Corporate social responsibility and financial performance: a cross-industry study in Vietnam

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and financial performance across different industries in Vietnam during the 2016–2024 period. Using panel data regression with robust standard errors, this study analyzes 2,126 firm-year observations from six industry sectors. CSR performance is measured using composite scores, while financial performance is assessed through both ROA and Tobin's Q. Results indicate that CSR has a significant positive effect on ROA across the full sample. However, the CSR-financial performance relationship varies substantially across industries. The industrial and materials sectors demonstrate the strongest positive associations, while the energy sector exhibits a significant negative effect. The technology and services sector shows no significant relationship. Robustness tests using Tobin's Q confirm these findings. Firms should tailor CSR strategies to industry-specific characteristics and stakeholder expectations rather than adopting uniform approaches. Resource-constrained firms, particularly in consumer-oriented sectors, should prioritize CSR initiatives based on their market value creation potential. This study contributes to CSR literature by providing empirical evidence of heterogeneous industry-level CSR effects in Vietnam's emerging market context, addressing the gap in understanding how institutional and market characteristics moderate the CSR-performance relationship.