CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND FIRM PERFORMANCE

ABSTRACT

The objective of the study was to examine the relationship between corporate social responsibility and firm performance.

The survey research design was employed in the study. The population of the study consisted of employees of various banks in Benin City, Edo State. The simple random sampling technique was employed to select the sample size for the study. The sample of 100 employees was selected from First Bank Plc, Access Bank, Zenith Bank, GT Bank and United Bank of Africa in Benin City, Edo state. The questionnaire was used to gather data for the study and the data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics.

According to the findings, the philanthropic dimension of corporate social responsibility has a beneficial influence on business performance. At a 5% confidence level, this influence was judged to be negligible. It was discovered that the ethical dimension of corporate social responsibility had a beneficial influence on business performance. At a 5% confidence level, this influence was judged to be substantial. Corporate social responsibility's economic dimension was discovered to have a detrimental impact on business performance. At a 5% confidence level, this influence was judged to be substantial. It was discovered that the legal dimension of corporate social responsibility had a detrimental influence on business performance. At a 5% confidence level, this influence was judged to be substantial. The study recommends that companies should uphold their ethical standards as this will help with their reputation in the environment and this will improve their performance. The economic and legal aspects of firms’ CSR activities need to be reviewed thoroughly with the company’s operations as this has the potential of negatively affecting their performance.