The effect of corporate social responsibility hybridity on firm performance: moderating role of aspirational talk

PurposeThis study explores a novel conception of corporate social responsibility (CSR) hybridity and investigates its effect on returns following CSR announcements and the moderating role of aspirational CSR talk.Design/methodology/approachBased on an event study of 136 Chinese companies' CSR announcements, this study empirically insights into an overall tension between the short-term firm performance (FP) loss and medium-term FP success of CSR hybridity.FindingsFirst, CSR hybridity has a negative impact on short-term FP. Second, although there is positive effect on medium-term FP, this influence is not permanent. Third, aspirational CSR talk has a moderating role on the positive relationship between CSR hybridity and FP. These results point to the unique features of hybridity that require time to diffuse the impacts.Originality/valueFirst, by adopting new concept of CSR hybridity, this study contributes to the literature by considering better solutions to integrate strategic CSR. Second, by investigating the complexity of the CSR hybridity-FP dialogue, the results provide insights into the questions of why and when organizations could be incentivized to adopt hybrid CSR approaches. Third, this study contributes to the CSR-FP and stakeholder literature by demonstrating that aspirational talk is key in CSR's medium-term success. The implication of this is a growing pressure on companies' CSR communications with investors through managerial talk that depicts organizational ambitions for CSR engagement.