Barriers and drivers of strategic management of social responsibility consolidation at industrial enterprises in Ukraine

Subject. This article models the process of interaction of enterprises and stakeholders in the corporate social responsibility (CSR) management system of industrial enterprises. Objectives. The article aims to develop a model of interaction between industrial enterprises and stakeholders in the CSR management system, based on the Win-Win game concept, ensuring sustainable development, and preserving competitive advantages. Methods. For the study, we used the logical, systems, and structural analyses, as well as the expert assessments, graphical, and visualization methods. Results. The article presents an author-developed model of interaction of industrial enterprises and stakeholders in the CSR management system, based on the Win-Win game concept. The testing of the model at machine engineering enterprises shows trends in collaboration with various types of stakeholders and the influence on CSR strategy choices. Conclusions and Relevance. The proposed model can help systematize the work of enterprises with stakeholders in the CSR management system, identify priority areas for interaction, and enhance the effectiveness of CSR activities of industrial enterprises. The results of the study can be used by industrial enterprises to improve CSR management, build effective interaction with stakeholders, develop sustainable development strategies, as well as interact with government bodies and relevant organizations for monitoring and evaluating the level of CSR in industries, and develop measures of government support and stimulate socially responsible business.

The aim of this paper is to present a theoretical approach in order to propose a social responsibility management model for project management. This theoretical support is based on the topics of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Project Management (PM). In recent times, CSR has been widely applied in permanent organizations, but there is insufficient evidence to indicate that CSR has been systematically incorporated into projects, which are temporary organizations, specifically in PM practices. The method employed began by setting the topics that should be consulted. Then, the documentary research was carried out using renowned databases and books in the two topics, based on the definition of keywords in each of them. Thereafter, the results of the research were classified by topic, and, finally, the theoretical framework was drawn up. The result revolves around items such as social responsibility, CSR, and stakeholders, as regards CSR; and revolves around the items of project and PM, as concerns PM. There is also discussion conducted based on the relationship between CSR and PM, according to the background research. The conclusions relate to the different theoretical approaches found for the concepts of CSR, project, and PM, which frame the development of research.

Introduction. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) management is pivotal for the strategic development of the national economy and the sustainability of companies. Considering the intensification of environmental and social issues, companies that integrate the principles of sustainable development into their activities can enhance their image and ensure long-term economic efficiency. Aim and tasks. This study examines the key principles of corporate social responsibility management and their impact on the economic, social, and environmental development of companies. It also examines the role of CSR in sustainable economic development and its significance in establishing a socially responsible business environment. Results. The adoption of CSR principles enhances business positions, as proven by the increase in the number of companies publishing CSR reports from 20% in 2011 to over 90% of S&P 500 companies in 2022. This contributes to positive economic dynamics, with the annual growth of legal entities reaching 8.5% between 2020 and 2023, while the number of private enterprises decreased by 0.2%. The key components of corporate reputational capital included product and service quality (20.2%), management quality (14.9%), citizenship (14.6%), financial success (13.4%), and innovation (13.3%). In 2023, the distribution of companies by CSR type was as follows: large Ukrainian enterprises (67%) and enterprises with foreign capital (18%) were the most common, while multinational corporations accounted for 13%, and medium-sized enterprises accounted for 2%. CSR has a positive impact on company performance, reflected in reputation (93.6%), quality (85.3%), innovation (83%), customer satisfaction (81.7%), productivity (80.4%), and market accessibility (71.3%). Conclusions. CSR management is crucial for sustainable development and promotes responsible economic practices. The analysis of CSR projects of domestic companies in the context of sustainable development and social responsibility has identified key activities of the most socially responsible companies in Ukraine that provide charitable assistance to the population (74%), support medical services (54%), and organise leisure activities and resettlement (47%). The implementation of corporate social responsibility through innovations, social programs, and environmental initiatives not only adds value to businesses but also fosters favourable changes in the community and the environment.

