Effect of ethical leadership and corporate social responsibility on firm performance: A systematic review

Abstract Academic and corporate interest in ethical leadership, corporate social responsibility (CSR), and firm performance has attracted a lot of attention in recent years. In fact, many research papers and journal special issues have been focused on these three domains. In this context, this paper conducts a systematic review on the concepts of ethical leadership and CSR and their impact on firm performance. 114 papers published over a period of 58 years (1958–2016) were selected and analyzed according to descriptive and content perspectives to propose a conceptual framework and define a future research agenda. In fact, the main results allow us to derive six main propositions representing possible areas of investigation to direct research on the topic. More in details, the body of literature highlights that financial factors are the main barriers affecting the adoption of CSR practices. On the contrary, internal and external environment was found to represent a critical success factor in the adoption of CSR practices. Finally, the results highlight that personal values have impact on ethical leadership that in turn has direct positive impact on CSR and direct and indirect impact on firm performance.