Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility to Firms’ Performance in Southern Enterprises of Vietnam

This study is aimed to evaluate the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on firms’ performance by developing the role of mediating variables such as corporate reputation (CR) and customers’ purchasing intention (CPI). We use qualitative and quantitative technique such as Smart PLS SEM to analyze the data of the corporate in the South of Vietnam in 2019. The findings suggest a positively significant impact of CSR on firms’ performance through mediating role of CR and CPI. This study contributed empirical work in the literature of CSR and firms’ performance. The outcomes of this study can be used by entrepreneurs, top management as an attempt to boost the performance of the corporate. A mediating role of CR and CPI as a value-added contribution to this study and can be strengthened more in future research


INTRODUCTION
The concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) has been widely considered in the academic field as well as in the business environment in recent years. Organizations are using CSR to develop competitive advantage and establish symbiotic relationships with stakeholders. In developed countries, the concept of CSR is very familiar and the implementation of CSR for businesses is an indispensable activity to maintain the ecosystem for sustainable development, which is good for society, the environment, stakeholders and good for the enterprise. The concept of CSR has gradually become popular in developing countries; However, the implementation of CSR in a business environment is not fully voluntary because the potential benefits of CSR are less emphasized, as in Vietnam. This study examines the impact of CSR on the performance of an intermediary firm's reputation and customer's purchasing intention (CPI). Data has been collected from respondents on their perceptions of CSR actions and its impact on customer prestige and purchasing intention, affecting to firms' performance.
The objectives of this study include (1) assess the impact of CSR actions on the development of a corporate's reputation, (2) measure its impact on CPI, (3) assess the impact of corporate reputation (CR) on CPI, (4) evaluate the impact of CR on the firms' performance and (5) evaluate the effect of purchasing intention on firms' performance.
The following sections present an overview of relevant literature, research methods, research results, discussions and finally useful conclusions and recommendations. events and voluntary employees as well as other creative activities (Polonsky and Speed, 2001;Lichtenstein et al., 2004). CSR is an important strategy for businesses in marketing planning. Many multinational corporations urge global businesses to exercise CSR as an essential and essential part of their business (Oberseder et al., 2011;Green and Peloza, 2014). CSR plays an important role in the marketing and branding of a business whereby CSR has gradually become the main topic of marketing. That funding and environmental awareness are more emphasized in CSR (Waagstein, 2011;Oberseder et al., 2014). Participation in CSR activities will bring great benefits to businesses such as image promotion, brand development, increase sales, reputation and change consumer attitudes. (Lai et al., 2010;Groza et al., 2011). However, CSR requires long-term participation and can affect the short-term profitability of businesses. As a result, Asian businesses are more concerned with CSR than participating. Based on academic view, research on CSR changed from "why do it" to "why to do so" to "what is corporate social responsibility" "what cooperation social responsibility is." After that it is a way to implement CSR, ie pay attention to how companies and society realize the maximization of benefits through joining a CSR (Basu and Palazzo, 2008). Godfrey (2005) believes that CSR is a multi-dimensional structure composed of 3 main parts that aim to (1) help the enterprise operate on a transparent basis (2) to help all decisions to be carefully considered. on the interests of stakeholders and (3) contributing to creating a positive capacity in proactively creating benefits for society in a spirit of voluntary, exceeding society's expectations and the provisions of law. According to Fombrun et al. (2015), CSR can be assessed through the following measures: product and service quality, innovation and creativity, working environment, compliance, civil rights, leadership and performance, productivity. Although CSR demonstrates corporate responsibility to society, it also implies that the enterprise provide products and services to consumers are increasingly sensitive to taking on more responsibilities for social welfare, environmental maintenance, ecological balance. In fact, the term of CSR has different meanings for everyone, depending on the context and perspective of each person (Saeidi et al., 2015;Van Beurden and Gössling, 2008).
CSR is often referred to as corporate social performance, is one of the topics being seriously researched by academic researchers. CSR is defined very differently by different authors with different contexts and different perspectives. In this study, the author is based on the concept of social responsibility of Mohr et al. (2001), defining CSR as an organization's commitment to minimize or eliminate the effects that cause harm and maximize its long-term beneficial effects on society. The concept of CSR became popular in the 1950s when Bowen (1953) urged entrepreneurs to contribute to community development through corporate policies. It was followed by Manne (1972); Beyer (1972); Drucker (1974) and Carson (1977). Many business schools, leadership, consumer advocacy organizations and environmental activists, are strong supporters of the concept of social responsibility. The concept of social responsibility states that enterprises are creating money from direct or indirect use of natural resources and this affects natural resources based on the time. Moreover, the large and continuous production of corporations also harms the environment and the ecosystem. Therefore, enterprises must take responsibility to the community through practical activities to protect the environment and regenerate the ecosystem, which is a major concern of society.
In a nutshell, CSR is a broad concept and therefore, the concept of CSR is also widely understood by different people with different approaches and contexts. According to Mohr (1996), CSR definition includes multidimensional definitions that define the main responsibilities of enterprises and (2) definitions based on the concept of social marketing (societal marketing). Carroll (1991) study received the most attention in this regard. CSR consists of 4 main types of responsibilities including (1) economics, (2) law, (3) ethics and (4) charity, verified with various stakeholders of the organization such as business owners, customers, employees, community, and society. Besides, Kotler (1991) defines the concept of social marketing as doing business towards maintaining and improving the well-being of customers and the well-being of society. While Petkus and Woodruff. (1992) extended this concept, the expanded CSR definition included avoiding doing bad things and promoting doing good to stakeholders.

