Do Corporate Social Responsibility Categories Distinctly Influence Innovation? A Resource-Based Theory Perspective

Suyun Chen and Yu Ji
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Suyun Chen: School of Economics and Management, Henan Agricultural University, Agricultural Road No. 63, Zhengzhou 450046, China
Yu Ji: School of Economics and Management, Beihang University, 37 Xueyuan Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100191, China

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 6, 1-25

Abstract: Despite the existing vast literature on corporate social responsibility (CSR), there is a lack of research on the influences of CSR categories (i.e., employees; suppliers, customers, and consumers; environment; and social welfare). The objective of this paper is to investigate the influences of distinct CSR categories on firm innovation from a resource-based theory perspective. Based on a sample of Chinese A-share listed firms from 2010 to 2017, we find that employee-, supplier, customer, and consumer-, and environment-related CSR promotes innovation, while society welfare-related CSR reduces firm innovation. We also examine the distinct mechanisms of distinct CSR categories to influence innovation. Our findings mainly contribute to the literature on the association between CSR and innovation by considering the different influences of distinct CSR categories.

Keywords: corporate social responsibility; firm innovation; stakeholder engagement; direct resources (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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