Abstract

This study sought to ascertain the link between Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) rating and the profitability of companies listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), following the release of the first ever country rating of Corporate Citizenship Index (3C-Index) in 2013. The study further sought to ascertain whether significant differences exist between the performances of companies that received high CSR ratings as compared to those that received low ratings. Secondary data were extracted from the 2013 to 2017 annual reports and accounts of companies that got different CSR ratings classified as high and low. The multiple regression and Mann-Whitney rank test (U-test) were used to test the propositions. The findings from the regression showed a positive but insignificant relationship between CSR rating and firm performance but a significantly positive relationship with the size of firms. The results of the U-tests were mixed, whereas the Return on Assets (ROA) of companies with high CSR ratings did not differ significantly from companies with low CSR ratings, the Return on Equity (ROE) of companies with high CSR ratings was significantly greater than that of companies with low CSR ratings. This finding suggests that CSR may be in its infancy among the study sample but is beginning to take roots as evident by the positive βs statistics and a significant difference in the ROE of the companies as captured by the non-parametric statistics. It is recommended that the period of the study be extended in the intermediate and long-run to determine if the relationship might become significant.

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