The Effects of Corporate Social Responsibility Practices and Environmental Factors through a Moderating Role of Social Media Marketing on Sustainable Performance of Business Firms

TLDR

The study focuses on firms in Multan Division, Pakistan, which limits the generalizability of its findings to other Pakistani business firms. The study investigates how corporate social responsibility and environmental factors influence sustainable performance, and how social media marketing moderates this relationship among firms in Multan Division, Pakistan. The authors used simple random sampling to survey 752 respondents, analyzed 548 valid responses with SPSS V25 and Smart PLS V‑3.2.8. Results show that corporate social responsibility positively affects sustainable performance, and social media marketing tools strengthen this relationship, suggesting further research with larger samples and additional variables.

Abstract

This precise study performed a focalized investigation to examine the association of environmental effects, new product development performance, superior customers’ value, and corporate social responsibility (CSR) on sustainable performance. This research study aimed to investigate how social media marketing application moderates the association between corporate social responsibility and sustainable performance of the firms located in Multan Division, Pakistan. This study applied a simple random sampling approach to execute this research, and the authors sent a questionnaire with an invitation letter and informed consent form to 752 respondents. Based on 548 valid responses from the targeted population, the first step was to screen and analyze data through Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS-V25) and the Smart PLS V-3.2.8. The results indicated that corporate social responsibility presented a positive impact on firms’ sustainable performance. The findings also revealed that social media marketing tools moderated the relationship between CSR and sustainable production of business firms. As a final point, the study only included respondents from Multan Division, therefore, limiting the generalizability of the findings to other Pakistani business firms. The implications of this study may provide further directions for researchers and academicians to consider the larger sample size and the addition of new variables in other regions worldwide. The findings are useful for filling the gap between the relationship of environmental effects, CSR, and social media marketing application to calculate the sustainable performance of business firms.