The research aims to explore the links among corporate governance, corporate social responsibility, and earnings management, considering vital roles of each component in Vietnam. There were 500 questionnaires provided to the targeted enterprises, where there were 150 enterprises in Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange, 150 enterprises in Hanoi Stock Exchange, and 200 enterprises in the unlisted public company market. Of the distributed questionnaires, only 289 replies offered needed information for analyses. The data derived from these firms was based on their annual or sustainability statements that were retrieved from the websites. This research used a six-year rolling window to calculate earnings management. To compute that variable, lagged year information was included, so the data from 2011 to 2017 was needed to collect. The empirical results show that corporate governance mechanism is a significant moderation in the positive link between good corporate social responsibility and earnings management. Furthermore, corporate social responsibility and earnings management also play mediating roles in the associations among corporate governance, corporate social responsibility, and earnings management. This project recommends that corporate governance mechanism is an essential driver of the managerial behaviors in social responsibility and ethical accounting practices, which are in turn mediators in the joint research model.

The purpose of this study is to explore the role of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the management of SMEs. Corporate Social Responsibility is an important factor of businesses and involves social and environmental issues. It deals with the internal and external environment of enterprises and aims at their continuous development. It helps the companies to be accountable to shareholders and stakeholders. The aim of the paper is to exprore corporate social responsibility in business management, the specific features of this, the approach of the organization of the parties involved. The methodology used is based on bibliographic research, text analysis and the linking of findings from research to the current state of affairs. The expected results of the study are focused on the necessity of the SMEs to take initiatives to improve the quality of corporate social responsibility and the importance of changes in these organizational structures in order to gain more responsibility and effectiveness. Also, it seems that there is a positive correlation between CSR and performance. The above findings can help to inform the public about the current situation of small and medium-sized enterprises and identify the causes of delays in the development of better corporate social responsibility in the business environment.

The problem of establishing and maintaining the relationship between corporate social responsibility and personnel management systems is becoming increasingly important for businesses, as it is associated with significant economic and social benefits. They include growth of motivation and loyalty of employees, which leads to increased income, increased competitiveness of enterprises, improving their image. Special attention should be paid to the research problems of theoretical and methodological base and practical issues related to the specifics of implementing the concept of corporate social responsibility in corporate human resource management systems.The article shows that the concept of corporate social responsibility is the basis for defining and means of coordinating the strategic goals of modern enterprises and their employees.Five levels for implementing human resource management practices by enterprises are proposed.Theyshow that achieving the strategic level and the level of society’s support is the goal to which all enterprises should strive, implementing the concept of corporate social responsibility in theirpersonnel management strategy. The research by interviewing representatives of Ukrainian business on the current state of implementation of the concept of corporate social responsibility in enterprise management systems and the personnel management subsystem in particular has been conducted. It shows that Ukrainian business entities in general adhere to the main principles of social responsibility in labor relations. The main areas of internal socially responsible practices used in Ukrainian enterprises are wages, safety and working conditions, social protection of employees, staff development, and corporate culture. To increase the effectiveness of corporate social responsibility management, the human resource departmentneeds to involve employees in developing the enterprise’s strategic plans, participating in corporate social responsibility projects, as well as coordinating key performance indicators with strategic goals and results.

