This study investigates the influence of corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices on sustainable competitive advantage (SCA) of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). The data were collected from 100 MSMEs situated in Haryana (India) through a survey with purposive sampling. Smart PLS 4.0.9.8 and SPSS 22.0 were used for data analysis. The partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) model has a good goodness of fit value and also has predictive relevance, thus confirming the validity and generalisation of the model. The results of this research indicate that CSR has no significant direct impact on SCA but social innovation does, and social innovation practices significantly mediate the connection between CSR and SCA. This research contributes to the scholarly literature related to CSR and its strategic and competitive advantage. Further, the empirical results also guide entrepreneurs, managers and policymakers for CSR–MSMEs relationship that mere CSR does not provide a significant SCA for MSMEs of developing nations, but CSR along with social innovation practices can.
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