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Cited by 345Corporate Social Responsibility ReportingCorporate Identity and ReputationEnvironmental Sustainability in Business

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 162 of the 166 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

The Robustness of the Corporate Social and Financial Performance Relation: A Second‐Order Meta‐Analysis

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Busch, Timo, Friede, Gunnar·2018·Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management
DOI 10.1002/csr.1480
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Abstract

For many decades, there has been a debate about the relation between corporate social/environmental performance (CSP) and corporate financial performance (CFP). Our study presents a review of academic research on this topic by applying a second‐order meta‐analysis. The data sample combines 25 previous meta‐analyses yielding a sample size of one million observations. Our results demonstrate a highly significant, positive, robust, and bilateral CSP‐CFP relation. The relation is positive regardless of whether firms focus on ecological or social aspects, though corporate reputation turns out to be a key CSP determinant. We find a particularly strong CSP‐CFP relation for operational CFP. Furthermore, we add a new perspective on potential biases resulting from the studies’ publishing source: social issues‐oriented journals and methodological weaker papers do not distort the positive CSP‐CFP relation. Our conclusion is: Based on the extant literature, the business case for being a good firm is undeniable. © 2018 The Authors. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management published by ERP Environment and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

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Research works printed but not linked: 13

  1. Aldag RJ, 1978, Research in Corporate Social Performance and Policy (Vol. 1), 165
  2. 10.2307/257302 · DOI
  3. 10.1111/j.1468-036X.2012.00643.x · DOI
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  5. Donaldson T, 1995, Theory the Stakeholder of the Concepts, Evidence, Corporation: and Implications, Management, 20, 65
  6. Friedman M, 1962, Capitalism and Freedom, 40th Anniv
  7. 10.3102/10769986006002107 · DOI · Paper page
  8. Levitt T, 1958, The dangers of social responsibility, Harvard Business Review, 36, 41
  9. 10.2307/256342 · DOI
  10. 10.2307/259398 · DOI · Paper page
  11. Sutton AJ, 2009, The Handbook of Research Synthesis and Meta‐Analysis, 435
  12. 10.2307/258135 · DOI
  13. 10.5465/amr.1986.4283976 · DOI · Paper page

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Metadata

Authors
Busch, T., & Friede, G.
Affiliations
Universität Hamburg (DE)
Corresponding author
Busch, Timo
ORCID
Venue
Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2018-03-30
Volume
25
Issue
4
Pages
583-608
ISSN
  • 1535-3958 (ISSN-L)
  • 1535-3966
DOI
10.1002/csr.1480
OpenAlex
W2795278713
Cited by
345
References
166
Citations by year
2026: 40 · 2025: 42 · 2024: 56 · 2023: 54 · 2022: 55 · 2021: 49 · 2020: 21 · 2019: 23 · 2018: 4
FWCI
40.52
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management (publishedVersion, cc-by)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Strategy and Management › Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Strategy and Management › Corporate Identity and Reputation
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Marketing › Environmental Sustainability in Business
Keywords
corporate social performance, corporate financial performance, corporate reputation, ecological performance, social performance, operational performance, publication bias

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