The doctoral thesis deals with the concept of corporate social responsibility in supplier-customer relationship. A corporate social responsibility is a current issue related to many areas of the society. The media usually presents the topic in connection with a market behavior or behavior to employees or other subjects or in their relation to environmental issues. Both OSN and EU have been interested in this issue since 1990´s because they perceive the social responsibility as a way to a sustainable development. The crucial thing is that even the companies themselves, which should be the “executor”, started to be interested in its implementation. The thesis analyses the situation on the business market in the Czech Republic in the field of corporate social responsibility issue. Moreover, the thesis investigates the researches of the current state of the theoretical knowledge of the issue for the purpose of the thesis, a large-scale research was carried. The research investigated to what degree the corporate social responsibility influences the supplier-customer relationship. However, above all the research was focused on the existence of the codes of conduct of the suppliers and also the sequence between codes of conduct set by customer to company and codes of conduct set by company to supplier. The third key area of the research was to find out to what degree the corporate social responsibility contributes to the overall evaluation of a supplier by a company. The analysis of the data collected served for the acceptance of rejection of the hypotheses stated at the beginning of the thesis. The results and the findings gained are summed up at the end of the thesis. The practical as well as the theoretical contributions are mentioned as well.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has been a subject of increasing interest among academics and business practitioners globally. This thesis contributes to the discourse on CSR in the context of the Nigerian oil industry with regard to corporate-community relations. Specifically, the thesis constitutes a critique of CSR initiatives by multinational oil companies (MOC) operating in the Niger Delta region and their impact on the traditional livelihoods of local communities. The research attempts to understand the link between CSR and Psychological contract from the perspective of both the host communities and the MOCs. This thesis examines community perceptions, expectations and seeks to interpret the relationship between the host communities and the MOCs. The study provides empirical data through the use of twenty-eight semi-structured interviews and three focus groups. This is significant given that most of the research conducted into CSR in this region has been limited to descriptive and extensive theoretical explanations. Findings from the research suggest that the relationship between the host communities and the MOC is a very complex one and that the impact of the MOCs activities can be interpreted from the host communities’ negative actions. The thesis makes an important contribution to the emerging literature on social license to operate (SLO) and in what manner the local communities seek to enforce it. It also offers an alternative approach to CSR based on need assessment and stakeholder involvement rather than corporate obligations and expectations from society in general. / Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND), Cross River State government in Nigeria, and Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) är ett aktuellt ämne som syftar till att företag ska ta ett större samhällsansvar, både ur ett ekonomiskt, miljömässigt och socialt perspektiv. Den globalisering som råder i världen påverkar inte bara ett internt företagsklimat, det ger även effekter på omgivande samhälle och individer, vilket tillsammans med sociala påtryckningar skapar ett behov av CSR. Ansvaret till samhället innebär inte bara ekonomiska och lagliga aspekter, dock ska ett etiskt och filantropiskt perspektiv också antas. Idag är CSR ett frivilligt åtagande och för att kunna motivera företag till ett större ansvarstagande för sitt agerande ämnar denna studie att undersöka, ur ett nordiskt sammanhang, om ett företags hållbarhetsarbete genererar lönsamhet. Studien utgår från nordiska börsnoterade företag som ingår i Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI). Indexet representeras av de bäst presterande hållbarhetsföretagen i världen som kvalificerat sig till att ingå. Genom en deduktiv kvantitativ metod studeras sambandet mellan CSR och lönsamhet för att förklara