The asymmetric impact of CEO succession on firms’ internal and external CSR: Evidence from China

PurposeThe purpose of the current study is to revisit the relationship between CSR and firm market performance. The authors examine whether a gap between the firm's internal and external CSR moderates the CSR-firm market performance relationship. Additionally, the authors propose that the moderating effect of the CSR gap on this relationship is mediated by firm visibility.Design/methodology/approachThe initial sample is the Fortune 500 firms during the years 2004–2013. The final panel data sample consisted of 1,300 firms and 6,128 observations from 2004 to 2013. The authors obtained data from five different sources: Compustat North America Fundamental Annual, GMI Ratings, Execucomp, IBES and KLD Stats.FindingsThe results of this research find evidence that both internal CSR and external CSR were positively related to firm market performance, but that the relationship was stronger for firms with equal emphasis on external and internal CSR activities. Furthermore, the negative moderating effect of the CSR gap was mediated by the firm visibility.Originality/valueThe findings of the study advance our understanding of the CSR-FP relationship. First, the theoretical arguments and the empirical evidence highlight that the CSR-FP relationship exists and that its magnitude is contingent upon the gap between internal and external CSR investments. Second, the authors enhanced theoretical understanding of how and why CSR relates to firm performance by exploring firm visibility as a mediator. Specifically, the authors introduced firm visibility as a mechanism which explains the effect of the interaction of overall CSR with the CSR gap on firm performance.

Chairman narcissism has received extensive attention in social psychology and organizational behavior, but the relationship between chairman narcissism and social responsibility has not yet received much attention. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of chairman narcissism on various dimensions of CSR and the moderating roles of analyst coverages. Based on upper echelons theory and stakeholder theory, we distinguished internal corporate social responsibility (internal CSR) and external corporate social responsibility (external CSR) according to whether there was a formal contractual relationship. This study used a narcissism index of chairmen of Chinese listed companies to examine the relationship between chairman narcissism and internal CSR, external CSR, and the data were analyzed using Stata16.0. The results showed that there was a positive correlation between chairman narcissism and external CSR, and there was a negative correlation between chairman narcissism and internal CSR. That is, the higher the Chairman's narcissism degree is, the more external CSR and less internal CSR the firm makes. Further research showed that analyst coverage has weakened the impact of chairman narcissism on internal and external CSR. This paper enriches and expands the research on chairman narcissism and CSR and provides new ideas for selecting corporate managers and improving corporate governance.

CSR is a strategy to realize sustainability. CSR needs to be understood based on a priority scale and objectives to build a solid organizational structure and ensure sustainable CSR implementation. In this regard, CSR implementation at the micro and macro levels needs further explanation. The study aims to analyze the effect of CSR on employee performance through assessment and job satisfaction using the micro foundation framework. This causal study surveyed 382 state-owned enterprises’ non-manager employees in Indonesia. The results demonstrate employees’ responses to internal and external CSR. Internal CSR, which primarily aims to improve employee performance, was found to improve employee satisfaction and engagement and lead to better performance more significantly than external CSR. Internal CSR had a higher effect on employee performance than external CSR. Compiling a scale of top priorities for corporate stakeholders became the leading choice to encourage long-term performance. The originality of this study is that the foundation of long-term performance ensures the corporation’s performance, and CSR lies in the strength of the microstructure at the individual level. The implementation of CSR based on the legal system requires paying attention to the scale of priorities based on the internal function of CSR in strengthening a corporation’s microstructure.

Purpose This study investigates how firms navigate conflicting stakeholder responsibilities during crises. Leveraging the unique context of the COVID-19 pandemic and drawing on signaling theory, it examines how anti-COVID-19 philanthropy (external CSR) and internal CSR (prioritizing employees) jointly influence firm performance. Design/methodology/approach The paper employs a dual-method design, using secondary data from 918 Chinese listed firms' CSR reports, financial databases and survey data from 232 middle managers. Heckman's two-stage model was applied to address potential sample selection bias in the archival study. Findings The results confirm that anti-COVID-19 philanthropy enhances firm performance. For internal CSR, the findings are nuanced: while preserving jobs (employee number growth) boosts performance and amplifies the benefits of philanthropy, an increase in the executive-employee pay gap (a weak internal CSR signal) weakens this positive effect. Sustaining pay levels alone does not show a significant positive impact. Originality/value This study extends signaling theory by revealing a reversed signaling mechanism under crisis conditions, where certain internal CSR actions (like pay growth) can be perceived negatively. In addition, it provides a more nuanced understanding of the internal-external CSR interaction by demonstrating that their joint effect depends on the specific moral prioritization during a crisis.