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to ascertain how corporate social responsibility (CSR) managers are justifying the adoption of automation technologies in India, which is simultaneously creating job loss.Design/methodology/approachIndian firms to become and maintain superior levels of competitiveness in the marketplace had initiated the adoption, as well as usage of automation technologies such as robotics, additive manufacturing, machine learning and others. Such firm initiatives led to job loss in communities where the firm had a presence with its plants and offices. CSR managers primarily engaged with communities to undertake firm CSR initiatives. Job creation and its continuance have been a sacred component in this narrative. The adoption of automation technologies had altered this point of conversation. CSR managers had to justify both organizational actions from a firm perspective and reconcile the same to the community leaders. In this research, an exploratory study was conducted with a semi-structured open-ended questionnaire with 28 CSR experts. Data was collected through personal interviews and the data was content analysed based upon thematic content analysis.FindingsThe results indicated that CSR managers rationalized the adoption of automation technologies from a push-pull-mooring (PPM) perspective from a firm centric point of view. While for justification from a community (social) centric perspective, dominantly system thinking with fair market ideology than normative justification, utilitarian rather than deontological thinking (DT) and organizational economic egoism (OEE) rather than reputational egoism was applied.Research limitations/implicationsThe study applies the theories of the PPM perspective from a firm centric point of view. While for community-based theoretical justification – system thinking with fair market ideology than normative justification, utilitarian rather than DT and OEE rather than reputational egoism was used.Practical implicationsThis study finding would help CSR managers to undertake community activities while their firms are adopting and implementing automation technologies that are creating job loss in the very community their firms are serving. Mangers would get insights regarding the steps they should undertake to create harmony.Originality/valueThis is one of the first studies that delve regarding how CSR managers are justifying the adoption of automation technologies in India, which is simultaneously creating job loss. Theoretically, this study is novel because the study question is answered based upon the adoption of automation technologies from a PPM perspective from a firm centric point of view. While, for justification from a community (social) centric perspective, dominantly system thinking with fair market ideology than normative justification, utilitarian rather than DT and OEE rather than reputational egoism was applied.

Purpose– Forest industries affect cultural sustainability profoundly, but little information exists on integration of cultural sustainability aspects into their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) management. Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines comprising assessments of economic, ecological and social aspects are one of the most comprehensive CSR frameworks applied widely also in forest industries. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate, how the GRI guidelines encompass cultural sustainability when assessing forestry and forest industry operations in a global context and to recognize the cultural sustainability themes that need additional information in forest industry companies’ CSR reporting.Design/methodology/approach– In the qualitative analysis, expert interview material on indicators identified for assessing the cultural sustainability of forest bioenergy production in North Karelia was compared with the contents of the GRI guidelines. The focus on classifying the cultural indicators according to GRI contents was to recognize in the context of forest bioenergy production, the links between cultural sustainability and other sustainability dimensions and to illustrate the new themes that cultural sustainability integration would bring to CSR management of the business. In addition, information was acquired from the general themes of cultural sustainability which are currently lacking from the GRI guidelines.Findings– The results of the show that most of the cultural indicators in the expert interview material were associated with aspects of economic, environmental or social sustainability when classified according to the GRI guidelines. Despite this, it seems that a more profound integration of cultural sustainability evaluations in CSR management is required. The analysis of this study showed that the themes “Impacts on landscape,” “Timeline of impacts,” “Spiritual values,” “Persistence of traditions” and “Adaptability to cultural change” are not approached in the GRI guidelines at all. All of the identified themes approach issues, which have been found to be crucial in forest industries’ operations not only in a local, but also in a global context.Research limitations/implications– The analysis of this study was limited to cultural characteristics of forestry and forest industries especially in the case of forest bioenergy production in North Karelia, Eastern Finland. Due to this, the results cannot be generalized directly into other CSR management contexts of forest industries in different geographical areas. Despite this, the results of this study indicate that when aiming to enhance the acceptability of forest industries in energy production as well as in other branches of forest industries, new insights are needed on the integration of cultural aspects in CSR management.Originality/value– The pressures toward using local forest resources are increasing internationally. As a result of this, the managers and politicians responsible for making decisions on forest sector are less seldom familiar with local traditions and the ways of balancing different needs related to forests in various geographical contexts. In enhancing the environmental, social and economic sustainability of forest resource usage it is crucial to ensure that the decisions made do not conflict with cultural values of localities traditionally dependent on forests. Despite this, general information on cultural sustainability issues related to forests and especially CSR management in forest sector is scarce.

