Corporate social responsibility and firm financial performance: the moderating effects of size and industry sensitivity

This paper investigates the influence of corporate social responsibility on firm performance by integrating simultaneously the moderating effects of the firm size and its industry profile. To conduct our study, we use annual environmental, social and governance (ESG) data on 407 European firms listed in STOXX Europe 600 Index during the period 2002-2018. Results reveal that the moderating effect of size is positive for environmentally sensitive industries and negative for environmentally non-sensitive industries. We conclude that in environmentally non-sensitive industries, large firms engage in symbolic CSR practices, while smaller ones implement substantive CSR actions. However, in environmentally sensitive industries, in order to meet stakeholders' requirements, large firms engage in effective CSR initiatives, while smaller ones, being forced to involve in costly CSR practices, would be harmed and lose all interest in CSR implementation. This study has implications for policymakers, investors and corporate managers in various industries for evaluating and controlling the effectiveness of CSR practices and initiatives.