Does Social Capital Matter in the Performance of Environmental Corporate Social Responsibility in the Restaurant Industry?: A Perspective on Altruistic Tendency and Sustainability Practices

To examine the influence of regional social capital on the performance of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the US restaurant industry, the purpose of the study is to assess how social capital moderates the relationship between environmental CSR and financial performance. The results are that the environmental CSR performance of restaurant firms positively correlated with the degree of social capital in the regions where they are headquartered, although association emerged between their environmental CSR performance and profitability. The findings indicated that despite the clear financial benefits of environmental CSR activities, a firm’s performance of such activities depends upon its home region’s altruistic tendency.