CSR and CR
According to Ali (2011), since the 1990s, the CSR role of corporations and organizations has been shown more clearly and on a much larger scale than everyone expected. Accordingly, the broader range of CSR they undertake covers business ethics, labor practices, community responsibilities and reducing environmental harms from production activities and communal activities, etc. It is as a strategic action to build and enhance the image of businesses in the community and society. At the same time, thereby building CR in society. While according to Kotler (2005), CSR will help enterprises improve brand position as well as reputation and image of the corporate. In addition, research by Dimosthenis and Apostolos (2014) suggested that CSR enhances brand image and CR, increases sales, creates employee engagement, and maintains loyalty. Employee success, increased productivity, improved quality and other benefits. With the theoretical basis above, hypothesis H1 is established as follows: H 1 : CR is positively influenced by CSR practices.

CSR and CPI
Number of studies have investigated the relationship between CSR and the behavior of various stakeholders. Ali et al. (2010a) analyzed the impact of CSR on consumer behavior. Similarly, Ali et al. (2011a) studied the effect of CSR on investor behavior. While Ali et al. (2010c) studied the effect of CSR on employee behavior on the organization. Meanwhile, Holmes and Kilbane (1993); Berger et al. (1999); Mohr et al. (2001); Nelling and Webb (2006) and Sen and Bhattacharya (2001) studied the effects of CSR on CPI. According to Grigore (2011), CSR is a tool that positively affects consumer behavior. Intention to purchase is the act of including consumer product reviews or brand attitudes influenced by external factors. With the above theoretical basis, hypothesis H2 is established as follows: H 2 : CPI is positively influenced by CSR practices. CPI in this study is measured on a scale proposed by Dodds et al. (1991) including the main factors (1) perceived quality, (2) perceived value. perceived value and (3) perceived sacrifice.

CR and CPI
The concept of the cooperate reputation was formed from the image of the company (cooperated image) in 1950 and developed into the corporate identity in 1970 and 1980 (Bennett and Kottasz, 2000).  identifies the reputation of a enterprise formed and developed based on a set of beliefs about the ability and willingness to meet the interests of various stakeholders. Whereas  viewed the reputation of the enterprise a result of its impressive actions on solving problems, these impressions were shared among the community by the community and reached consensus. high from the community. While Graay and Balmer (1998); Barnett et al. (2006) think that good reputation of the enterprise is the source for businesses to survive in today's competitive environment. According to Ali and Zia (2011b), a corporate's reputation (CR) has a positive influence on CPI. With the above theoretical basis, hypothesis H3 is established as follows: H 3 : CPI is positively influenced by the CR.

