The effect of CSR on corporate social performance: Mediating role of corporate image, green innovation and moderating role of corporate identity

Abstract Although some previous studies have demonstrated the positive influence of CSR on corporate performance, astonishingly few studies on CSR practices and their impacts on corporate social performance have been conducted. With growing concerns about companies' social and environmental impacts, our study emphasizes the effect of CSR on corporate social performance to strengthen the existing knowledge of concepts. This study also examines contingent factors that affect the relationship between CSR and corporate social performance. We investigate the mediation role of corporate image and green innovation that may affect the social performance of CSR practices. This differs from previous research that studied the direct relationship between CSR and corporate performance. We selected 650 participants from companies in Ghana and a structural equation model (SEM) by a bootstrap technique in Amos 23.0 was performed. We demonstrate that CSR activities relate to corporate social performance through corporate image and green innovation. Additionally, our results establish that corporate identity moderates the relationships between corporate image and social performance, green innovation and corporate social performance. The study makes conceptual and practical contributions to the existing understanding of CSR developments and their generalizability.