"Political Ideology, CSR Mindset, and CSR Strategy: A Contingent Perspective"

Abstract

Descriptive, instrumental and normative aspects of stakeholder theory have been dominant theoretical perspectives for studying the determinants of corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategies of firms. Informed by cognitive theory, we develop and test a contingent framework contextualizing the link between political ideology, CSR mindset and CSR strategy. The data were collected from 129 managers of 43 machinery manufacturers in Chengdu, China. The results show that managers with a more socialist oriented ideology are likely to develop a mindset favouring CSR, which induces the adoption of a more proactive strategy toward CSR. CSR mindset mediates the link between political ideology and CSR strategy, while the strength of the relationship between CSR mindset and the choice of CSR strategy is moderated by customer response to CSR, industry competition, role of government, and CSR-related managerial incentives. The study underscores the significance of considering managerial cognition and contextual variables when studying CSR strategies of firms.