CR and Firms' Performance (FP)
According to Rose and Thomsen (2004), CR is an intangible asset of a company that directly or indirectly affects its financial performance. Conversely, a corporate's financial performance can also affect a CR. According to Ali (2011), CR includes the main factors perceived and perceived objectively by stakeholders. These factors include (1) brand reputation, (2) corporate image, (3) social contribution value and (4) operational transparency. Previous research mentioned that companies must be profitable before they can improve performance by improving their company's reputation. This means that they should first fulfill their commitments to shareholders and investors, to create the resources needed to support non-economic activities (e.g. charity) for CSR targets. These activities are considered a strategic tool to enhance the reputation of the organization (Walsh et al., 2009;Porter and Kramer, 2002). Previous studies have shown that CR is an important factor linking CSR to financial performance. Previous studies have also shown that CR has an intermediate effect on the relationship between CSR and FP. With this theoretical basis, hypothesis H4 is determined as follows: H 4 : CR has a positive influence on Firms' Performance (FP). Voss et al. (2003) define purchasing intention as a type of consumer attitude towards a specific product or service of a specific, measurable brand. In addition, Bian and Moutinho (2011) have indicated an intention to purchase when conscious efforts by individuals to purchase a product or service of a brand. In other words, purchasing intention is the action adopted by consumers who plan to buy a product or service of a specific brand (Dodds et al., 1991). According to Gupta and Zeithaml (2006), from the perspective of consumer perceptions, intention to purchase or consumer behavior includes making decisions about when to buy, how much, where to buy, etc., for products or certain services leading to increased sales, increased profits, improved firm's performance (FP). With this theoretical basis, the hypothesis H5 is determined as follows:

CPI and Firms' Performance (FP)
H 5 : Customer's Purchase intention (CPI) has a positive effect on FP.

FP
Firms' performance or performance is a term that can include organizational performance, company performance and corporate performance. There are many different ways to measure financial performance of a company. In particular, the most common measurement criteria include (1) revenue, (2) profit on equity, (3) profit on assets, (4) profit margins, (5) revenue growth, (6) liquidity ratio, (7) liquidity ratio and stock price, etc. In this study, the author references the scale of Kotler's performance (2005) around the following factors: • Increase sales and market share • Increase the ability to attract, motivate and retain employees • Cut the cost • Improve the image and reputation of the company • Increasing attractiveness for investors • Consolidating brand positioning.

Research Approach and Design
This study was conducted in combination with qualitative and quantitative methods. This study evaluate the relationship between the CSR and CR, CPI and FP) as in Figure 1.

Sampling and Data Collection
The main data was collected through the questionnaire survey in a 5-level structure, of which the first order corresponded to disagree completely, the level of consent increased increasing by the higher number, accordingly the 5-level corresponds to totally agree. The sample size in this study is determined based on the number of observed variables included in the study. Accordingly, the sample size is determined based on the proportion of questions in the study and this ratio is from 5/1 to 10/1 (Hair et al., 2010). This study has 45 observed variables so the number of samples needed is 450 samples. However, to avoid risks during the sample collection process, the author decided to distribute 500 surveys. Simple method of collecting random probability samples was chosen. Survey subjects include experts (about 10%), business leaders (of the Board of Directors, about 10%) and management levels (of the Board of Directors, managers, professionals of the sales and marketing division, about 80%), with no age limit for respondents. The survey sample was collected in a number of cities and provinces in the Southeast region including Ho Chi Minh City. Ho Chi Minh City, Tay Ninh, Binh Duong, Binh Phuoc, Dong Nai and Ba Ria -Vung Tau and several cities and provinces in the Southwest including Long An, Tien Giang, Ben Tre, Vinh Long, and Ca Mau. The survey was conducted through the method of sending questionnaires and aggregated via google docs and direct surveys (flexible depending on the subject). After the research results are collected, the filter will be put into analysis according to the Smart PLS model to determine the correlation and influence of the factors in the proposed model.

Measurement of Variables
CSR is an independent variable that is measured through 6 (1) CSR towards to community (CLCSR), (2) CSR towards to employee (ECSR), (3) CSR towards to customer(CCSR), (4) CSR towards the environment (ENCSR), (5) CSR towards the government (GCSR) and (6) CSR towards the stakeholders (SCSR). Company reputation (CR) and CPI are two intermediate variables of the relationship between CSR and Firms' Performance (FP). In which CR is measured through scales (1) corporate image, (2) product and service quality of the company, (3) social and community contributions and (4) transparency. in operation; CPI is measured through (1) the intention to use the company's products and services, (2) the intention to support the company's branded products and services, (3) not the intention to use substitute products and services. FP is measured through scales that reflect financial and non-financial values including (1) revenue growth, (2) market share, (3) profit on revenue, (4) return on equity, (5) employee cohesion index and (6) improved competitive position in the market.

