The Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility on Strategic Objectives: Evidence from Vietnam

Carrying out corporate social responsibility (CSR) not only brings benefits to the community but also benefits the business itself. There are many studies on the application of CSR in business strategies to create competitive advantages and sustainable development. However, CSR is still a new term in Vietnam, and the concept has various definitions and most studies are mainly theory-based with limited research on the real situation of CSR practices, especially in the case of FDI firms. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the impact of CSR implementation on corporate strategic goals, including reputation, innovation and differentiation of FDI firms in Vietnam. This study uses regression models to analyze survey data of 224 FDI enterprises in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam. The empirical results indicated that implementing CSR significantly impacts improving the efficiency of deploying three business strategic goals: enhancing reputation, enhancing innovation, and creating a competitive advantage. The findings of this study suggest that FDI enterprises in Vietnam need to renew their perspectives and approaches to integrate and implement CSR, not only seeing CSR as a costly obligation or merely charitable activities, but truly an opportunity to create competitive advantages and sustainable development.