July 2026 Journal Club – Dr. Nguyen Trong Thanh: Perspectives on CSR, ESG, and the Performance of Technology Firms
On the afternoon of July 13, 2026, the Faculty of Business Administration, Ton Duc Thang University, organized its July 2026 Journal Club, featuring a presentation by Dr. Nguyễn Trọng Thành and attended by the Faculty’s leadership and academic staff. The two studies presented at the event examined the relationships among corporate social responsibility, environmental, social, and governance factors, innovation, sustainable development, and the business performance of technology firms in the context of global competition.
The first study investigated the influence of corporate social responsibility on the performance of 91 electronics firms worldwide. CSR was conceptualized through the three environmental, social, and governance pillars, while firm performance was assessed in terms of innovation performance and profitability performance. The findings indicated that CSR activities may generate short-term costs, although their specific effects depend on the cultural context. Individualism may intensify certain adverse effects, whereas a long-term orientation can help firms alleviate short-term pressures and align CSR initiatives with their long-term development strategies.
The second study focused on 50 semiconductor firms across the Americas, Asia, and Europe. Using a three-stage performance assessment model, the study examined the transformation process from innovation performance to sustainability performance and profitability performance. The results showed that innovation serves as an important driver of both sustainability and financial performance. However, the effect of sustainability on profitability was not consistent, reflecting a trade-off between short-term implementation costs and long-term competitive benefits.
A noteworthy finding was that environmental factors and overall ESG performance strengthened the positive effect of innovation on sustainability performance. Nevertheless, they did not exert a clear moderating effect on the relationship between sustainability and profitability. This finding suggests that ESG principles should be integrated into firms’ research, operational, and governance activities rather than being treated merely as reporting requirements.
The July 2026 Journal Club concluded with a lively discussion, during which Dr. Nguyễn Trọng Thành provided further insights into the use of financial, ESG, cultural, and patent data. He also discussed the treatment of intermediate variables, longitudinal data, and model robustness testing. These discussions not only provided practical value for lecturers interested in quantitative research and the measurement of firm performance, but also contributed to updating emerging research directions, promoting scholarly exchange, and strengthening the academic environment within the Faculty of Business Administration.
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