Annual Corporate Social Responsibility Reports Research Articles

The moral foundations of responsible business: Using computational text analysis to explore the salience of morality in CSR communication

Morality is an integral part of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). However, the academic debate so far has mostly stated the importance of morality from a purely theoretical perspective, without empirically assessing it. We, therefore, draw on the moral foundations dictionary to conduct an automated content analysis of corporations’ (N = 277) annual CSR reports (N = 5010) over a period of 22 years. Looking into Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States, we investigated morality salience, differences across sectors, countries, and over time as well as the association of morality with different stakeholder groups. Results inform the broader debate on CSR and morality and highlight avenues for future research.

Corporate social responsibility in the United Arab Emirates and globally: A cross-national comparison

This research paper explores and compares the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategies of the top 25 companies in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and those of the top companies globally having a presence in the UAE market too, using lists sourced from Forbes Magazine. Utilizing the Stakeholder theory, the focus is to understand any potential differences in the CSR practices between these two groups. To achieve this, the study downloads and analyzes annual CSR reports from the websites of these 50 companies, employing content analysis methodology. The analysis was facilitated by two researchers who identified common themes and areas of focus. All the themes were classified into three central factors using SPSS software: Environment, Social, and Governance. The study found several similarities and a few crucial differences in CSR practices between UAE and worldwide companies. Among the distinguishing features were UAE companies' heightened emphasis on charity and philanthropy, a considerable level of government involvement, and a notable absence of a comprehensive reporting framework. The study further unveils valuable insights and best practices that can be adopted by each group, thereby offering practical and theoretical implications for multinational corporations and policymaking. By shedding light on the distinct CSR landscape in the UAE, this paper is a useful resource for companies looking to understand or operate within this region.

Global Automobile Manufacturers Mission Statements and CSR Letters

This study takes the triple bottom-line perspective to compare the communications of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in some of world’s top automakers’ mission statements and the CEO’s introductory letters to annual CSR reports before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Content analysis based on Text Network Analysis (TNA) approach was deployed to examine the central messages and sub-themes of these documents based on CSR goals, time-orientation, and stakeholder groups, and then statistically compared within and among companies. Results reveal that Automakers’ mission statements collectively emphasized profit and customers, whereas CSR letters prioritized planet, people, and general society. As the pandemic progressed, the emphasis on people increased, indicating that organizations shifted their CSR focus towards supporting employees and local communities. However, the attention to profit and planet goals remained constant during the studied period.

Micro-loans and financial performance: a case of a Chinese commercial bank

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the relationship between a commercial bank’s micro-loaning activity and overall performance over a 10-year period.Design/methodology/approachQuarterly data was obtained from the Wind Database, China Minsheng Banks’s official annual reports and annual corporate social responsibility reports from 2009 to 2019, to test the linear relationship between micro-loan activities and the overall financial performance of the bank.FindingsThe results of this study empirically demonstrate that there is a positive relationship between increases in micro-loaning activity and the overall performance of the bank. Some key recommendations for the sector are shared in the conclusion of this paper.Originality/valueIn the financial sector, some corporate social responsibility activities focus on the issuance of micro-loans. It is unclear, however, if this has also served as a means to increase profitability and overall performance for such institutions.

Female leadership in corporate social responsibility reporting: Effects on writing, readability and future social performance

This study examines how the gender of corporate social responsibility (CSR) leaders (as signers of the CSR reports) could affect two psychometric properties (i.e., solidarity and certainty) and the readability of the reports. We also investigate how these gender-based differences are associated with firms' future perceived social performance. We conduct textual analyses on a sample of 346 firms in the S&P500 index that issued annual CSR reports during the period of 2006 to 2015. Our findings show that CSR reports with a female (vis-à-vis male) executive as the signer or co-signer are more readable, show more solidarity with readers, but express less certainty in the narratives. In examining their impacts, we find that readability and solidarity, but not certainty, are positively associated with firms' future social performance. Our results suggest the value relevance of leveraging greater female representation in firms' CSR reporting leadership teams so as to help firms enhance their social objectives and signal their future social performance.

