Research on whether corporate social responsibility (CSR) and board gender diversity (BGD) regulations should be mandatory remains inconclusive. This study investigates their impact on firms’ social and financial performance, and strategic investment across 51 countries from 2002 to 2022, using 75,265 observations. It finds that CSR regulations improve short-term social performance, but these effects fade over time. BGD regulations have mixed results, showing little effect on social performance and a long-term negative impact on financial performance. The combined effect of CSR and BGD regulations negatively affects social performance and profitability in the medium term, suggesting a potential substitutive relationship. These findings indicate that while CSR and BGD regulations can influence firm behavior, they may not enhance social performance and could harm financial outcomes. Over time, these effects may lead firms to reduce investments in affected sectors. The study supports the institutional perspective by showing how regulations influence firms in complex ways and advances the institutional polycentrism view by demonstrating how the interaction of multiple regulations can have unintended consequences, such as reduced social performance and increased financial challenges.
