Competition-Motivated Sustainability: When Corporate Social Responsibility Increases Marketing’s Effect on Firm Performance

This study sheds new light on the performance implications of corporate social responsibility by investigating its interactive effect with marketing capabilities and competitive intensity on firm performance. We argue that in environments where competitive intensity is high rather than low, marketing capabilities have a stronger positive relationship with firm performance when CSR is high rather than low. Based on survey data from Germany, the US, China, and Hong Kong and regression analyses with three-way interaction terms, we find support for our position. The results underscore the need to move beyond a focus on direct links in seeking to understand the mechanisms and conditions that influence how and when CSR affects firm success.