vilken effekt variabeln Corporate Social Performance (CSP) har på variabeln Corporate Financial Performance (CFP) under tidsperioden 2010-20162010–2016. Fortsättningsvis undersöks skillnaden i lönsamhet mellan företag som inkluderats i DJSI och matchade likartade nordiska företag som inte ingår i indexet. Undersökningen baseras på sekundärkällor ur ett naturvetenskapligt perspektiv. Studien erhåller ett resultat som påvisar att företag som ingår i hållbarhetsindexet tenderar att vara mer lönsamma än företag som inte ingår genom att redovisningsbaserade mått, bruttomarginal och avkastning på totalt kapital (ROA), har applicerats. Studiens slutsats blir att CSR-arbete kan öka lönsamheten i nordiska företag genom att bli inkluderade i DJSI, studien visar dock att placeringen i indexet inte har någon betydelse. Därav blir studiens bidrag att motivera företag till ett större åtagande av hållbarhetsarbete eftersom CSR kan generera högre lönsamhet. / Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a current topic which aims to encourage companies to be more responsible as an societal actor, both from an economic, environmental and social perspective. The consequences of the globalization may not only affect the internal business environment, it will also affect the surrounding society and individuals, which together creates a demand for CSR. As a societal actor, companies needs to include ethical and philanthropic responsibilities, and not only take economic and legal aspects into consideration. Currently, CSR is a voluntary commitment and to motivate companies to embrace the responsibility for the society, this study aims to investigate, from a Nordic context, whether companies’ sustainability work generates profitability.   The study is based on Nordic listed companies included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index World (DJSI), which is an index where the top performing sustainability companies can qualify for an inclusion. The correlation between CSR and profitability will be studied through a deductive quantitative method to explain what impact Corporate Social Performance (CSP) has on Corporate Financial Performance (CFP) during the years between 2010-2016. Furthermore, the differences in profitability between companies included in DJSI matched Nordic companies that are not included in the index will be investigated. From a scientific perspective, the survey is based on secondary sources. The results of the study indicates that companies included in the sustainability index tend to have an improved profitability than companies that are not included. This by applying the accounting-based measures gross margin and return on assets (ROA). The conclusion of the study is that CSR can improve profitability among the Nordic companies by an inclusion in DJSI, but the study shows that the placement in the index does not have an impact. Hence, the contribution of this study is to motivate companies to a greater commitment to sustainability because CSR can generate improved profitability.

Under de senaste årtiondena har ansvarfullt företagande (CSR) varit ett ämne som erhållit allt mer fokus inom forskning och således även för företag och samhället i stort. CSR är ett ämne som är högst aktuellt då globalisering är ett faktum och medför att de företag som är verksamma idag bär ett globalt ansvar, då dessa är stora aktörer i en värld som kantas av ekonomiska kriser, miljöproblem och humanitär försummelse. Det ökade intresset från samhället för CSR har medfört att företagen idag ser detta som en strategisk investering och företags satsning i hållbarhetsaktiviteter har kommit att erhålla en allt större del av företags verksamhet. Frågan kvarstår om detta endast är en investering som ökar företagets etik och moral eller om det faktiskt är lönsamt, och även om lönsamma företag ökar sin investering i hållbarhetsarbete. En stor mängd forskning har utförts för att undersöka förhållandena mellan hållbarhet och lönsamhet, dock utan att konsensus i forskningsgrenen har uppkommit.       