People and other organisms depend on natural resources such as fresh water, land, clean air, wood, and food for critical life requirements and wellbeing. It is well documented that today’s Western way of living and the spread of capitalism is having a detrimental impact on societies and the natural environment. As one of the greatest users of natural and human recourses, many companies have started doing their part in the journey toward Earth’s sustainability and are actively working on translating the idea of sustainable development (SD) into reality. Companies often address SD through their corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs. CSR refers to as a company’s continuing commitment to integrate ecological, social, and economic interests in company’s operations and in its interactions with stakeholders. This commitment is usually done on a voluntary basis (Dahlsrud, 2008). This PhD thesis aims to provide a better understanding of how the CSR adaptation process in private companies can be supported, which is of particular importance and interest since the economic interests (i.e., business case logic) of private companies often clash with CSR objectives. Consequently, adapting to CSR principles can be quite challenging for these companies. Many scholars have attempted to identify factors that can facilitate the CSR adaptation process. However, though any large-scale organizational change requires employees to learn new ways of doing their jobs, the role of learning or human resource development in CSR adaption has remained largely unexplored in the CSR literature. This PhD thesis contributes to this line of research by answering the following research question: Which internal resources related to learning at the organizational and individual level contribute to the CSR adaptation process in private companies? With respect to the organizational level, we found that certain learning organization characteristics can support the CSR adaptation process. We found that stimulating group learning, leadership that encourages learning, and connecting to the local communities are LO characteristics that can directly influence CSR adaptation in a positive way. With respect to the individual level, we found that CSR managers, those managing the CSR adaptation process, need specific individual competencies in order to do their jobs effectively. We identified eight distinct individual competencies (e.g., Balancing personal ethical values and business objectives). We also found that CSR managers have different job roles in the CSR adaptation process. We identified six of these roles (e.g., strategizing role) and showed that the business case logic influences the relative perceived importance of specific individual competencies within each job role. To conclude, the key message of this thesis, and the answer to the research question is two-fold. First, because CSR managers are the ones who actually manage the CSR adaptation process they can play a crucial role in the CSR adaptation process if they possess the right individual competencies. In order to develop these individual competencies, CSR managers should take ownership of their learning process and seek opportunities to learn with and from others. Second, leadership and connecting with external parties are of particular importance to the CSR adaptation process. With respect to connecting with external parties: on the organizational level, having good relations with external parties improves CSR adaptation, because such relationships stimulate learning processes within the company. Furthermore, on the individual level, relationships with external parties promote the development of the individual competencies of the CSR managers responsible for the adaptation process. With respect to leadership: on the organizational level, leadership for learning, referring to active support and stimulation of learning, indirectly affects CSR adaptation; it enhances employees’ learning behavior and therefore improve employees’ cognitive readiness and support for the changes needed to integrate CSR within the company. Furthermore, on the individual level, leadership competencies are essential for driving the changes needed in the CSR adaptation process. This thesis contributes to the literature on the CSR adaptation process in several ways. First, this thesis addresses the issue of the CSR adaptation process from a learning or human resource development perspective and as such complements previous research employing the (human resource) management perspective on CSR. Second, it addresses learning from both the organizational and individual level, thereby providing valuable insights into if and how specific internal resources related to learning can contribute at different levels to the CSR adaptation process in private companies. Third, little is known about how factors on an individual level can support companies in their adaptation to CSR principles and their social performance at large (Aquinis & Glavas, 2012). This doctoral thesis is one of the first providing insights into this matter and demonstrates that learning-related influences on the individual level may be of value to the adaptation process. More specifically, this thesis adds to the literature by (1) identifying the job roles and individual competencies CSR managers need to effectively do their jobs within private companies; previous studies on CSR-related competencies often studied this topic from an educational point of view, thereby not fully addressing the complexity of the business context in which CSR managers operate; (2) by exploring how CSR managers can develop their competencies, which up till now remained unexplored in the CSR literature; and (3) by showing how certain organizational characteristics (i.e., learning climate) and personal characteristics (i.e., learning goal orientation) affect the development of CSR managers’ competencies. There are several implications to be derived from our research with respect to learning (activities) for the benefit of CSR. For one, developing LO characteristics may help companies create favorable conditions for integrating CSR principles. By facilitating learning, companies provide employees with the opportunity to develop their “receptiveness to change”. As such, we suggest that companies experiment with employing LO characteristics to advance the integration of CSR principles. In particular, we suggest that company’s management show leadership for learning by endorsing learning behavior among their employees as this LO characteristic in particular seems to promote the integration of CSR principles. The management can stimulate such behavior by providing employees with continuous opportunities to learn (e.g., provide formal trainings and professional development opportunities), learn in groups (e.g., stimulate team work), and learn with and from external parties (e.g., stimulate stakeholder involvement). Furthermore, it is important for companies to set up and structure a learning system within the company that enables customized learning, meaning a learning system that provides learning opportunities that fit’s the job and needs of individual workers. Companies can enable customized learning among CSR managers by, for example, providing them with flexible working hours and fixed budgets and hours that they can use for professional development. Such a learning system promotes meaningful learning and self-directed learning behavior among employees (Baars-van Moorsel, 2003), which, according to our research, can stimulate the development of CSR-related competencies. To conclude, we hope that this thesis will encourage more research on the role of learning in the CSR adaptation process. Our research provides ample directions to further explore this topic. Furthermore, we hope that this research will inspire CSR professionals to start a dialogue with their employers about their competencies and professional development opportunities or that it inspires them to take control of their learning process and create their own learning network in order to develop their competencies, if needed. Moreover, we hope that by developing the relevant CSR-related competencies, CSR managers will effectively manage the CSR adaptation process and that higher CSR maturity levels are reached and more ambitious sustainability challenges are successfully addressed by private companies.

