Do CSR Practices Drive Corporate Sustainability? Empirical Evidence from Ready-Made-Garment in Bangladesh Using Covariance-Based SEM

<ns5:p>Background This study aims to explore how Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) translates into tangible Corporate Sustainability (CS) benefits in Bangladesh’s Ready-Made Garment (RMG) Sector. It contributes to the literature in three important ways: First, it brings together the disjointed research on CSR and sustainability; second, it establishes the operational pathways that mediate this relationship in the context of limited resources; third, it links Stakeholder Theory, the Resource-Based View (RBV), and the Triple Bottom Line (TBL) framework to the emerging economies. Method A quantitative, explanatory research design was used. The participants were recruited from 131 export-oriented RMG companies in Dhaka, Gazipur and Narayanganj, Bangladesh, using a stratified random sampling technique. Middle and senior managers completed structured questionnaires derived from a series of multi-item scales. The analysis technique used was Covariance-Based Structural Equation Modelling (CB-SEM) software AMOS 22.0, and bootstrapping (5,000 resampling) was used for mediation analysis. Results Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) significantly improved corporate sustainability and cleaner production. Cleaner production partially mediated the positive association between CSR and sustainability. Surprisingly, CSR did not affect green innovation, and the indirect pathway via green innovation was not significant. Green innovation, on the other hand, was a strong predictor of corporate sustainability on its own. The overall fit of the structural equation model was good across all evaluated absolute and incremental fit indices. Conclusions The integration of CSR into production systems, combined with conscious investment in innovation, should be encouraged by managers, and green financing and technology transfer support should be provided to speed up sustainable industrial transformation that supports SDGs 8, 9 and 12 in the RMG industry in Bangladesh.</ns5:p>