Examining the Relationship between Corporate Social Performance and Corporate Financial Performance in the Chinese Mining Industry

Jin, Yiquan (2019) Examining the Relationship between Corporate Social Performance and Corporate Financial Performance in the Chinese Mining Industry. [Dissertation (University of Nottingham only)]

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Abstract

With rising awareness of the need for economic and environmental sustainability, corporate social responsibility (CSR) has attracted increasing attention of all sectors of society (Romani, Grappi and Bagozzi, 2013; Barnea and Rubin, 2010; Habaragoda, 2018). However, most companies only focus on profitability. They are not interested in social responsibility issues as these issues have no close relationship with corporate financial performance (CFP). It is important to investigate whether CSR is value-enhancing as achieving higher level of financial benefits is the main objective of businesses (Ma, 1993; Majeed, 2011). Therefore, the purpose of the dissertation is to explore whether corporate social performance (CSP) has an impact on CFP in the Chinese mining industry. As some researchers (e.g., Saeidi et al., 2015; Galbreath and Shum; 2012; Lai et al., 2010) suggest, CSP may not directly influence financial performance. This dissertation also examines whether reputation plays a mediating role of on the CSP-CFP relationship. Besides, China has a history of making state-owned enterprises (SOEs) shoulder social responsibilities as the government commits a lot of resources to these companies (Zhang et al., 2014). Because of the special role of SOEs in the development of CSR in China, this dissertation also tries to decide whether the SOEs have better CSP. To test the hypothesis, a sample consisted of 69 Chinese listed companies in the mining industry with a period from 2011 to 2016 was used.

The results suggest that firms with high-level CSP tend to have higher financial performance. The findings also suggest the CSP-CFP relationship is not mediated by reputation. This dissertation also finds that Chinese SOEs usually have better CSP than non-SOEs. The findings help to eliminate the misunderstandings of companies that invest in CSR is a waste of capital. The positive result between CSP and CFP may prompt companies to invest more in CSR activities. Companies’ increasing engagement in CSR activities will contribute to economic and environmental sustainability.

Item Type: Dissertation (University of Nottingham only)
Depositing User: Jin, Yiquan
Date Deposited: 30 Nov 2022 12:57
Last Modified: 30 Nov 2022 12:57
URI: https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/id/eprint/57552

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