The relationship of corporate social responsibility activities and financial performance: An application in BIST-XUSDR

The aim of the study is to reveal the relationship between the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) statements in the activity reports and the financial performance. In accordance with this purpose, statement of CRS of companies were analyzed by content analisys method by using activity reports of 33 companies which took part in Istanbul Stock Market Sustainability Index 5 years in a row between 2015-2019. In order to explain the relationship between CSR activities and financial performance, the financial performance of the companies were considered as the dependent variable and their CSR explanations as the independent variable. The ratio of earnings per share in the measurement of financial performance determined is used as the dependent variable. A regression analysis was performed using the 15th SPSS Program in order to determine the relationship between the results of the content analysis on the annual reports and the earnings per share, which is accepted as a financial performance indicator. As a result of the regression analysis, a meaningful and positive relationship was established between CSR activities and financial performance. In conclusion, it has been determined that as the CSR activities of the enterprises increase, the profitability ratios increase.