Testing Research Model
The purpose of testing a research model is to ensure that the model and its elements are accepted and appropriate to the specific context within the study, according to Williams et al. 1991 andRitchie, 1992.

Verify the Reliability of the Scale
Testing the reliability of the scale is done through Cronbach's Alpha test or composite reliability index, and thereby checking the observed variables to see if they measure the same concept. measure or not, thereby eliminating the inappropriate variables. The observed variables have a total correlation coefficient ≥0.3 and a Cronbach's Alpha value ≥0.6 is an acceptable scale. Cronbach's Alpha is calculated using the following formula: [ ( ). α = + − 1 1 In this study, the author conducted simultaneously Cronbach's Alpha and composite reliability in order to determine the best reliability of the scale, the purpose is to obtain appropriate research results. especially in the context of the research, which can be applied in practice to increase firms' performance. Total reliability is determined by the following formula: The analysis results show that all variables have a Cronbach's Alpha coefficient greater than 0.7 from 0.728 of the concept of CPI and up to 0.926 of the concept of FP as in Table 1. In addition, composite reliability has values <0.7, from 0.846 of the concept of purchase intent (CPI) to 0.941 of the concept of CSR towards to community (CLCSR) as in Table 1. According to Hair et al. (2016), the aggregate reliability between 0.7 and 0.95 represents a satisfactory level of reliability. Therefore, this result confirms that the reliability of this scale is good and acceptable.

Validity Test
The purpose of the validation check is to help researchers assess the practicality of the data collected, or in other words, the data collected during the survey reflects true conditions or is not. According to Anderson and Gerbing (1988), the validity of research concepts includes convergent validity and discriminant validity of scales for these concepts.

Convergent Validity
Assess the convergence value to illustrate the full convergence of the measurement items on their respective structures (Fornell and Larcker, 1981). Typically, the evaluation of convergence is calculated by means of Average Variance Extracted (AVE) and external loading factor (Outer loading) (Gotz et al., 2010). Hair et al. (2010) suggested that the AVE index should be over or equal to 50%, the extracted factors could be more explainable than any other extract combinations. This proves that the structure has convergence. The convergence value is calculated by the following formula: The external factor load factor has a limit value of 0.7. The results of Table 2 also show that these values of the underlying structures are all <0.7. This means that the observed variables are focused on the research concept that it is involved in. Because both indicators have passed, the convergence of validation has been verified.

Discriminant Validity
According to Fornell and Larcker (1981), the distinction is satisfied when the square root of AVE of each structure in the research model is greater than all the internal correlation values of the remaining  Table 3 has confirmed that the hidden structures used are distinguished from each other. This suggests that the discriminatory test of research concepts is satisfied. The research can move on to analysis of the next steps. Distinctive assessment is a method of independently evaluating the scales of different concepts to prove that these concepts are not correlated with each other. The following Table 3 shows the values in the discriminant analysis table, in which the diagonal value in bold is the square root value of the factors. The values shown on the lower left of the diagonal value in bold are the partial correlation values. This result shows that the square root value of the average of the factors is greater than the partial correlation value. Therefore, it can be concluded that the distinctiveness of the research concepts is determined satisfactorily.