Grundat på den nuvarande forskningssituationen syftade denna studie till att undersöka vilken effekt ansvarsfullt företagande har på olika lönsamhetsmått, samt vilken effekt de olika lönsamhetsmåtten har på ansvarsfullt företagande, i företag registrerade på large cap och mid cap på Nasdaq OMX Stockholm. För att besvara studiens problemformulering och uppfylla studiens syfte har en kvantitativ forskningsansats brukats och ett urval av företag listade på large och mid cap Nasdaq OMX Stockholm har undersökts. För att sätta ett mått på ansvarsfullt företagande (CSP) har en innehållsanalys av företags årsrapporter och hållbarhetsrapporter genomförts, lönsamhetsmåtten (CFP) har utgått från redovisningsbaserade mått (ROE och ROA) samt ett marknadsbaserat mått (total avkastning). Vidare undersöks även relationen mellan variablerna, CSP och CFP, med en tidsaspekt och kontrollvariablerna storlek, risk, FoU och industritillhörighet har brukats. De teorier som har använts för att förklara CFP:s effekt på CSP är slappa resurser och direktörsopportunism, och effekten CSP har på CFP har teorierna intressentteorin, resursbaserad synvinkel och kompromissteorin använts.  Det resultat som framkommit genom de multipla regressionerna som testat studiens hypoteser visar att ROE:s effekt på CSP är positiv, medan både ROA:s och avkastningens effekt på CSP är neutral. Slutsatsen blir således delad då lönsamhetsmåttet ROE visar att företag som har en högre lönsamhet kommer investera mer i hållbarhet, denna effekt knyts samman med teorin om slappa resurser. Å andra sidan visar både ROA och avkastning på en neutral effekt på CSP vilket ej kan knytas till varken slappa resurser eller direktöropportunism. Vidare när istället CSP:s effekt på ROE, ROA och avkastning undersökts visar samtliga på en neutral påverkan. Den slutsats som kan dras från detta resultat är att hållbarhetsarbete ej empiriskt kan säkerställa en högre eller lägre lönsamhet, och varken intressentteorin, resursbaserad synvinkel eller kompromissteorin kan förklara resultatet. Med icke-konklusiva resultat föreslår författarna för vidare forskning inom området där mer forskning i den svenska kontexten är nödvändig.

Esta dissertação tem por objetivo principal analisar e responder ao questionamento acerca da relação entre desempenho social corporativo e desempenho financeiro de empresas brasileiras. De forma mais específica, a dissertação investiga a seqüência causal e a direção (positiva ou negativa) do relacionamento entre as variáveis que representam as duas concepções de desempenho. Para tanto, foram utilizadas duas variáveis para representar o desempenho financeiro a valores de mercado, três variáveis para representar o desempenho financeiro a valores contábeis, e o Indicador de Desempenho Social Corporativo, construído nesta dissertação para representar o desempenho social das empresas e baseado nos Balanços Sociais publicados segundo modelo do Instituto Brasileiro de Análises Sociais e Econômicas (IBASE). Além dessas variáveis, duas variáveis de controle consideradas relevantes pela teoria, o Tamanho da Empresa e o Setor de Atuação, também constituíram o modelo estatístico. O período de análise (2000 a 2002) do relacionamento entre as variáveis e a amostra da pesquisa foi relativamente pequeno, devido principalmente à fragilidade do banco de dados referente ao desempenho social corporativo e à incipiência do próprio tema na administração brasileira. As análises foram realizadas em períodos anuais, sem e com defasagem temporal de um ano, a fim de que seis hipóteses alternativas propostas por modelo já existente pudessem ser testadas. A análise estatística foi realizada através de matriz de correlações, de modelos de regressão linear múltipla pelo método dos mínimos quadrados ordinários, de regressão a erros padrão robustos a heterocedasticidade e de regressão robusta. Os resultados, em sua maioria, não foram capazes de rejeitar a hipótese nula do modelo, isto é, de que não há relação estatisticamente significante entre o desempenho social e o desempenho financeiro corporativos. Entretanto, as regressões que utilizaram indicadores contábeis de desempenho financeiro apresentaram resultados que indicariam, em alguns períodos de análise, a existência de uma relação positiva entre as duas formas de desempenho, corroborando, em parte, com a idéia de que a administração dos stakeholders acarretaria desempenho financeiro superior às empresas. Porém, a seqüência causal do relacionamento não foi clara, dado que tanto um melhor ou pior desempenho social corporativo foi causa de um melhor ou pior desempenho financeiro, como também o segundo foi causa do primeiro. Por sua vez, a relação entre os indicadores de mercado do desempenho financeiro das empresas e o indicador de desempenho social corporativo apresentou-se bastante contraditória, o que corrobora com resultados alcançados em pesquisas e trabalhos anteriores sobre o tema. Finalmente, a variável de controle de Tamanho da Empresa mostrou-se não significante para o modelo, enquanto a variável de controle de Setor de Atuação apresentou resultados bastante diversos. Dessa forma, os resultados