Female Leadership in Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting: Effects on Writing, Readability and Future Social Performance

This study examines how the gender of corporate social responsibility (CSR) leaders (as signers of the CSR reports) could affect two psychometric properties (i.e., solidarity and certainty) and the readability of the reports. We also investigate how these gender-based differences are associated with firms' future perceived social performance. We conduct textual analyses on a sample of 346 firms in the S&P500 index that issued annual CSR reports during the period of 2006 to 2015. Our findings show that CSR reports with a female (vis-a-vis male) executive as the signer or co-signer are more readable, show more solidarity with readers, but express less certainty in the narratives. In examining their impacts, we find that readability and solidarity, but not certainty, are positively associated with firms' future social performance. Our results suggest the value relevance of leveraging greater female representation in firms' CSR reporting leadership teams so as to help firms enhance their social objectives and signal their future social performance.

Corporate social responsibility practices by leading construction firms in China: a case study

The implementation of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) practices by construction firms have attracted various attentions in recent years owing to the environmental and social challenges confronted by the industry. This study investigates the CSR practices of five leading Chinese construction firms based on their annual CSR reports over a nine-year study period (2009–2017). Using content analysis, the specific objectives are to investigate: (i) the trends of their level of CSR practices implementation; and (ii) the factors influencing their CSR practices implementation. The results show that there are 79 CSR practices that can be classified into 32 sub-aspects, and 17 factors influencing their implementation of CSR practices. There are increasing trends of their CSR practices implementation levels over the study period. Although the evidence is suggestive that these trends would increase in the future, the implementation levels do vary across the five case firms. CSR communicating, biodiversity and ecology protection, and employees’ education and training are the top three sub-aspects of CSR practices prioritized by all case firms. The top three factors influencing their CSR practices implementation are award or certification, organizational culture, and governmental policy. The findings provide an useful insight for a better contextualization of CSR practices in the Chinese construction industry context, which has implications on the industry stakeholders’ attempts in driving firms’ implementation of CSR practices.

Testing sustainable value added as an integrative measure of business sustainability

New analytical approaches used for a holistic/integral evaluation of the company created value advocate implementation of business models based on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) sand the Triple Bottom Line (TBL). Owing to the fact that CSR and TBL are strategically oriented on business objectives of sustainable development, especially in managing eco-efciency, this type of value is being named – Sustainable Value Added (SVA). However, since previous research and constructive criticism of SVA models have not been adequately tested by applying the appropriate econometric models so far, in this paper author introduces applicable empirical testing of the SVA sensitivity on the Triple Bottom Line aspects: 1) financial, 2) environmental and 3) social business results. The aim of this paper is to conduct research on SVA as an integrative measure for quantitative assessment of company contributions to the long-term sustainable development. The author also advocates an important thesis regarding the extraction of the TBL data, implicating that this process validates only when a relevant number of companies, across diJerent benchmarks, regularly publishes annual CSR reports. Such publishing ensures transparent and unified TBL data essential for SVA analysis. Research methodology rests on the comparison of SVA with a traditional economic measure of Value Added (VA) in terms of their contributions to business sustainability. Empirical testing indicates significant diJerences between the SVA and VA regarding their financial, environmental and social sustainability eJects. Testing empirically confirms SVA as an integrative measure for sustainable business contributions. This ensures the presentation of complete and standardized data of triple results required for SVA analysis. Additional objective in this context was to investigate eco-efficiency of a specific benchmark as a sustainability precondition, measured by using the SVA.

External Communication About Sustainability: Corporate Social Responsibility Reports and Social Media Activity

ABSTRACTExternal communication about corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability activities may vary significantly across firms. Communication channel, content, and frequency may reflect a company’s resource allocation priorities, its culture, and its leadership in the sustainability domain. This empirical research compares n = 11 global consumer apparel companies, with brands ranging from Adidas to Prada to Wrangler, in terms of their communication about CSR and sustainability in both formal outlets (annual CSR reports), informal channels (Twitter and Facebook social media), and voluntary participation in external rankings (the Global Reporting Initiative). In addition, the sample is divided into “High-Ranked” and “Low-Ranked” subsamples, using Newsweek’s Greenest Companies 2014 rankings, to examine if companies ranked highly by Newsweek communicate more often and display higher levels of engagement in sustainability reporting, compared to low-ranked firms. Results provide support for our research propositions. We conclude with recommendations for companies seeking to strengthen their CSR external communication.