Much psychologically oriented micro‐CSR research emphasizes intra‐individual processes, leading to a relative omission of the role of interactions among individuals in managing CSR. This limitation hinders the potential of such micro‐CSR research to explain CSR as an organizational‐level outcome. We adopt a meta‐synthesis methodology to extract insights on inter‐individual processes in CSR management from existing literature that examines CSR's microfoundations beyond a purely psychological perspective. By incorporating a causal mechanism approach into our meta‐synthesis, we develop a theoretical framework comprising three causal mechanisms that elucidate how individual behaviours and interactions of differing sets of dominant actor types (including change agents, supporters, opportunists, resisters and top and senior management) foster substantive or incremental progress in CSR or its obstruction within firms. Our findings establish a foundation for further research into individual‐level and temporal dynamics in CSR management, and the conditions under which firms are more likely to implement impactful CSR initiatives.

PurposeThis paper aims to analyze the adherence of social responsibility management (SRM) in Brazilian organizations and to identify the driving and the resistance forces to implement it.Design/methodology/approachThis article presents a deep literature review on SRM, corporate social responsibility (CSR) and stakeholder management, which aim to support a survey research to define, according to experts, the market perception of adherence of SRM.FindingsThe paper presents evidence that there is adherence on the part of the practices of organizations that adhere to the theoretical foundations of SRM in Brazil. It was found that organizations should seek to improve nine areas to implement SRM and can use each of these areas strategically or all together.Practical implicationsThis study provides an opportunity for employees whose perceptions are aligned based on educational programs and engagement in CSR, and these gains favor the improvement of their own management and the quality of relationships.Social implicationsThe research provides an opportunity to recast actions and the possibility of being recognized by stakeholders as active agents in this process.Originality/valueThis study sheds new light on both SRM and the CSR literature because of its attempt to bridge the theoretical foundations and market practices, which was performed to verify the gaps in corporative SRM process of Brazilian organizations. This study highlights for researchers and practitioners a relevant field of study whose importance is widely recognized but whose results remain scarce and limited.

