Abstract
There are existing studies that successfully show the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on firms’ financial performance. However, limited attention is paid to its impact on the business ecosystem. CSR could be seen as an investment for building a sustainable business ecosystem, which enhances the competitiveness of this system’s members. In that context, this study apprehends and captures the virtuous cycle of firm competitiveness. On analyzing data from interviews with seven firms, the study offers four propositions identifying the structure of the virtuous cycle linking CSR activities to firm competitiveness through the accumulation of social capital within business ecosystems. Based on those propositions, the study offers new insights into CSR research for academics and strategic planning guidelines for managers that integrate social and economic values for a sustainable business ecosystem and firm competitiveness.
Highlights
Many findings on the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and firm economic performance remain inconclusive [1]
This study addressed the question of how firms can achieve a virtuous cycle of investment in CSR, social value creation, social capital accumulation, and firm competitiveness
This study offers a foundation that integrates firms’ economic roles based on market relationships and social roles based on social relationships by analyzing the connection among CSR, social value, and firm competitiveness through social capital from the perspective of business ecosystems
Summary
Many findings on the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and firm economic performance remain inconclusive [1]. A business ecosystem is a mutually dependent system interconnected by a loose foundation of various ecosystem members, including buyers, suppliers, competitors, and other stakeholders [2]. This perspective and the stakeholder theory have similarities, since a stakeholder is defined as a member who has an interest, right, or influence, and/or who is influenced by a given business [3]. The business ecosystem perspective, based on system theory, assumes that members recognize a shared purpose as an economic community and use a common platform coordinated by keystones or focal firms [5,6]
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