There are frequent disruptive developments in the contemporary business environment, which is chaotic. A restriction is the inability of an organisation to predict future performance with certainty. To improve company performance and develop their reputation, organisations must strike a balance between the economic (removal of societal costs) and non-economic (business reputation) sides of their operations. Consequently, this study examined how social costs impact the business reputation of listed companies in Nigeria. The study used survey research designs. The population was made up of 168 firms that were listed on the Nigerian Exchange Group as of December 31, 2022. To collect primary data, a standardised and verified questionnaire was used. For the analysis, a structural equation model was employed. The results of the first hypothesis refuted the findings of the initial hypothesis, which demonstrated a strong positive correlation between social costs and business reputation. The study yields a standardised estimate of 0.840 (t-value = 8.116, p 0.001), demonstrating that social costs significantly affect the reputations of listed firms. The second hypothesis postulates a positive relationship between innovation and a company’s reputation (standardised estimate = 0.547, t-value = 4.562, p 0.001). The relationship between business ethics and reputation is still negligible, with a standardised estimate of 0.116, a t-value of 0.669, and a p-value of 0.503. The study recommends that corporate managers work harder on social responsibility to boost the reputation of their businesses. Governmental agencies in Nigeria should set up a system encouraging companies to prioritise social responsibility projects.
Keywords: Nigeria, business reputation, listed firms, social costs
