CSR And Bank Performance: Does Institutional Ownership Matter in the Context of an Emerging Market?

ABSTRACT The question of whether institutional ownership (IO) strengthens the effect of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on financial performance (FP) remains underexplored in literature. This study examines the moderating role of IO in the CSR–FP relationship within an emerging market context, drawing on the stakeholder, agency, and stewardship theories. Using 2010 to 2022 panel data from 21 universal banks in Ghana, the GMM model was utilised and the results show that CSR generates differentiated significant positive effects across different FP measures. However, IO does not moderate the CSR–FP relationship, suggesting that IO is a frontier condition whose efficacy depends on governance behaviour rather than the extent of ownership alone. Boards of banks should recognise differences in investor objectives, investment horizons, ownership concentration and sustainability orientation, instead of treating IO as a homogeneous group. Policymakers should prioritise the standardisation of CSR reporting over treating sustainability disclosure as a voluntary practice.