mostraram-se pouco conclusivos, fato explicado pela literatura existente que identifica as limitações conceituais, como a indefinição de conceitos-chave, e empíricas, como a ausência de banco de dados ou deficiências dos existentes, que permeiam a maioria das pesquisas existentes sobre o tema e que se agravam na realidade brasileira. Para as novas pesquisas, recomenda-se atenção especial à representação do desempenho social corporativo, tornando-o mais abrangente e robusto, bem como a utilização de diferentes janelas temporais para o modelo estatístico que permitam o alcance de resultados mais conclusivos. É importante observar que iniciativas recentes de instituições no país vêm ao encontro do atendimento das necessidades dos pesquisadores que se interessam sobre o tema, o que estimula e favorece o desenvolvimento de pesquisas futuras. / The major objective of this here dissertation consists in analyzing the relation between social and financial performances of Brazilian enterprises and in responding to the related inquiries. More specifically, this text investigates the causal sequence and the direction (positive or negative) taken by the relation between the variables that represent the two performance concepts. For that purpose, two variables have been used to represent the financial performance at market values, three variables have been used to represent the financial performance at book values and the Corporate Social Performance Indicator has been here constructed to represent the social performance of enterprises, based on the Social Balance Sheets published according to the Instituto Brasileiro de Análises Sociais e Econômicas (IBASE). Besides these variables, two control variables have been considered relevant in the theory: the size of the company and its industry. Both have framed the statistic model. The analysis period (from 2000 to 2002) of the relation between the variables and the research sample has been somewhat short, mostly due to the fragility of the corporate social performance database and to the embryonic condition of the issue in Administration in Brazil. The analyses have been accomplished in yearly periods, with and without one-year temporal gaps, so that six alternative hypotheses proposed for already existing model could be tested. The statistic analysis was developed through a correlations matrix, models of multiple linear regression processed by the ordinary least squares method, models of heteroskedasticity-consistent standard error and covariance regression and of robust regression. Most of the results have not been able to reject the null hypothesis of the model, which means that there is no statistically meaningful relation between corporate social and financial performances. However, some of the results provided by the regressions that adopted book value measurement of financial performance denote, at some analysis periods, the existence of a positive relation between the two performances, which somehow reinforces the idea that the administration of stakeholders may provide an improved financial performance. Nevertheless, the causal sequence of the relation has not been clear, considering that either a better or worse corporate social performance has caused a better or worse financial performance; and that the latter may have caused the former. On the other hand, the relation between the variables of corporate financial performance at market values and the corporate social performance indicator has proven quite contradictory, which enhances the results accomplished in previous researches and articles on the subject. Finally, the control variable of enterprise size has proven meaningless for the model, while the control variable of industry has presented quite diverse results. Thus, the results are inconclusive, according to the existing literature, which identifies the conceptual limitations, such as lack of definition of key-concepts; and the empirical limitations, like lack or inadequacy of database, which permeates most of the researches on the subject and deteriorates in the Brazilian reality. For new researches, special attention should be paid to the representation of corporate social performance, making it more extensive and robust; likewise, the usage of different temporal windows for the statistic model, which would allow the accomplishment of more conclusive results. It is important to notice that recent institutional initiatives in the country have met with the needs of researchers interested in the subject, which stimulates and favors the development of future investigations.