Although most consumers are positive about socially responsible companies, in order to benefit from CSR efforts, effective and clear CSR communication is important. However, due to the constantly rising profusion of eco-labels, based on either own claims from the organization or claims made by an external third party, consumers may encounter difficulties in identifying truly responsible firms, which could result in less effective CSR initiatives, even for those responsible firms. Therefore, building on attribution theory, this study seeks to identify how uncertified internal CSR claims and external third-party CSR labels should be used in order to deter greenwashing and increase positive consumer evaluations. Within a 3 (external third-party CSR label: positive vs. negative vs. no label) × 2 (uncertified internal CSR claim: present vs. absent) design, respondents are exposed to different coffee product packages measuring their attitude toward the brand, corporate credibility, purchase intention, and scent perception, as well as perceived attributional CSR motives. Overall, findings indicate that especially an external CSR label affects consumer responses toward the firm. Moreover, perceived CSR motives serve as a mediator between an external CSR label and corporate credibility and brand attitude, respectively. These findings warrant further consideration of introducing an external multilevel rating systems by governmental law.

How does corporate social responsibility affect disruptive innovation? Leveraging stakeholder theory, we expect that corporate social responsibility (CSR, including internal CSR and external CSR) facilitates disruputive innovation and the effects are contingent on environmental turbulence (market turbulence and technology turbulence). Based on a sample of 226 firms, our empirical results indicate that internal CSR and external CSR are positively related to disruptive innovation. Meanwhile, technology turbulence positively moderates the relationship between internal CSR, external CSR and disruputive innovation. In addtion, market turbulence negatively moderates the relationship between external CSR and disruptive innovation. The theoretical contributions, practical implications, limitations and future research are also discussed.

We attempt to provide a novel view of the antecedent of selective engagement between external and internal CSR of firms. Specially, we investigate the influence of becoming a celebrity (e.g., winning a CEO award) on the CEO’s intention to conduct corporate philanthropy (i.e., external CSR) or employee-related CSR (i.e., internal CSR). We find that, after becoming a celebrity, CEOs will conduct more corporate philanthropy because they attempt to maintain their social status among the social audience; and CEOs will do less employee-related CSR after becoming a celebrity because winning an award has already established their legitimacy inside the firm so that they feel unnecessary to do employee-related CSR. Furthermore, the media coverage strengthens the effects of CEO celebrity on corporate philanthropy and employee-related CSR. Findings from this study contribute to CEO social acclaim research and CSR literature by proposing the role of CEO celebrity in triggering firms’ selective engagement in CSR.

A considerable body of upper echelons theory research demonstrate the role that various facets of CEOs’ individual characteristics play in shaping firm’s strategies and behaviors. With the increasing debate concerning the different drivers and determinants of CSR, we complement these two lines of inquiries by theorizing and proposing a CEO-social capital perspective on CSR. Furthermore, we discuss the various types of social capital ties and how they could lead to different CSR strategies depending on the density and the quality of the social capital ties. More specifically, we discuss two types of social capital: bridging and bonding ties. We propose that bridging ties lead to greater emphasis on CSR actions that are directed towards external stakeholders while bonding ties within the organizational members lead to greater emphasis on internal CSR. Lastly, we propose that the balance between internal and external CSR will be influenced by the density, intensity, and quality of the ties.

<p>The purpose of this article is to present a mechanism through which the deviant work behaviors of employees can be dealt-with positively through corporate good deeds in the form of fulfilling social responsibilities. Based on the spirit of social identity theory and social exchange theory, the study explores the relationships of various deviant behaviors with corporate social responsibility (CSR) through the mediation mechanism of job satisfaction. Data were collected from 385 employees of 40 large manufacturing organizations involved in CSR activities operating in Pakistan. A self-report survey was conducted using a close-ended questionnaire. Data analysis was performed using SEM through Mplus 7. The results reveal that both internal and external CSR contribute to the reduced level of turnover intention, counterproductive work behaviors, and prohibitive voice behaviors. Job satisfaction fully mediates the relationship for internal CSR while partially mediates for external CSR. The study encourages the practitioners to avail approaches that convey the feelings of care, concern, and safety, representing internal CSR practices through diverse HR interventions, organizational support, and justice. They should also keep up the socially responsible behaviors aiming toward the larger community.</p>

