Corporate social responsibility as sustainability management: international shipping firms and financial performance

Sustainability shipping management is analysed via the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities and financial performance. Panel data analysis with mixed-effect models is applied for the study period from 2008 to 2016. Container shipping shows significant positive influences of environmental and social activities on asset utilisation efficiency and improvements of current financial performance compared with only environmental activities. Moreover, dry bulk and tanker firms show significant positive influences from social activities on improving the expected financial performance. East Asia-Pacific shipping firms show significant influence from environmental activities on improving financial performance, while their counterparts derive from environment and social activities to improve asset utilisation efficiency and current financial performance. Despite the insignificant influence from CSR activities on expected financial performance, social activities exert significant negative influence on American, European, and South African shipping firms. Investors evaluate asset utilisation efficiency and current financial values via returns on assets and returns on equity in CSR engagement for shipping firms.