Antecedents and consequences of corporate social responsibility: a meta-analysis

This study aims to consolidate finds about corporate social responsibility (CSR) by conducting a meta-analysis. CSR is a topic present in both academic and practitioner discussions. Research has been conducted in different countries and contexts, using diverse methodological approaches. Consequently, there are different views about CSR and conflicting results.

This paper conducted a meta-analysis to analyse the constructs that are antecedents and consequences of CSR. This paper has also tested the moderating effects of theoretical, methodological and economic variables. The data analysis involved 66 studies, which generated 385 observations and an accumulated sample of 19,817 respondents.

The findings indicate that environmental concerns, market orientation and stakeholder pressure are the most relevant CSR antecedents. On the other hand, CSR has the strongest effects on organisational commitment, non-financial performance and customer purchasing intention. Also, firm size and cultural orientation were partially significant moderators on the relationships between organisational commitment, CSR and financial performance.

The meta-analytical approach allows for more accurate effect size estimations for each relationship analysed, as the meta-analytic method jointly evaluates the results produced by a great variety of studies performed in different contexts, making it possible to draw more accurate conclusions.