The purpose of this study is to examine how internal CSR and external CSR affect employee psychological well-being. The results of a longitudinal study using data collected from 543 employees at two points in time suggest that self-regulatory resources positively mediate the relationship between internal CSR and employee psychological well-being. In addition, using a configuration approach, this study finds that the mediating effect of self-regulatory resources on the relationship between external CSR and employee psychological well-being is not universal but rather can be moderated by employee attitudes toward business ethics. Specifically, this study finds that self-regulatory resources positively mediate the relationship between external CSR and employee psychological well-being for those with high levels of business ethics attitudes, and vice versa. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to systematically propose and examine how self-regulatory resources mediate the relationship between CSR and employee psychological well-being, and how employee attitudes toward business ethics moderate this relationship, and should serve as a catalyst to future studies.

Previous studies have shown that internal and external CSR have positive effects on employee attitudes and behaviors. However, researchers haven’t paid much attention to the potential of the interaction effect of the two types of CSR on employees’ attitudes and behaviors. In this study, drawing from Rupp’s (2011) justice process model, we theorize and test the interaction effect of internal and external CSR on employees’ citizenship behavior. We also examine the moderation effect of employees’ cynic attitude towards the employer, called organizational cynicism, on the interaction effect of the two types of CSR. Data from 239 employees in 19 organizations revealed that the proposed two-way and three-way interaction effects are significant in predicting employee OCBO. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.

The study's main objective is to understand the development of internal and external CSR in industrial parks and explore its relationship with employees and community well-being. This study employed an exploratory research approach. The study relies on semi-structured interviews and FGD with employees and the community of three selected industrial parks in Ethiopia. The study utilized thematic analysis and the NVivo-11 version for the analysis. The results show that various CSR practices are implemented in industrial parks. There is a positive relationship between most CSR practices and well-being, except for insurance, employment, and infrastructure. Moreover, the study explored some CSR activities specific to IPs, i.e., meal service, dormitory, transportation, and consumer cooperatives. Besides the knowledge contribution, the study has a practical contribution to industrial park managers, government agencies, policymakers, and multinational companies to practice CSR better as it enhances the employees' and community's well-being. This study is unique not only because it explored CSR practices that are specific to industrial parks, but also the relationship between internal and external CSR with employees' and community well-being, respectively.

Building on the literature on stakeholder theory, upper echelons, CEO social capital, and the executive life cycle, we empirically investigate the longitudinal effect of CEO tenure on external and internal CSR. Using an 8-year sample of 299 U.S. firms from the S&P 500 list (N = 1791 firm-year observations), KLD data for CSR, and archival and publicly available sources for CEO, governance and financial data, the findings support our hypotheses that CEO tenure will be positively related to externally directed social investments while negatively related to internal social investments. Furthermore, we propose and test the moderating effect of two important contingencies relevant to the firm's social investments: firm visibility and slack availability and find that both variables affect the magnitude of the differential effects of CEO tenure on firm's CSR

This study examines to what extent different types of CEOs in family firms influence external and internal stakeholder-related CSP as compared to CEOs in nonfamily firms. Linking family CEO and nonfamily CEO with CSR outcomes, we provide evidence that family CEOs are positively associated with both external and internal CSR, whereas nonfamily CEOs within family firms tend to be negatively associated with both external and internal CSR. We show that the incumbent CEO’s age moderates the above relationships, indicating the existence of shifting family priorities and suggesting a tendency toward CSR conformity as the salience of succession concerns increases.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives toward internal and external stakeholders can independently contribute to employee attitudes and behaviors. However, little is known about the joint effects of (in)congruent internal‐external CSR strategies on employee outcomes. Drawing from social exchange theory, we argue that when employees perceive that their organizations excessively favor CSR efforts to external rather than internal stakeholders, it can trigger a psychological contract breach, resulting in increased employees' turnover intention. We utilized a fuzzy‐set qualitative comparative analysis method and the data of 511 employee from various industries in the Philippines to investigate the interaction effects. The results revealed that a congruent CSR strategy with high internal and external CSR perceptions is critical in fulfilling employees' psychological contracts and retaining employees. However, for employees with low perceived internal CSR, a high incongruent CSR perception led to a psychological contract breach and ultimately to high turnover intention. Psychological contract breach weakened the negative joint effect of high perceived internal and external CSR on turnover intention and strengthened the positive effect of high perceived incongruent CSR on turnover intention. Implications for research and practice are discussed.