The financial and commercial impact of responsible and sustainable business practice

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) refers to business contribution to sustainable development (Mulyadi and Anwar 2012). There is a comprehensive literature exploring the relationship between CSR and Corporate Financial Performance (CFP). Since social responsibility was first discussed in the 1920s, a plethora of papers have been written on the topic. A number of reviews have been published focusing on the relationship between CSR and CFP. Margolis and Walsh (2001) reported mixed results. A review by Lu et al (2014) proved inconclusive. Baron, Harjoto and Jo (2009) report mixed results. For consumer industries greater Corporate Social Performance (CSP) is associated with better CFP, and the opposite is true for industrial industries.