Corporate social responsibility in the oil and gas industry in Qatar perceptions and practices

In the last few years, the state of Qatar paid a great attention to corporate social responsibility (CSR) to face a score of challenges namely sustainable development, globalization, governance, corporate sector impact, communications, finance, ethics among others. Through in depth interviews and the analysis of companies’ websites and annual CSR reports, this study looked at the perceptions and practices of CSR in Qatar. Findings of the study suggest that Qatar oil and gas companies engage in corporate social responsibility activities focusing on health, sports, education and environment, while neglecting other important areas such as human rights, labor rights, work conditions, anti-bribery and anti-corruption measures. They perform no research and assessments before or after they engage in CSR activities. CSR should be enforced by law, and implemented according to international standards in order to improve its performance and to meet local and international challenges. With barely a decade of practice and experience, CSR in Qatar oil and gas industry is developing fast and has to move to the next step where the focus should be given to developing policies and strategies, and through institutionalizing it.

Can socially responsible leaders drive Chinese firm performance?

Purpose– The relationship between socially responsible leaders, the key driver of corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices, and organizational financial performance is a salient issue in the global context for both CSR scholars and practitioners. The purpose of this paper is to provide much-needed insights into the interplay of responsible leadership, CSR practices, and organizational outcomes.Design/methodology/approach– It analyses 85 CEOs’ behaviors and their companies’ performance in a two-year database. It thereby enriches understanding of how leaders’ socially responsible decisions impact upon CSR engagement and firm performance.Findings– The results suggest that socially responsible leaders were positively related with organizational performance of return on equity (ROE). The aspects of integrity, morality, and stakeholder relationship aspects of responsible leadership are closely related to CSR. However, CSR practices were negatively related to ROA and ROE. It implies that in China CSR activities could not boost organizational performance in the short term, at least in two years.Research limitations/implications– Our research has clear limitations. First, most selected firms are renowned large corporations, state-owned, or private enterprises. Foreign-owned enterprises are excluded. Second, the evaluation of CSP is based on the content analysis of firms’ annual CSR reports. Our research has clear limitations. First, most selected firms are renowned large corporations, state-owned, or private enterprises. Foreign-owned enterprises are excluded. Second, the evaluation of CSP is based on the content analysis of firms’ annual CSR reports.Practical implications– Our research has practical implications for the business world. First, CSR practices in China shall be conducted in a strategic way. Second, responsible leadership is of significance for the Chinese MNCs that are overseas to build trustful stakeholder relations with local stakeholders.Originality/value– Based on the data analysis, this study provides in-depth discussion of CSR situation in China and its relationship with firm performance, which is one of the first studies to examine responsible leadership in Chinese context and investigate the relationship between responsible leadership and organizational performance.

Corporate Voluntary Carbon Information Disclosure: Evidence from China's Listed Companies

AbstractThis article seeks to answer two questions: (i) what factors drive firms to decide whether or not to disclose the information related to their greenhouse gas emissions (also called carbon information)? (ii) what forces lead firms to disclose more carbon information? Using data hand‐collected from the annual Corporate Social Responsibility reports of China's listed companies from 2008 to 2012, we find the following: (i) firms that operate in sectors of high‐emission industries are more likely to make carbon information disclosure (CID hereafter); (ii) the more companies within one industry that make CID, the more likely it is that a company in that industry will make CID; (iii) companies having a higher sales rank within an industry are more likely to make CID.

The adoption of corporate social responsibility practices in the airline industry

This paper identifies initiatives related to corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the airline industry and evaluates the overall state of their adoption as reported by members of the three largest airline alliances. Of 41 airlines, only 14 had annual CSR reports publically available in January 2009. Reports were analyzed using a qualitative content analysis approach. Results showed a stronger focus on environmental issues than on the social or economic dimensions of CSR. Of the seven major environmental themes examined, emission reduction programs predominate. Other environmental issues receive much less attention, with no single other initiative implemented by all airlines. Four social and environmental themes were found, including employee wellbeing and engagement, diversity and social equity, community wellbeing and economic prosperity. The data analysis supported the arguments made in the literature that the airlines report CSR initiatives using differing or inconsistent measurements, making evaluation and comparison of their performance and effectiveness difficult. Although a large number of airlines publishing CSR reports discussed their achievement of major goals (reduction of emissions, increasing community involvement or increasing workforce diversity), a much smaller number provided detailed information relating to specific initiatives implemented in order to contribute to these goals. Further, important issues for CSR research are posed in the paper.