Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability: From a Corporate Governance Perspective

Abstract

Sustainable corporate development has become essential for many enterprises in the context of economic globalization and fierce technological competition. In fact, it is being tackled at a strategic level by most companies. The fulfillment of corporate social responsibility (CSR) is significant in building a corporate image, improving brand competitiveness, and promoting sustainable corporate development. Simultaneously, the level of corporate governance is a crucial factor in an enterprise’s long-term development. Therefore, this study clarifies whether CSR has a positive impact on the sustainable development of enterprises through empirical analysis; it also analyzes the effects of internal governance factors on the relationship between the two, from the perspective of corporate governance. A fixed-effects regression analysis was conducted on a sample of Chinese A-share listed companies from 2015 to 2019. According to the results, active CSR can promote sustainable development. Furthermore, corporate governance factors such as internal control, management capabilities, and accounting information quality have a moderating role in the CSR process on sustainable corporate development. This study provides a theoretical basis for future research on CSR and sustainable development, and its findings can inspire governments and enterprises from the perspective of corporate governance.