Corporate Social Responsibility and Financial Performance of Tier 1 Commercial Banks in Kenya
| dc.contributor.author | Mwangi, Sheila Nyawira | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2026-02-18T12:21:47Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2026-02-18T12:21:47Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2025-11 | |
| dc.description | A Research Project Submitted to the School of Business, Economics and Tourism in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Award of the Degree of Master of Business Administration (Finance) of Kenyatta University, November, 2025 | |
| dc.description.abstract | Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) matters remain a main strategic practice enhancing the financial performance of companies. Companies being the society’s integral part, have CSR continually determining confidence of stakeholders and consequently firms’ sustainable performance. Nevertheless, in spite of the fact that CSR affects the financial position of firms, it is revealed Tier 1 Kenyan commercial banks experience challenges related to CSR and affecting financial position directly and indirectly. This research sought to investigate the significant effect of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on the financial performance of Tier 1 commercial banks in Kenya. Specifically, the research focused on three key objectives: assessing how education-related expenses, healthcare-related expenditures, and environmental costs influence the financial outcomes of Kenya’s leading commercial banks. The main theory that guided this research was the agency theory. It was supported by other models which included social view theory and theory of stakeholders’. This research considered a cross-sectional research design. Ten targeted Tier 1 commercial banks produced 60 respondents who formed the target population where 6 of the respondents were selected from each of the 10 banks by use of purposive sampling technique. The 6 comprised one finance manager, one chief executive officer, two marketing officer and two branch managers. The tool used to collect primary data were questionnaires with closed ended items. Tier 1 Kenya commercial banks financial statements and documents from the human resources provided secondary data. Data analysis was done using statistical package for social sciences version 24. It consisted descriptive analysis, correlation analysis, in addition to multiple regression analysis. The data analyzed was presented using figures and tables. The research additionally adhered to ethical considerations. The study found that the p-value for medical cost was 0.029, which is less than the threshold of 0.05, leading to the rejection of hypothesis H01 and indicating that medical cost had a significant effect on financial performance. Similarly, the p-value for environmental cost was 0.000, also below 0.05, resulting in the rejection of hypothesis H02 and suggesting that environmental costs had a significant effect on financial performance. Additionally, the p-value for education cost was 0.013, which is under 0.05, prompting the rejection of hypothesis H03 and confirming that education costs had a significant effect on financial performance. The investigation concluded that corporate social responsibility is a noteworthy financial performance determinant. The research endorses that all commercial banks in Kenya should increase their expenditure in education corporate social responsibility as doing so would enhance their financial performance. All commercial banks in Kenya should review their strategic goals and intents to align with environmental component of Sustainable Development Goals and doing so would lead to an improvement in their financial performance. There is need for more investment in health CSR activities by commercial banks in Kenya to support the National Health goals of the Government | |
| dc.description.sponsorship | Kenyatta University | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://ir-library.ku.ac.ke/handle/123456789/32490 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | |
| dc.publisher | Kenyatta University | |
| dc.title | Corporate Social Responsibility and Financial Performance of Tier 1 Commercial Banks in Kenya | |
| dc.type | Thesis |