Evaluation of Structural Models
According to Falk and Miller's (1992), the model is called good when the R2 index is satisfactory, meaning the R2 index is <0.1. The above results in Table 4 show that the R2 value of all factors is greater than 0.1, where R2 of social responsibility (CSR) is 0.535; R2 of purchase intent (CPI) is 0.169; R2 of CR is 0.179 and R2 of business result (FB) is 0.265. Therefore, structural models are considered satisfactory as in Table 4. Figure 2 shows that all path factors are positive, meaning that the relationships between the research concepts are positively related. This means that the proposed research hypotheses are accepted The results of Table 5 indicate that in order to have good results, the most important thing is the need to implement social responsibility for the community (CLCSR). As society develops, people's lifestyles are increasingly improved, and people's living standards and consciousness are increasingly improved. This leads to the needs of people in society increasingly from the quality of the products and services they use to the ecosystem. Enterprises that are responsible to the community first ensure that their business does not cause any harm to society and ecosystems. In addition, businesses will take practical strategic actions to add value to the society, such as contributing to the construction of utility projects, activities to support the difficult circumstances of society due to natural disasters., epidemics (for example, the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and the manipulation of more than 200 countries around the world, according to which, governments of countries have applied social isolation measures to the people, At the same time, small traders or manual workers also lose their jobs and income. Therefore, businesses that are responsible to the community can provide some financial or non-financial support to these people so that they can cover their lives and overcome difficulties caused by epidemics, etc.). This is a practical action to benefit the society and the community, thereby improving the reputation of the business to society and the community.
The second consideration for businesses to improve business performance is the implementation of CSR (ECSR). ECSR includes creating a friendly, creative working environment where employees maximize their potential and capacity; Development orientation, take care of building, attaching employees to the common development of the enterprise; Respect, promote equality in assessing competencies, creating opportunities for advancement in work; Training and developing staff capacity, etc. Indeed, these things will improve employee satisfaction, satisfied employees will stay with the company longer (loyalty), engage with the  The square root value of the average of the factors is greater than the partial correlation value  Table 6 shows that CSR has a significant influence on the reputation of the business (CR) and the intention to purchase (CPI), and also has a significant impact on operating results. of the business (FB).
In particular, social responsibility to the community (CLCSR) and social responsibility to employees (ECSR) have a very high proportion in the social responsibility component and most strongly influence the reputation of the business. (CR), purchase intent (CPI), and corporate performance. The remaining elements of social responsibility include social responsibility for customers (CCSR), social responsibility for the environment (ENCSR), social responsibility for related parties (SCSR) and Social responsibility to the government has a negligible influence on the reputation of the business (CR) and the intention to purchase (CPI), accordingly, the poor impact on business performance (FP).

Discuss the Results
The study results show that the reputation of the business (CR) has the greatest influence on the firms' performance (FP) with a value of 0.373, followed by the purchase intent (CPI) has influence. 2 nd largest firms' performance (FP) with a value of 0.330. In addition, CSR also has a direct impact on business performance (CSR) with a value of 0.245. Among the constituent elements (components)    of the social responsibility (CSR) factor, social responsibility to the community (CLCSR) and social responsibility to employees (ECSR) are two important components. The highest values are 0.468 and 0.333 respectively, which have a high influence on the company's reputation (CR) and its intention to purchase (CPI). In addition, CR also has a significant influence on purchase intent (CPI) ( Table 6). Figure 2 and Table 5 show all the factors in this research model having a positive impact on each other, while the independent variable CSR has a strong influence on the two intermediate variables that are business reputation (CR). and the intention to purchase (CPI), and these two intermediate variables have a strong impact on the dependent variable that is the performance of the business (FP). This means that in order to improve the end-to-end performance, the company needs to improve its social responsibility, focusing on the community and its employees, thereby enhancing its reputation (CR). and purchase intent (CPI), and ultimately business performance will improve over time.
Limitations of the study: this study is conducted for businesses in the context of the South, Vietnam, therefore, the results of this study may not cover all businesses in the contexts. other.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION
In this study, the role of CSR is very important for improving the reputation of the business (CR) and increasing purchase intent (CPI). Meanwhile, CR and CPI have a significant impact on firms' performance (FP). Therefore, businesses actively implementing social responsibility will help improve the reputation of the business and the intention to purchase, thereby improving the performance of the business. Moreover, the results clearly indicate that social responsibility for community (CLCSR) and social responsibility for employees (ECSR) are the two most important components of CSR in the context of this scene. Businesses should have a social responsibility strategy that focuses on the community and employees to optimize resources for optimal result.
Through social responsibility, business performance will change in a positive way. To achieve this result, research also shows that social responsibility increases the reputation of the business; thereby increasing customers' buying intent. Therefore, business executives must be visionaries in order to work towards a comprehensive performance. These entrepreneurs need to find solutions to change society in the direction of getting better and vice versa, their businesses will have conditions for more sustainable development. In addition, CSR also helps to improve the reputation of businesses in dealing with customers and partners, creating a competitive advantage and an advantage in calling for investment, especially foreign investment.