This study examines the relationships among barriers, sustainability, pressures, and perceived benefits with corporate social responsibility and financial performance in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and tests the mediating role of corporate social responsibility in these relationships. The research employs a quantitative, cross-sectional, and survey-based design. Data were analyzed from 352 valid questionnaires collected from managers and decision-makers of SMEs operating in the Toos Industrial Park in Mashhad, Iran. Hypotheses were tested using ordinary least squares regression, HC3 robust standard errors, bootstrapped mediation analysis, and diagnostic tests for multicollinearity, common method bias, robustness, and endogeneity. The findings revealed that sustainability and perceived benefits have a positive and statistically significant relationship with corporate social responsibility, whereas the relationships of barriers and pressures with corporate social responsibility were not significant. In the financial performance model, barriers and sustainability exhibited positive relationships, pressures showed a negative relationship, and corporate social responsibility demonstrated a positive and statistically significant relationship with financial performance; however, the direct effect of perceived benefits on financial performance was not supported. Mediation analysis results indicated that corporate social responsibility mediates only the relationships of sustainability and perceived benefits with financial performance. Therefore, the financial value of corporate social responsibility in SMEs becomes more pronounced when it is aligned with a sustainability orientation and translated into observable, actionable initiatives. Given the cross-sectional and self-reported nature of the data, the findings should be interpreted as statistical associations rather than definitive causal evidence.