1.0 Introduction
1.1 Background Of The Study
One of the roles of accounting is to produce information on business performance (Gaspareto, 2004). This performance may be measured from the perspective of monetary values, normally using financial-accounting information, and/or from the perspective of non-monetary information (Hendriksen & Van Breda, 1999). The measurement of performance by non-monetary indicators is more recent and has increased in acceptance, particularly as a function of the contemporary concern regarding the social action of organizations (Oliveira, De Luca, Ponte, & Pontes Junior, 2009). The theme of the present study fits within this context of accounting, focusing on Corporate Financial Performance (CFP) and Corporate Social Performance (CSP).
There is a perception that studies related to stakeholder theory, more specifically with regard to theoretical-empirical studies on the relationships of CFP and CSP, have increased in recent decades. However, this process of theoretical development through empirical contributions is normally performed in a precise manner, with each study pointing to a specific problem in theory or presenting a possible explanation of a theoretical gap. Periodically, therefore, it is convenient to develop studies that seek to analyze, in an aggregate manner, the evolution of a research field. In this regard, the objective of the present study was to investigate the evolution of the conceptual and methodological aspects of these theoretical-empirical studies, with the goal of presenting a consolidation of the advances that have been gained.
In particular, the present study focuses on the aspects of the relationship between CFP and CSP. For example, several studies have investigated which independent variables among those that typically serve as a proxy for CSP (customers, employees, suppliers, government, environment, diversity, and community) are neutral, positively, or negatively correlated with the variable CFP. However, once again, what is the synthesis of these results? Furthermore, several studies have specifically investigated which control variables could be employed in this relationship, e.g., stakeholder management (Berman, Wicks, Kotha, & Jones, 1999), company size (Orlitzky, 2001), industry (Waddock & Graves, 1997), and board composition (Shao, 2010). What is the set of control variables that have been tested and are potentially appropriate for this relationship?
Some questions were designed to guide this research. In theoretical field, these questions were used to facilitate the responses to the following questions: Do the empirical results reinforce stakeholder theory? What potential inconsistency does stakeholder theory display compared to the observed empirical results? What advances in stakeholder theory may be supported by empirical evidence?
In the area of empirical research, this study seeks to answer to the following questions: What are the most used variables to measure Financial Performance and Social Performance? How is the causal relationship between the two variables treated? What control variables are considered in this relationship? What are the most used statistical techniques? What are the sources and form of data collection employed? Has there been, in fact, an evolution in the volume of these publications?
Notably, there is a series of theoretical and methodological gaps to be researched. From theoretical perspective, the main gaps are related to the variables that influence the CSP/CFP relationship and their causal and temporal relationship. From the methodological point of view, the main gaps are related to the most accepted forms of measuring CSP and CFP and to the main test methods employed.
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