The Mediating Effect of Financial Performance on the Relationship between Shariah Supervisory Board Effectiveness, Intellectual Capital and Corporate Social Responsibility, of Islamic Banks in Gulf Cooperation Council Countries

The objective of this study was to determine the influence of Shariah Supervisory Board Effectiveness (SSBE) and Intellectual Capital (IC) on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) among 36 Islamic banks in Gulf Cooperation Council Countries (GCC) over the period of 2007-2011. Additionally, this study was aimed to identify the significance of financial performance (ROA, ROE) as mediator in the relationship between Shariah Supervisory Board Effectiveness (SSBE), Intellectual Capital (IC) and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). For the purpose of data analysis and hypotheses testing, several statistical methods such as multiple regression analysis were utilized to understand the variables. The results of this study reported that SSBE, Capital Employee Efficiency (CEE) and Structure Capital Efficiency (SCE) of Islamic banks positively influenced CSR. However, Human Capital Efficiency (HCE) did not influence CSR. The results of hierarchical multiple regression indicate that financial performance (ROA, ROE) was found to be a significant mediating factor for the relationship between SSBE, CEE, and SCE, and CSR in Islamic banks. The relationship between SSBE, IC, financial performance (ROA, ROE) and CSR suggested that it may be beneficial to the management of Islamic banks to increase CSR as discussed. Limitations and recommendations for future research were also highlighted.