Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Engineering Management: Performance Implications

Abstract

The engineering management literature is now focusing on customer-orientation (CO) and environmental issues. Our research explores these facets by incorporating CO in corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs, as customers demand firms to be increasingly environmentally conscious. The article explored and benchmark how multi-national companies (MNCs) with existing successful CSR programs, approach CSR strategically towards enhanced corporate financial performance (CFP). The article assessed how MNCs structure CSR management (the internal focus of the firm and organizational adjustments for CSR implementation) ensuring strategic use of CSR, and how to position CSR to affect stakeholders through external communication. Our article used primary and secondary data from publicly traded engineering dependent MNCs on the “Top-100 CSR Index” on NASDAQ-OMX stock exchange in Sweden (n = 82). The data was triangulated using their aggregated CSP score as rated by the investment service provider GES. The results significantly and positively indicate that MNCs with strategic CSR enjoys greater CFP (.454**).