Corporate social responsibility and innovation: a comparative study

The purpose of this study was to examine how firms' corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategies affect their innovation performance via two mediating variables, employee involvement and supplier collaboration, and compare how this mechanism works in the service and manufacturing industries. By analyzing and validating the direct and indirect effects of CSR on innovation performance in both the service and manufacturing industries, this study addressed the strategic benefit of CSR and extended research focused on the financial benefits of CSR. Therefore, its findings contribute to our understanding of sustainability and innovation issues. From a theoretical perspective, this study extended the RBV, SDL and stakeholder theory to the context of the CSR-innovation relationship, and showed that firms could align CSR and innovation initiatives to achieve strategic synergy. It also revealed the similarities and differences between service and manufacturing firms regarding the mechanism through which CSR affects innovation.