This thesis challenges two key assumptions made in the current Islamic banking literature. Firstly, this thesis challenges and empirically invalidates the assumption that all Islamic banks are indistinguishable from their conventional counterparts and are thus equally unIslamic. To do so, this thesis uses the profit and loss sharing (PLS) criteria, which is central to the philosophy of Islamic banking and is the key principle differentiating Islamic from conventional banking, in theory and practice. By investigating variation in PLS levels between Islamic banks and comparing with conventional banks with and without Islamic windows, this thesis illustrates that the Islamic banking industry does not comprise a homogeneous group of banks that are all indistinguishable from their conventional counterparts. Rather, a typology of Islamic banks exists, comprising of three distinct groups of banks, each one following a different business model. While one group can genuinely be considered indistinguishable from conventional banks, another group shows clear evidence of pursuing PLS-oriented strategies in formulating its asset portfolio, differentiating itself from the purely debt-based intermediation model adopted by conventional banks. As such, empirical evidence shows that some Islamic banks are, in practice, operating closer to the PLS principle and can thus be considered more Islamic than others. Further investigation illustrates that the institutional environment matters for the provision of ideal PLS Islamic financing instruments. Secondly, this thesis overcomes two methodological issues to compare the corporate social performance (CSP) of Islamic and conventional banks. In doing so, this thesis challenges the second identified assumption from the literature, that religion-specific category of corporate social responsibility (CSR) is particular to Islamic banking, and invalidates it on conceptual, theoretical and empirical basis. A novel CSP Index based on the evidence-based disclosure criteria, comprising of 6 dimensions and 25 social performance indicators is constructed and complemented with three Social Performance Quantitative Indicators (SPQIs) to compare the CSP of Islamic and conventional banks. From this comparison, this thesis concludes that, contrary to the industry s claims and expectations held of it, Islamic banking does not offer an ethical alternative to conventional banking. Differences in the level and composition of CSP between the two industries are more subtle and require a nuanced approach to be studied.

Business researchers have shown that servant leaders empower, provide long-term vision, and serve their workers and followers better than do nonservant leaders. High performance work practices (HPWPs) and corporate social performance (CSP) can enhance employee and firm productivity. However, when overused or poorly managed, HPWPs and CSP can lead to the business problems of employee disengagement, overload, or anxiety. Scholars noted a gap in human resource management research regarding whether leadership styles affect HPWPs and CSP use. This study examined the relationship between leadership style and the use of HPWPs and CSP, by using a quantitative, nonexperimental design. U.S. business leaders (N = 287) completed a survey consisting of 3 previously published scales. A chi-square analysis calculated the servant to nonservant leader ratio in the population, finding a disproportionate ratio (1:40) of servant (n = 7) to nonservant (n = 280) leaders. Two t tests showed that no significant difference existed in how servant and nonservant leaders use HPWPs or CSP. However, a multiple linear regression model showed that a leader's self-reported characteristics of empowerment, vision, or service positively predicted CSP use; empowerment positively predicted HPWPs use; service negatively predicted HPWPs use; and vision had no effect on HPWPs use. Findings may help human resource practitioners identify leaders who use HPWPs or CSP differently. Positive social change may occur by hiring more visionary, empowering, or service-oriented leaders who can support overwhelmed or anxious workers, potentially leading to more engaged and productive workers, and an increase in the use of positive CSP.

Esta dissertação tem por objetivo principal analisar e responder ao questionamento acerca da relação entre desempenho social corporativo e desempenho financeiro de empresas brasileiras. De forma mais específica, a dissertação investiga a seqüência causal e a direção (positiva ou negativa) do relacionamento entre as variáveis que representam as duas concepções de desempenho. Para tanto, foram utilizadas duas variáveis para representar o desempenho financeiro a valores de mercado, três variáveis para representar o desempenho financeiro a valores contábeis, e o Indicador de Desempenho Social Corporativo, construído nesta dissertação para representar o desempenho social das empresas e baseado nos Balanços Sociais publicados segundo modelo do Instituto Brasileiro de Análises Sociais e Econômicas (IBASE). Além dessas variáveis, duas variáveis de controle consideradas relevantes pela teoria, o Tamanho da Empresa e o Setor de Atuação, também constituíram o modelo estatístico. O período de análise (2000 a 2002) do relacionamento entre as variáveis e a amostra da pesquisa foi relativamente pequeno, devido principalmente à fragilidade do banco de dados referente ao desempenho social corporativo e à incipiência do próprio tema na administração brasileira. As análises foram realizadas em períodos anuais, sem e com defasagem temporal de um ano, a fim de que seis hipóteses alternativas propostas por modelo já existente pudessem ser testadas. A análise estatística foi realizada através de matriz de correlações, de modelos de regressão linear múltipla pelo método dos mínimos quadrados ordinários, de regressão a erros padrão robustos a