Ouyang, Y and Liang, L (2026) Fulfilling CSR builds resilience in construction firms: The moderating role of environmental uncertainties. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 152(5): 04026055, ISSN 0733-9364
Abstract
With the increasingly turbulent business environment, the concept of firm resilience has captured significant attention. In this context, this study aims to investigate the potential of corporate social responsibility (CSR) to enhance the resilience of construction firms amid turbulent periods. Using data of 113 Chinese construction listed-firms with 699 observations from 2011 to 2020, this study reveals that fulfilling CSR practices is an effective measure to build firm resilience. Through moderating effect analysis, the results show that environmental uncertainty moderate the relationship between CSR practices and firm resilience differently. Specifically, the complex and dynamic environments strengthen the positive effect of CSR practices on resilience; in contrast, munificent environments weaken it. These findings demonstrate that CSR can play a significant role in enhancing the resilience of construction firms, and that its effectiveness depends on the level and type of environmental uncertainty. This study makes contributions to the existing literature by extending stakeholder theory, clarifying the mechanism through which CSR fosters resilience, and introducing environmental uncertainty as a critical boundary condition. It also provides construction managers and policymakers with actionable insights on how to adapt CSR strategies to turbulent or resource-abundant contexts to enhance crisis preparedness and sustain competitiveness.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | construction firms; corporate social responsibility; environmental uncertainty; firm resilience |
| Index terms: | boundary condition, corporate social responsibility, environmental uncertainty, competitiveness, effectiveness, construction firm, strategy, construction manager |
| Subjects: | financial risk, health safety and environment, structural engineering, market analysis, organization, performance management, management, profession |
| Topics: | Roles and Professions, Cost Management, Business Strategy, Research Practice, Quality Management, Health and Safety, Engineering Principles |
| Descriptive scope: | 2 PC |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here