Corporate Social Responsibility Management and Business Strategies in Sustainable Economic Development

Corporate Social Responsibility and Corporate Citizenship: Towards Corporate Accountability

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.

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.

The article is devoted to the study of corporate social responsibility (CSR) as a key element of modern entrepreneurship. The authors cover various aspects of CSR, including environmental, social and economic responsibility. It is noted that the implementation of CSR contributes to sustainable development, enhancing business reputation, strengthening consumer and partner trust, and increasing competitiveness. It is noted that the implementation of responsible practices helps to harmonize relations between business, society and the environment. The article highlights the main areas of CSR: financial responsibility, environmental initiatives, protection of workers' rights and community support. It is shown that the integration of ESG principles (ecology, society, governance) contributes to the formation of long-term business strategies. As an example of successful implementation of CSR, cases of international and Ukrainian companies, such as Unilever and Patagonia, are given, demonstrating a positive impact on communities and the environment through environmental initiatives, charitable programs and the development of corporate culture. Special attention is paid to the challenges that enterprises face when implementing CSR. Among them are high financial costs, insufficient awareness, weak regulatory framework, and the risk of reduced trust due to superficial implementation of responsibility. Examples of possible ways to overcome these obstacles are given, including the development of corporate culture, the creation of financial and economic support for CSR initiatives, and the unification of regulatory mechanisms. The article emphasizes that corporate social responsibility not only contributes to the sustainable development of society, but also provides additional benefits for enterprises. Responsible companies enhance their reputation, attract loyal customers, reduce legal and environmental risks, and open up new markets. Social responsibility is becoming an integral part of a modern business strategy aimed at creating a harmonious and sustainable future. The article emphasizes the importance of introducing social responsibility principles into the activities of enterprises as an important factor for achieving sustainable development and strengthening competitiveness in the modern business environment.

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.

This paper presents an overview and analysis of plan-do-check-act (PDCA) based management system frameworks and other similar structured frameworks that were developed for the systematic implementation and management of corporate social responsibility (CSR), corporate sustainability (CS) and sustainable development (SD). With the aim of providing a comprehensive insight to support future research on this topic, this paper focuses on uncovering the different systematic approaches that can be adopted for the implementation and management of these stakeholder concepts at the organizational level. Our extensive literature search for articles that were published between 2000 to 2017 was able to identify only nineteen relevant articles, which indicates that there is very limited research in this field of work. Our analysis of the frameworks revealed that diverse approaches were developed for CSR. Apart from the traditional management system approach that are based on ISO 9001 (quality management standard) or ISO 14001 (environmental management standard), a variety of other approaches such as frameworks that are built on ISO 26000 (social responsibility guidance standard), organizational change management theories as well as other concepts that are similar to the PDCA cycle were developed for CSR. In contrast to the approaches for CSR, the frameworks that were developed for the implementation and management of CS or SD are mainly based on ISO 14001.

The article studies the need for a strategic approach to the management of corporate social responsibility of enterprise, which allows to multiply the positive effects of implementation of socially responsible activities in entities. The analysis has revealed the presence of a number of problems in the management of strategies of corporate social responsibility in enterprises, and the construction and deployment of integrated strategies of corporate social responsibility as an integral part of strategic management has been an important step towards their solution. The strategic analysis is the basis for a strategic approach to the management of corporate social responsibility. The article suggests an improved methodical approach for the strategic analysis of the enterprise, taking into account the factor of its social responsibility, which offers several benefits to corporate entities, including strengthening the link between the enterprise’s contour of management of corporate social responsibility and other areas in the strategic management. Conducting SWOT-analysis of the implementation of corporate social responsibility’s factors in the strategic management is the first element of the proposed methodical approach. The analysis of the current practice of implementing corporate social responsibility on the example of national steel companies revealed the presence of a significant number of weaknesses and threats in the strategic management, which basically can be reduced to a low investment base for financing measures of social and environmental focus and weak enforcement of environmental management as an element of strategic management.

Sustainable Development and the Need for Sustainable Oriented Corporate Law and Regulation

<p>Research of social responsibility of companies in the city of Semarang is a research about the activities of the company as a partner of the Government and people in building the environment and the society. Implementation of corporate social responsibility attached to the values of the local wisdom. Article 74 of Act Number 40 of 2007 about Limited Liability Company and Government Regulation Number 47 Year 2012 about Social and Environmental Responsibility of Limited Liability Company has been set up corporate social responsibility as a part of the company's activities. The substance of corporate social responsibility is not only in the aspect of physical development, but also the empowerment of local communities. Semarang City Government has been managing corporate social responsibility with the funding through Gardu Kempling Program; this program isan Integrated Movement in Health, Economics, Education, Infrastructure, and Environment. Management of corporate social responsibility is used mostly to assist poverty reduction programs. The process of implementation of corporate social responsibility is accepted by the Semarang Regional Secretariat Cooperation Section. The company's understanding of the basis for the laws governing corporate social responsibility, most informants do not know the exact rules and regulations of governing the provision of corporate social responsibility. The focus of corporate social responsibility is to improve the quality of life until it finally emerged establishment communities to address social problems.</p>

The assumption of a mutually supportive, ‘symmetric’ relationship between institutionalization and professionalization is central to the institutionalist perspective on professional work. Our inductive qualitative study of corporate social responsibility (CSR) managers in multinational corporations (MNCs) prompts to rethink the validity of this assumption. We show that as the institutionalization of CSR advances and consolidates, CSR managers are pushed to the organizational periphery. This indicates that the relationship between professionalization and institutionalization can be ‘asymmetric’ under certain conditions. To advance the study of this asymmetry, we develop a conceptual framework and a set of corresponding propositions that explain why some groups are able to advance their professionalization projects, while others cannot. Our study makes three main contributions to the literature: First, we explicate under which conditions the relationship between institutionalization and professionalization is more likely asymmetric than symmetric. Second, our explanation of the shifting organizational positions of different professional groups allows for further delineating occupational from organizational professionals. Third, we contribute to the CSR literature by examining the dynamic yet ambiguous role of CSR managers as driving forces behind the implementation of CSR.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.