ABSTRACT

Socially responsible business, with a purpose beyond making profit, can have a positive social, economic and environmental impact by helping to improve working and surrounding conditions. This study was aimed at examining the impact of corporate social responsibility on the performance of quoted organizations in Nigeria. The specific objectives are to ascertain the effect of Donations and Sponsorships on the Return on Asset of quoted organizations in Nigeria, to evaluate the effect of Donations and Sponsorships on the Return on Equity of quoted organizations in Nigeria as well as to determine the effect of Donations and Sponsorships on the Earnings per share of quoted organizations in Nigeria. From the listed nine (9) sectors, the study used fifteen (15) out of the 157 listed firms on the Nigerian stock exchange. Data collected on corporate social responsibility (measured using Donations and Sponsorship) as well as on financial performance (measured using return on asset, return on equity and earnings per share) were analysed using descriptive statistics, correlation analysis and simple linear regression analysis. The result of the analysis reveal that while Corporate social responsibility (Donations and Sponsorship) has a significant impact on return on asset (ROA) as well as on return on equity (ROE) of quoted organizations in Nigeria, it has no significant impact on earnings per share (EPS) of quoted organizations in Nigeria. The study recommends that Nigerian listed organizations should step up their CSR programs and disclosures most especially employee, environment, community and consumer responsibilities in order to enhance their financial performance. Also, there is need for the Federal Government of Nigeria to regulate corporate social and environmental reporting through the relevant regulatory agencies (such as FRCN) since CSR is beneficial to the government, the listed companies and stakeholders. Government benefits by getting more corporate tax from increased profitability resulting from disclosure of CSR.