The Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility Dimensions on Firm Performance: A Perspective of Government-Linked Companies in Malaysia*

Past studies on the influence of corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities on firms have been inconsistent, highlighting the significance of examining how CSR affects the performance of Malaysian government-linked companies (GLCs). The study aims to investigate the impact of CSR dimensions (economic, legal, ethical, and philanthropic) on firm performance from 2016 to 2020 using a sample of 31 GLCs from the top 100 companies under the Main Board of Bursa Malaysia. A total of 35 GLCs were selected as the study sample size based on the top 100 businesses listed under the board of Bursa Malaysia as of 31 December 2020. The study employed correlation and multiple linear regression models to examine the relationship between CSR dimensions and firm performance. Financial performance is evaluated using accounting-based models of return on assets (ROA) and return on equity (ROE) and market-based models of earnings per share (EPS) and market value (MV). The CSRHub database was employed to collect information on the performance of company CSR dimensions. The findings suggested a significant positive relationship between ethical and philanthropic CSR and firm performance regarding ROE. Thus, GLCs prioritized ethical and philanthropic CSR over other dimensions.