World Conference on Technology, Innovation and Entrepreneurship CSR Practice and Sustainable Business Performance: Evidence from the Global Financial Centre of China

Abstract

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China (Hong Kong) has long been positioned not only as an international capital market but also as the global financial centre for China. To position themselves for overseas expansions, major enterprises in China are now listed with the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong and adopt internationally accepted corporate practices. In particular, there have been emphases by multinationals on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) practices for the potential benefits of enhanced business performance as demonstrated in prior studies. The aim of this paper is to explore the relationship between business performance and CSR practices among listed companies in Hong Kong. We have investigated and made comparisons between two groups of listed companies in Hong Kong -- those included in the Hang Seng Corporate Sustainability index and the other major ones in Hong Kong not included in the Index. It is found that there is a significant difference between the two groups in the sample. A direct association between adoption of CSR practice and sustainable business performance in financial aspects is observed over an extended period of time. However, we argue that there is not yet sufficient disclosure in relation to the quality of their overall CSR and sustainability performance.