Does it pay to reveal good deeds? Evidence from India

This paper empirically investigates the relation between corporate social responsibility disclosure (CSRD) and financial performance (FP) of firms in India. There are a few studies that have explored the linkage of CSRD and FP in context of India. The empirical analysis is conducted on a longitudinal dataset comprising of CNX Nifty 100 firms for three years (2012-2014). Multiple regression analysis has been employed to analyse the relation between CSRD and FP variables. The overall empirical results of the study suggest that the companies that disclose spending on CSR to stakeholders do not make significantly more profit than the firms that do not make this disclosure. This type of research can help regulatory bodies, practitioners and stakeholders in understanding the state of transparency in CSR reporting and its impact on the profitability of firms in India.