Abstract
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting is gaining attention due to its importance in realizing the organizational benefits of CSR activities. This study provides insights into how to improve CSR reporting and organizational performance in the context of CSR branding. Drawing on upper echelons theory, this study investigates the impact of top management team (TMT) functional background on CSR reporting. Moreover, using stakeholder theory, this study tests the effect of CSR reporting on organisational performance, and the moderating effect of CSR branding on this relationship. The predictions were tested using time-lagged archival data from multiple sources and primary data collected from 131 Pakistani listed organisations. The findings indicate that TMT throughput functional background was positively associated with CSR reporting, and CSR reporting was positively associated with net income and market capitalization. Furthermore, the CSR reporting-net income relationship was strongly positive for organisations with a high CSR branding, while the CSR reportingmarket capitalization relationship was strongly positive for organisations with low CSR branding. We discuss theoretical and research contributions and practical implications.