Reporting as a booster of the corporate social performance effect on corporate reputation

Abstract

Corporate social performance (CSP) is one of the main drivers of corporate reputation. The main aim of this study is to analyze the moderating effect of corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting quality on the relation of CSP and corporate reputation through two effects. First, it may enhance the firm's credibility because CSR reporting favors CSP consistency by reducing managers' CSR discretion and easing CSP comparability along the time. Second, it may increase the visibility of CSR actions beyond direct stakeholders involved in them. Analyzing an international sample of 132 companies from nine countries for the period 2011–2016, we show that all of the CSP dimensions (social, environmental, and economic) positively affect corporate reputation. We also find that good CSR reporting quality increases the intensity of the environmental and social performance effects on corporate reputation. Results provide a new perspective of the role CSR reporting quality that managers have to deal to get better impacts of CSP on corporate reputation.