The relationship between capital structure and firm performance of French firms: Under the moderating role of corporate social responsibility (CSR)

This article studies the moderating effect of the social responsibility relationship between the capital structure and the financial of listed French companies. To achieve this objective, we performed a regression on panel data relating to 57 listed companies over the period 2010-2020. First, the results of this study suggest that the debt ratio has a significantly negative effect on the financial performance of firms. Second, our sample confirmed a significantly positive relationship between corporate social responsibility and corporate financial performance. Third, the results reveal that social responsibility can moderate the relationship between corporate debt and financial performance.