Firm Characteristics and Corporate Social Responsibility Practices inNigerian Listed Firms: An Empirical Investigation

In recent past, Corporate Social Responsibility has been a fundamental subject of discussion in academic literatures because of its vital contribution to sustainable development. In line with this assertion, this study assessed the corporate social responsibility (CSR) performances of listed companies on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). A cross-sectional research design was adopted for the study and secondary data compiled from the annual reports of those companies were used for the analysis. The study employed multiple regression estimation technique to analyse the CSR ratings of sixteen (16) companies used as the basis of investigation. The study found that while market capitalization had a positive significant relationship with corporate social responsibility practice, period of existence on the listing of Nigerian Stock Exchange had a negative relationship. Also, the industrial goods sector had a positive significant relationship with CSR practice while the oil and gas sector had a significant negative relationship. It is therefore recommended that activist groups, NGOs and community leaders should be more dynamic to challenge organizations to do more for their communities