEA) is used to evaluate the effectiveness of firms’ CSR practices, providing an integrated assessment of the interaction between CSR and strategic orientation. The empirical results indicate that firms adopting a prospector strategy and simultaneously implementing strong CSR initiatives achieve a statistically significant improvement in future financial performance. In contrast, for firms pursuing a defender strategy, CSR engagement does not exhibit a meaningful effect on subsequent financial outcomes. These findings suggest that CSR, when implemented in isolation, is insufficient to enhance long-term financial performance. However, when CSR is strategically integrated with a proactive and opportunity‑seeking prospector strategy, it generates tangible financial benefits. Unlike much of the existing literature, which typically examines the relationship between CSR and financial performance in isolation, this study adopts a combined CSR–strategy perspective. By comparing this integrated framework with the conventional standalone evaluation of CSR, the findings demonstrate that the financial value of CSR is highly contingent upon a firm’s strategic orientation. Meaningful improvements in future financial performance emerge only when CSR is aligned with a prospector strategy. This integrated approach offers a more nuanced understanding of how CSR contributes to long‑term value creation and provides investors with a clearer and more reliable basis for evaluating firms’ future financial prospects.

کلیدواژه‌ها

موضوعات

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  • تاریخ دریافت: 03 شهریور 1404
  • تاریخ بازنگری: 02 دی 1404
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