Is corporate social responsibility possible in the mining sector? Evidence from Catalan companies

Introduction. Corporate social responsibility in human resource management today remains a topic of discussion among domestic and foreign scientists. After all, there are still no generally accepted methods for assessing the level of corporate social responsibility, as well as a proven relationship between corporate social responsibility and effective management of human resources.The aim of the study is to determine the place of corporate social responsibility in human resource management as a business-oriented approach to achieve high results in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.Research methods. Google Tools were used to analyze the publication activity on the research topic and the data sample was generated from the scientometric database Scopus. Statistics from the State Statistics Service of Ukraine and the UN Global Compact were used. Comparative analysis was used in the study of key indicators that affect the level of corporate social responsibility at the micro and maro levels.Results. The obtained data confirmed the hypothesis of a strong close relationship between the studied phenomena - corporate social responsibility and human resource management. This led to the conclusion that increasing the level of corporate social responsibility in human resource management will allow to more effectively implement the key Sustainable Development Goals and to form a new corporate culture in the country.Perspectives. Requires further research into the level of the relationship between corporate social responsibility and human resource management, as well as the formation and improvement of methods for assessing the level of effectiveness of corporate social responsibility in human resource management.

PurposeThis paper aims to examine the impact of three key factors — corporate social responsibility (CSR) awareness, CSR affordability and CSR management system (CSRMS) sophistication—on the CSR performance of Japanese firms.Design/methodology/approachUsing responses to 36 items developed on the Global CSR standard of ISO26000, two CSR indexes were constructed to assess the CSR management system sophistication and performance of Japanese firms. The relationship between the three key variables (CSR awareness, affordability and management system sophistication) and CSR performance was then examined through a partial least squares (PLS)-based structural equation model. Data were collected through a questionnaire survey of 146 firms.FindingsThe results of the study found a positive relationship between CSR performance and three exogenous variables (CSR awareness, affordability and management system sophistication). Furthermore, the study found that CSRMS sophistication played a mediating role in the relationship between CSR performance and firms' CSR awareness and affordability.Research limitations/implicationsThe study was limited to examining the CSR practices of a major province in Japan, which may hinder the generalisation of the findings to the rest of the country. Moreover, the data used for assessing the variables in this study were self-reported by the participating firms, in addition to being cross-sectional. The findings of this study clarified areas that policymakers, including Japan's business associations–Keidanren and Keizai Doyukai, and other relevant parties need to focus on for further improving CSR performances of Japanese firms.Originality/valueThis study highlights the role CSR awareness, affordability and CSRMS sophistication play in improving CSR performance. On the one hand, it identifies the critical role CSRMS plays in mediating the relationship among CSR performance, awareness and affordability. On the other hand, it advances CSR theory providing insight for practitioners to generate positive CSR outcomes.

This paper investigates the corporate social responsibility (CSR) management strategies in multinational enterprises’ (MNEs) subsidiaries. Despite the various efforts of MNEs in the area of CSR, very little is known about the CSR management strategies that MNE subsidiaries adopt, particularly in the context of developing countries, and how such strategies either constrain or facilitate the realization of the wider global commitment towards sustainable development. In addressing these questions, the paper considers stakeholder theory and institutional theory to establish factors that influence CSR management strategies; in particular, the formulation and implementation of CSR programmes in the host country subsidiaries. Semi-structured interviews with senior managers responsible for CSR in eight MNEs operating in Bangladesh reveal that institutional pressure is the most important influence for MNE subsidiaries in their design of CSR programmes and that MNE subsidiaries in the host countries suffer from ‘institutional duality’ when designing and implementing their CSR programmes. While most of the CSR programmes are designed and managed directly by the parent company, they often resemble the more legitimate and successful CSR programmes of local enterprises (emulative isomorphism). Interestingly, the CSR formulation process very rarely engages external local stakeholders and when they do, stakeholders’ roles are principally limited to programme implementation. Although a handful of MNE subsidiaries, originating from the same home country, were found to collaborate with each other in their CSR initiatives, no such partnership between MNE subsidiaries and local enterprises was evident. In order to ensure that MNEs’ CSR programmes have a sustainable impact, the paper urges MNEs to revisit their current CSR management approach, and adopt broader strategies incorporating engagement of local stakeholders, building partnerships with local enterprises, and the capacity building of local subsidiaries.