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Sustainable Development and Corporate Performance: A Study Based on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index

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Abstract

The goal of this paper is to examine whether business performance is affected by the adoption of practices included under the term Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). To achieve this goal, we analyse the relation between CSR and certain accounting indicators and examine whether there exist significant differences in performance indicators between European firms that have adopted CSR and others that have not. The effects of compliance with the requirements of CSR were determined on the basis of firms included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI), and specific accounting indicators were applied to measure performance. For the purposes of this study, we selected one group of firms belonging to the DJSI and another comprised of firms quoted on the Dow Jones Global Index (DJGI) but not on the DJSI. The sample was made up of two groups of 55 firms, studied for the period 1998–2004. Empirical analysis supports the conclusion that differences in performance exist between firms that belong to the DJSI and to the DJGI and that these differences are related to CSR practices. We find that a short-term negative impact on performance is produced.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Financial Economy and Accounting, University of Granada, Campus de la Cartuja s/n., Granada, 18071, Spain

    M. Victoria López, Arminda Garcia & Lazaro Rodriguez

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  1. M. Victoria López
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  2. Arminda Garcia
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  3. Lazaro Rodriguez
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Correspondence to M. Victoria López.

Additional information

López Pérez, M. Victoria received PhD in Economics and Business and working as Assistant Professor, University of Granada (Spain). Victoria has recently published in Corporate Ownership & Control, Gestión. Revista de economía, and Revista Española de Financiación y Contabilidad. Victoria’s research interests are Corporate Social Responsibility, Corporate Governance and Innovation. García Santana, Arminda is a Lecturer, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (Spain). Arminda has recently published in Corporate Ownership & Control, Gestión. Revista de economía, and Workshop on International Strategy and Cross Cultural Management (EIASM), Vienna (Austria). Arminda’s research interests are Corporate Social Responsibility, Corporate Governance and Diversification. Rodríguez Ariza, Lázaro received PhD in Economics and Business. Lázaro is a Chair Professor and Chairman of the Business School of Andalusia Foundation, Granada (Spain). Lázaro has recently published in Corporate Ownership & Control, Lectures Notes in Artificial Inteligence, Gestión. Revista de economía and Revista de Contabilidad. Lázaro’s research interests are Corporate Social Responsibility, Entrepreneurship and Innovation.

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López, M.V., Garcia, A. & Rodriguez, L. Sustainable Development and Corporate Performance: A Study Based on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index. J Bus Ethics 75, 285–300 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-006-9253-8

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