heterocedasticidade e de regressão robusta. Os resultados, em sua maioria, não foram capazes de rejeitar a hipótese nula do modelo, isto é, de que não há relação estatisticamente significante entre o desempenho social e o desempenho financeiro corporativos. Entretanto, as regressões que utilizaram indicadores contábeis de desempenho financeiro apresentaram resultados que indicariam, em alguns períodos de análise, a existência de uma relação positiva entre as duas formas de desempenho, corroborando, em parte, com a idéia de que a administração dos stakeholders acarretaria desempenho financeiro superior às empresas. Porém, a seqüência causal do relacionamento não foi clara, dado que tanto um melhor ou pior desempenho social corporativo foi causa de um melhor ou pior desempenho financeiro, como também o segundo foi causa do primeiro. Por sua vez, a relação entre os indicadores de mercado do desempenho financeiro das empresas e o indicador de desempenho social corporativo apresentou-se bastante contraditória, o que corrobora com resultados alcançados em pesquisas e trabalhos anteriores sobre o tema. Finalmente, a variável de controle de Tamanho da Empresa mostrou-se não significante para o modelo, enquanto a variável de controle de Setor de Atuação apresentou resultados bastante diversos. Dessa forma, os resultados mostraram-se pouco conclusivos, fato explicado pela literatura existente que identifica as limitações conceituais, como a indefinição de conceitos-chave, e empíricas, como a ausência de banco de dados ou deficiências dos existentes, que permeiam a maioria das pesquisas existentes sobre o tema e que se agravam na realidade brasileira. Para as novas pesquisas, recomenda-se atenção especial à representação do desempenho social corporativo, tornando-o mais abrangente e robusto, bem como a utilização de diferentes janelas temporais para o modelo estatístico que permitam o alcance de resultados mais conclusivos. É importante observar que iniciativas recentes de instituições no país vêm ao encontro do atendimento das necessidades dos pesquisadores que se interessam sobre o tema, o que estimula e favorece o desenvolvimento de pesquisas futuras. / The major objective of this here dissertation consists in analyzing the relation between social and financial performances of Brazilian enterprises and in responding to the related inquiries. More specifically, this text investigates the causal sequence and the direction (positive or negative) taken by the relation between the variables that represent the two performance concepts. For that purpose, two variables have been used to represent the financial performance at market values, three variables have been used to represent the financial performance at book values and the Corporate Social Performance Indicator has been here constructed to represent the social performance of enterprises, based on the Social Balance Sheets published according to the Instituto Brasileiro de Análises Sociais e Econômicas (IBASE). Besides these variables, two control variables have been considered relevant in the theory: the size of the company and its industry. Both have framed the statistic model. The analysis period (from 2000 to 2002) of the relation between the variables and the research sample has been somewhat short, mostly due to the fragility of the corporate social performance database and to the embryonic condition of the issue in Administration in Brazil. The analyses have been accomplished in yearly periods, with and without one-year temporal gaps, so that six alternative hypotheses proposed for already existing model could be tested. The statistic analysis was developed through a correlations matrix, models of multiple linear regression processed by the ordinary least squares method, models of heteroskedasticity-consistent standard error and covariance regression and of robust regression. Most of the results have not been able to reject the null hypothesis of the model, which means that there is no statistically meaningful relation between corporate social and financial performances. However, some of the results provided by the regressions that adopted book value measurement of financial performance denote, at some analysis periods, the existence of a positive relation between the two performances, which somehow reinforces the idea that the administration of stakeholders may provide an improved financial performance. Nevertheless, the causal sequence of the relation has not been clear, considering that either a better or worse corporate social performance has caused a better or worse financial performance; and that the latter may have caused the former. On the other hand, the relation between the variables of corporate financial performance at market values and the corporate social performance indicator has proven quite contradictory, which enhances the results accomplished in previous researches and articles on the subject. Finally, the control variable of enterprise size has proven meaningless for the model, while the control variable of industry has presented quite diverse results. Thus, the results are inconclusive, according to the existing literature, which identifies the conceptual limitations, such as lack of definition of key-concepts; and the empirical limitations, like lack or inadequacy of database, which permeates most of the researches on the subject and deteriorates in the Brazilian reality. For new researches, special attention should be paid to the representation of corporate social performance, making it more extensive and robust; likewise, the usage of different temporal windows for the statistic model, which would allow the accomplishment of more conclusive results. It is important to notice that recent institutional initiatives in the country have met with the needs of researchers interested in the subject, which stimulates and favors the development of future investigations.

