Corporate social responsibility disclosure and financial performance : empirical evidence from Vietnam

Tran, Nguyen T. (author), Le, Nhung T. (author), Nguyen, Tung D. (author)

This study examines the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure and firm performance, with particular attention to CSR’s role as a mitigating mechanism during periods of economic crisis, notably the COVID-19 pandemic. Utilizing a unique hand-collected dataset comprising CSR disclosures from Vietnamese publicly listed firms in the VNR500 index between 2014 and 2021, the analysis employs both accounting-based (return on equity) and market-based (Tobin’s Q) performance indicators. The empirical findings indicate a positive association between CSR disclosure and firm performance across both measures. Disaggregated analysis reveals that governance-related disclosures significantly enhance market valuation, whereas the presence of a well-articulated CSR vision and strategic orientation correlates positively with accounting profitability. These results suggest that robust governance frameworks, environmental stewardship, and socially responsible product strategies contribute to superior firm outcomes. Moreover, the study provides empirical support for the conceptualization of CSR as an insurance like mechanism that mitigates the adverse effects of external shocks—such as the COVID-19 pandemic—by preserving firm value and protecting shareholder interests.

• Language: English
• Keywords: enterprises, social responsibility, pandemic, business efficiency, CSR disclosure, financial performance, COVID-19, Vietnam
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: EF - School of Economics and Business
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2025
• Number of pages: Str. 141-159
• Numbering: Vol. 27, iss. 3, article no. 2
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-173288
• UDC: 330.3
• ISSN on article: 2335-4216
• DOI: 10.15458/2335-4216.1357
• COBISS.SI-ID: 248426755
• Publication date in RUL: 15.09.2025

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Economic and business review
• Publisher: Ekonomska fakulteta
• ISSN: 2335-4216
• COBISS.SI-ID: 268649216

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: Vietnam, podjetje, družbena odgovornost, pandemija, uspešnost poslovanja

Projects

• Funder: Other - Other funder or multiple funders
• Project number: DTDLCN 38/22
• Name: Using a computational general equilibrium model to assess the impact of drought and saltwater intrusion on economic development in the Mekong Delta region