The impact of digital technologies, intellectual capital, and corporate social responsibility on firm performance

Abstract

This paper aims to explores the effects of digital technologies (DT), intellectual capital (IC) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) on firm performance (FP). It further examines the moderating role of IC in driving the link between DT, CSR and firm performance. Using a cross-sectional data set of 14,597 observations, the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) is used to address potential endogeneity. DT is treated as an endogenous variable and instrumented with regional variables and proxies for workforce composition. The findings show that DT and IC enhance firm performance, while CSR reduces it. Moreover, IC positively moderates the relationship between CSR and firm performance, while it negatively moderates the relationship between DT and firm performance, suggesting potential misalignment between existing IC and DT. This research integrates the resource-based view (RBV), dynamic capabilities theory (DCT) and stakeholder theory (ST) to develop a theoretical framework to understand how DT, IC and CSR jointly affect firm performance. It also extends the literature by exploring the moderating effects of IC on performance through DT and CSR, which have been overlooked.