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ost commonly used controls are; the intensity of R&D investment by the firm, firm size, market risk and industry effects.

This aspect has to do with the direction of causality of the corporate social performance and financial performance relationship. It is still unclear whether financially successful companies simply have more resources to spend on corporate social performance and therefore attain a higher standard (slack resource theory) or whether better performance along various dimensions of corporate social performance itself results in better financial outcomes (good management theory). If slack resources are available, then better social performance would result from the allocation of these resources into the social domains, and thus better financial performance would be a predictor of better corporate social performance. Good management theorists argue that there is a high correlation between good management practice and corporate social performance, simply because attention to corporate social performance domains improves relationships with key stakeholder groups resulting in better overall performance (Waddock and Graves, 1997). Some theorists argue that corporate social performance is both a predictor and consequence of firm financial performance.

4. 结论Conclusion
During the last two decades we have seen a tremendous increase in interest towards the issue of corporate social responsibility (CSR). The shift in focus from shareholders towards stakeholders forced corporations to revalue their goals and responsibilities. The idea that profit is the only goal of a company was replaced by a much wider spectrum, the so-called triple bottom line theory: people, planet and profit. From now on corporations realized that the only way to ensure their profits now and in the future was by including the aspects 'people' and 'planet' in their strategy. This gave birth to corporate social responsibility reporting.

In our paper we had a closer look at CSR and explained several motives behind it. However, in our literature review we focused on one motive: financial performance. As our title indicates we wanted to examine whether corporations' involvement in CSR improves their financial performance. To answer this question we examined numerous studies that investigated the relationship between CSR and financial performance.

The relationship between CSR and financial performance has been a hot topic for half a century. Until now, empirical studies have never been in agreement, as some studies determined a positive correlation, some determined a negative correlation, while others determined no correlation at all. Some theorists argue that the benefits of CSR do not offset the additional cost and therefore do not contribute in enhancing the shareholders' value. Others find no correlation between CSR and financial performance. They believe that there are too many variables which influence the relationship and that any correlation appears by chance. On the whole, most research shows the existence of a positive relationship, whereas several papers point at numerous biases and problems.

Another important aspect is the direction of causality of the corporate social performance and financial performance relationship. It is still unclear whether financially successful companies simply have more resources to spend on corporate social issues and therefore at