Family business influence, corporate social responsibility and sustainable performance in Lebanese retail family SMEs: a three-wave time-lagged study

Purpose This study aims to examine how multidimensional family business influence relates to sustainable performance and whether corporate social responsibility (CSR) translates family governance capacity and motives into stakeholder-facing routines in Lebanese retail family SMEs. Design/methodology/approach A three-wave survey measured family business influence and controls at Time 1, CSR at Time 2 and sustainable performance at Time 3, using three-month lags. The stratified sample comprised 317 matched firms. PLS-SEM with a disjoint two-stage approach tested the higher-order composites. Estimates are interpreted as time-ordered, non-causal associations. Findings Family business influence was positively associated with CSR and sustainable performance, and CSR was positively associated with sustainable performance. Significant indirect and direct associations indicate complementary mediation. Attrition, common-method, construct-distinctiveness and timing-sensitivity checks supported stability, while omitted-variable and reverse-causality concerns remain. Practical implications Family owners should translate long-term intentions into repeatable stakeholder routines. A two-tier dashboard, quarterly stakeholder-governance reviews and stakeholder-based succession criteria can make the conversion visible and accountable. Originality/value The study offers a context-bounded process explanation that distinguishes family influence as governance capacity and motivation, CSR as enacted stakeholder translation and sustainable performance as realised outcomes. It identifies owner-family visibility, relational stakeholder dependence and institutional uncertainty as conditions that make the mechanism salient in West Asian and comparable Asian retail settings.