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Corporate Social Responsibility & Profitability in South Africa

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has been widely studied for numerous decades. In particular, researchers have been keenly interested in its relationship to firm financial performance. However, only recently have measurable and standardised tools been established to quantify CSR, through the cr...

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Main Author: Ndlovu, Nkamogeleng
Other Authors: Alhassan, Abdul Latif
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: Graduate School of Business (GSB) 2024
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access_status_str Open Access
author Ndlovu, Nkamogeleng
author2 Alhassan, Abdul Latif
author_browse Alhassan, Abdul Latif
Ndlovu, Nkamogeleng
author_facet Alhassan, Abdul Latif
Ndlovu, Nkamogeleng
author_sort Ndlovu, Nkamogeleng
collection Thesis
description Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has been widely studied for numerous decades. In particular, researchers have been keenly interested in its relationship to firm financial performance. However, only recently have measurable and standardised tools been established to quantify CSR, through the creation of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) ratings methodologies and scorecards. Investors globally are using ESG integration to help inform investment decisions, thus CSR is no longer a nice-to-have, but a must-have for those companies that wish to participate in the global investment and capital markets space. South African companies are no exception. As South Africa is one of the largest economies in Africa, South African listed equities provide an avenue for international investment into the continent. As such, CSR and the measurement thereof is important for South African companies to not only attract, but to retain, global investments. This study examines the impact of CSR on profitability of listed firms on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE). The study analyses panel data from 2016 to 2019 using the multiple regression panel data model, applying fixed, random and GMM estimation approaches. From the analysis, the study finds a positive relationship between Return on Assets (ROA), Market-to-Book (MKTBK) and aggregate CSR. However, upon assessment of the individual CSR variables and their relationship with financial performance, results are either positive or negative, supporting the existing body of research, which, on balance, yields inconclusive results. In conclusion, it is recommended that the government creates an environment that is conducive for the achievement of CSR ambitions for firms. The adoption of CSR practices is beneficial for all stakeholders and it is incumbent upon the government to facilitate companies' endeavours. As the proliferation of ESG continues, South African companies will no longer have the luxury of choice with respect to adopting CSR policies.
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institution University of Cape Town (South Africa)
language eng
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:41:35.472Z
license_str Not specified — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
publishDate 2024
publishDateRange 2024
publishDateSort 2024
publisher Graduate School of Business (GSB)
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spelling oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/39756 Corporate Social Responsibility & Profitability in South Africa Ndlovu, Nkamogeleng Alhassan, Abdul Latif Development Finance Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has been widely studied for numerous decades. In particular, researchers have been keenly interested in its relationship to firm financial performance. However, only recently have measurable and standardised tools been established to quantify CSR, through the creation of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) ratings methodologies and scorecards. Investors globally are using ESG integration to help inform investment decisions, thus CSR is no longer a nice-to-have, but a must-have for those companies that wish to participate in the global investment and capital markets space. South African companies are no exception. As South Africa is one of the largest economies in Africa, South African listed equities provide an avenue for international investment into the continent. As such, CSR and the measurement thereof is important for South African companies to not only attract, but to retain, global investments. This study examines the impact of CSR on profitability of listed firms on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE). The study analyses panel data from 2016 to 2019 using the multiple regression panel data model, applying fixed, random and GMM estimation approaches. From the analysis, the study finds a positive relationship between Return on Assets (ROA), Market-to-Book (MKTBK) and aggregate CSR. However, upon assessment of the individual CSR variables and their relationship with financial performance, results are either positive or negative, supporting the existing body of research, which, on balance, yields inconclusive results. In conclusion, it is recommended that the government creates an environment that is conducive for the achievement of CSR ambitions for firms. The adoption of CSR practices is beneficial for all stakeholders and it is incumbent upon the government to facilitate companies' endeavours. As the proliferation of ESG continues, South African companies will no longer have the luxury of choice with respect to adopting CSR policies. 2024-05-30T09:41:02Z 2024-05-30T09:41:02Z 2023 2024-05-28T08:41:10Z Thesis / Dissertation Masters MBA http://hdl.handle.net/11427/39756 eng application/pdf Graduate School of Business (GSB) Faculty of Commerce
spellingShingle Development Finance
Ndlovu, Nkamogeleng
Corporate Social Responsibility & Profitability in South Africa
thesis_degree_str Master's
title Corporate Social Responsibility & Profitability in South Africa
title_full Corporate Social Responsibility & Profitability in South Africa
title_fullStr Corporate Social Responsibility & Profitability in South Africa
title_full_unstemmed Corporate Social Responsibility & Profitability in South Africa
title_short Corporate Social Responsibility & Profitability in South Africa
title_sort corporate social responsibility amp profitability in south africa
topic Development Finance
url http://hdl.handle.net/11427/39756
work_keys_str_mv AT ndlovunkamogeleng corporatesocialresponsibilityampprofitabilityinsouthafrica