Navigating industrial performance: Impact of corporate social responsibility on sustainable development with moderation of reverse supply chain management

Abstract Although several studies ensured the essentiality of corporate social responsibility (CSR) with respect to sustainable development (SD) from various domains, worldwide. Nonetheless, this study explores the nexus among CSR practices (i.e., social responsibility, environmental responsibility, employee responsibility, customer responsibility, supplier responsibility, and govt. rules & regulation responsibility) on SD (i.e., social development, economic development, and environmental development) from the mainstream of Chinese industrial sector drawing on stakeholder theory. Second, this study investigates the moderating influence of reverse supply chain management (RSCM) to sense how these forces may impact the association between CSR and SD. After evaluation and by implementing a structural approach, the results affirmed the positive linkages between CSR and SD along with each CSR's dimension toward sustainable development. Finally, the study confirmed a positive connection of RSCM as a moderator between CSR and SD. Besides, certain implications are listed for the management along with shortcomings and future directions for academic scholars to extend studies for additional validation across the globe.