Epure, Mircea2024-03-042024-03-042022Epure M. Corporate social responsibility as a signaling technology. Review of Managerial Science. 2022;16:907-30. DOI: 10.1007/s11846-021-00472-x1863-6683http://hdl.handle.net/10230/59314This study proposes a production framework in which capital, labor, and corporate social responsibility (CSR) generate sales. Estimating a stochastic frontier on an international sample of large manufacturing firms reveals that CSR has asymmetric effects on efficiency. In a matched sample, the processes of high as compared to low CSR firms are affected less by a crisis shock. This can be largely attributed to the role of CSR as an insurance signal of processes sustainability, especially in market-based as compared to network-oriented contexts. Finally, results show that higher CSR helps firms to mitigate a crisis shock on real effects such as profitability and sales growth; this is mostly because these firms have a higher ability to adjust their operating margins and exhibit lower risk.application/pdfengThis version of the article has been accepted for publication, after peer review (when applicable) and is subject to Springer Nature’s AM terms of use, but is not the Version of Record and does not reflect post-acceptance improvements, or any corrections. The Version of Record is available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11846-021-00472-xinfo:eu-repo/semantics/articlehttp://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11846-021-00472-xCorporate social responsibilityEfciencyCrisisProftabilitySignalinginfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess