Corporate performance patterns of Canadian listed firms: Balancing financial and corporate social responsibility outcomes |
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Authors: | Camélia Radu Nadia Smaili |
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Affiliation: | ESG UQAM (School of Management), Université du Québec à Montréal, Montréal, Canada |
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Abstract: | Based on stakeholder theory and considering the conflicting performance interests of a wide range of stakeholders, this research investigates corporate performance patterns using a cluster analysis of financial, social, and environmental performance dimensions. An analysis of a Canadian sample of 771 company-year observations for the period 2014–2018 reveals three types of corporate performance: financially focused performance, balanced performance, and corporate social responsibility (CSR)-focused performance. Firms in the largest cluster, financially focused performance, deliver poor sustainable performance and prioritize financial performance over social and environmental performance. The CSR-focused performance cluster scores low for financial performance and high for environmental and social performance. The balanced-performance cluster also has higher levels of sustainable performance but is the smallest cluster, accounting for a quarter of the sample. Overall, this study presents a portrait of corporate performance balancing financial and CSR objectives and the evolution of this activity over the research period. |
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Keywords: | corporate performance corporate social responsibility environmental performance financial performance social performance sustainability |
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