Corporate Social Responsibility of Forestry Companies in China: An Analysis of Contents, Levels, Strategies, and Determinants

Abstract

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has gained attention in the forestry sector, especially among Chinese forestry companies, which faces serious challenges. This study explores the CSR activities of Chinese forestry companies listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges and analyzes how they differ from their international counterparts. CSR contents, levels, strategies, and determinants are examined through a quantitative content analysis and statistical analyses. The results show that Chinese forestry companies’ CSR contents, like their international counterparts, are diverse and include the environment, employees, communities, general social issues, consumers and products, investors and creditors, governments, and supply chains. Both of them focus on environmental and employee responsibility and pay less attention to community responsibility; however, their CSR priority activities differ. While Chinese companies rank employee responsibility activities first and environmental activities second, their international counterparts prioritize environmental activities over employee responsibility. Chinese forestry companies have four types of CSR strategies—reactive, focused, opportunistic, and proactive—and the majority of these companies adopt reactive strategies. Only a few Chinese forestry companies choose proactive strategies. Forest resources partially explain the variance in the levels of government responsibility among forestry companies, and the industry type influences the levels of corporate environmental responsibility.