The corporate social responsibility is a voluntary concept of firm's embrace of responsibility for the impact of its activities on the environment and society. The corporate social responsibility is the brand and guarantee that firm runs its activities not only within the law and ethical standards, but goes far beyond the law and moral values. Firm demonstrates its social responsibility through engagement in social issues, substitute for the state in support of underprivileged or disadvantaged groups, but also develop activities which have positive impacts on the environment, advocate and meet ethical business principles, take care of their employees, to distance themselves of corruption and bribery, etc. This thesis deals with the objective introduction of corporate social responsibility concept from its origin to contemporary approaches. The thesis introduces related theories which contributed to corporate social responsibility as well. In addition, this thesis familiarizes with the open question of relationship between corporate social responsibility (performance) and firm's financial performance and presents the important empirical research in this area. Results of analysis, done in this thesis, indicate a slight negative relationship between corporate social responsibility (independent...

Cette thèse précise dans quelles mesures la performance responsable peut contribuer à l’amélioration de la performance financière pour un investisseur. En s’appuyant sur une base de données de 1992 à 2012 et un état de l’art de la notation responsable KLD, nous montrons que la Responsabilité Sociale de l’Entreprise (RSE) ne constitue pas invariablement un facteur de performance pour un portefeuille d’actions. Elle se révèle être un coût à consentir par les investisseurs soucieux de leur niveau d’éthique, du moins dans sa version proactive. Selon le secteur observé, la réduction des actes d’irresponsabilité peut néanmoins améliorer la performance financière. Nos développements mettent en évidence l’importance d’un choix préalable des actifs du portefeuille. En effet, les stratégies RSE améliorent la performance financière en fonction des caractéristiques qui limitent les comportements opportunistes des managers. Notre analyse multicritères révèle que les dépenses de responsabilités sont le fruit des excès de trésorerie. Le coût moyen pondéré de la dette déterminera l’efficacité de ces stratégies sur la rentabilité de l’entreprise. Enfin, nous mettons en exergue des dissemblances de langage dans les discours issues des rapports de responsabilité, selon le niveau d’éthique et de performance financière. Ces champs lexicaux renseignent l’investisseur sur les intentions des managers, afin de mieux sélectionner les actifs. / This thesis explains and clarifies the ways in which responsible performance can increase financial performance for investors. Based on data gathered between 1992 and 2012 and a state-of-the-art KLD scoring system, we demonstrate that Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) does not consistently increase the performance of a share portfolio. CSR, when proactively implemented, proves to be a cost granted by investors concerned about their ethical models. Depending on the sector observed, restrictions on irresponsible acts can however improve financial performance. Our research highlights the importance of selecting portfolio assets beforehand. We found that CSR strategies improve financial performance provided that some criteria which restrict managerial opportunism. Our multi-criteria analysis revealed that the expenditure of responsibility is a result of excess cash flow. The weighted average cost of the debt will determine the effectiveness of these strategies on the company's profitability. Finally, we highlight discrepancies in Corporate Social Responsibility reports, according to the ethical level and financial performance of each company. These lexical fields inform the investor of managers’ intentions and hence, allow a better selection of the assets.