Buffering or Backfiring? A Meta-Analysis of the Effects of Corporate Social (Ir)responsibility on Firm Risk

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) and irresponsibility (CSIR) impact firm risk in complex, dynamic ways, rather than as mere opposites. In a meta-analysis of 197 empirical studies, we find asymmetric patterns in which CSIR’s risk-generation effects outweigh CSR’s risk-mitigation effects. These impacts vary across dimensions of social outcomes, risk types, and contextual moderators. Moreover, CSR’s risk-mitigation effects are influenced by indirect paths related to CSIR, whereas CSIR’s risk-generation effects are not associated with indirect paths. Our findings highlight the nuanced interplay among CSR, CSIR, and risk, offering new insights for future research on theoretical mechanisms, contexts, measurements, and methods.