Corporate Citizens Research Articles

Corrigendum to “Courageous Role Model or Threatening Villain: A Parallel Mediation Model of Corporate Activism and Citizen Political Engagement”

Corrigendum to “Courageous Role Model or Threatening Villain: A Parallel Mediation Model of Corporate Activism and Citizen Political Engagement”

Gamification for Sustainable Management Education: Prosper Management Edition's Role in South Africa's Climate Policy Engagement

The escalating climate crisis necessitates inventive strategies to engage diverse stakeholders in sustainable management and policy-making, particularly in regions like South Africa. "Prosper Management Edition," developed under the GREAT project, leverages gamification to foster communication between future corporate leaders, citizens, and policy stakeholders. This educational game connects sustainability principles with their practical application in management and policy, focusing on the integration of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into business operations. This paper presents the initial design stages, implementation strategy, expected outcomes, and theoretical underpinnings of the game, aiming to enhance participants' awareness of sustainability and strategic thinking.

Local Income Inequality and the Value of Corporate Tax Responsibility

ABSTRACT Corporate tax responsibility, or the obligation of companies to pay their “fair share” of taxes, is increasingly perceived as a component of firms’ social responsibility. Considering tax payments through the redistributive function, we examine how the association between corporate tax responsibility and firm value varies based on the presence of a salient social issue—local income inequality. Firms headquartered in areas of average income inequality have a negative relation between effective tax rate (ETR) and firm value, consistent with traditional economic theory and prior research. However, as local income inequality rises above average, the relation between ETR and firm value becomes more favorable (i.e., less negative). We interpret these findings as evidence that the relation depends on the salience of tax payments as a social issue. Further, the results are substantiated by firms whose socially responsible tax payments are consistent with their reputation as good corporate citizens. Data Availability: Data are available from the public sources cited in the text. JEL Classifications: D22; H23; H25; H32.

Defining Sexstainability

ABSTRACT This article interrogates how Pornhub’s Sexstainability campaign engages in corporate citizenry to improve its stakeholders’ sustainable behaviour. The article shows how sexualized language and visual grammar are used to convey an educational message about sustainable practices establishing Pornhub as a corporate citizen with a desire to improve society through sustainability, presenting sustainability as something anyone can and should value while positioning heterosexual men as its particular audience.

Strategi Komunikasi CSR Samsung untuk Meningkatkan Pendidikan di Indonesia melalui Program Samsung Innovation Campus (SIC)

In Indonesia, one of the challenges experienced by the government here is that there are still many unemployed people. According to data from BPS in August 2022, the unemployment rate in Indonesia was mostly from vocational school graduates, namely 9.42%, 8.57% from high school graduates, 4.59% from Diploma I/II/III graduates and graduates from university is 4.8%. This shows that existing job offers can’t be absorbed by the existing group of educational graduates. To be part of a good corporate citizen in Indonesia, Samsung through its CSR program focuses on education program. Samsung Innovation Campus (SIC), a program through technology skills training to prepare Indonesia's young generation for the digital era with coding and programming and IoT training for senior high school, and vocational high school students. The program is aiming to equip youth with digital literacy including critical technical skills, and bridging educational divides to give underserved students.

Do Generative Artificial Intelligence Company Strategies of ‘Moving Fast and Breaking Things’ in Civil Society Cancel Their Social Licence to Operate? A Nurse’s Evaluation of Chatbot Impacts

A rapid expansion of the computer technology industry, particularly in the field of artificial intelligence, has ignited a global concern that warrants our immediate action. As nurses, our professional values frameworks compel us to protect public health and address national and global health issues. When industry activities adversely affect the social wellbeing of civil society and social institutions, it is important to evaluate them against their industry’s ‘social license to operate, which is a measure of public trust, credibility, and the legitimacy of their industrial and corporate citizenship status. The central question is, do computer technology companies continue to have a social license to operate in civil society? Nurses are encouraged to evaluate the computer technology industry’s recent ‘generative artificial intelligence’ chatbot activities against its tacit undertaking to be good corporate citizens in return for social acceptance of their operations and behaviour. An evidence-based overview of chatbot impacts on societies, environmental sustainability and human rights provide a basis for evaluation. Basic computer technology terminology and relevant concepts are explained. This article is a direct call to action for clinical nurses and those involved in research, education, management, and policy. We have a duty to critically assess the claims made by chatbot technology vendors in both practice and social contexts. If these vendors integrate chatbot technologies with existing machine learning used in nursing and healthcare technologies it could result in detrimental effects beyond user control. By influencing decisions on technology adoption, we can ensure the implementation of safeguards, protect patient safety and social well-being, and uphold the integrity of nursing values. A closing discussion of impacts of computer industry trust deficits on healthcare and research reflects the author’s concerns and conclusions about the central question. Readers may draw other conclusions and perhaps use the issues and evidence presented here to stimulate further investigations.

Determinants of the effective tax rate: Board composition of South African firms listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange

Motivation Numerous international studies have been conducted to determine the effect of board composition on tax aggressiveness, and ultimately the effective tax rate (ETR) of firms, but to the best of the author's knowledge, no similar research from a South African perspective has been conducted. Purpose This study explores the association between board composition and the ETR of South African Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE)-listed firms for the period 2012 to 2021 to obtain an understanding of how corporate governance attributes affect the ETR of firms. Design and methodology A sample of 40 firms is purposively selected from the top 200 JSE-listed firms based on market capitalisation on 31 December 2021. The study employs a quantitative approach by applying the panel data multivariate regression model. Main findings The study shows that board size, as a corporate governance attribute, is a determinant of the ETR of South African JSE-listed firms. Additionally, other board composition-related corporate governance attributes such as independence, gender diversity, and director shareholding showed no substantial association with the ETR. Practical implications The results of this study indicate that the board of directors – specifically its composition – is successful in its role of ensuring that the firm is, and is seen to be, a responsible corporate citizen by paying its fair share of taxes. Novelty This study is the first to offer empirical evidence linking board composition to South African JSE-listed firms’ ETRs. The result of the study therefore fills a research gap and has the potential to guide board governance committees and increase directors’ awareness of their tax-related roles.

Shifting sands: the use of marketing communication strategies in corporate social responsibility disclosure in the United Arab Emirates

Purpose This study aims to investigate the evolution of sustainability reporting in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) against a backdrop of changing legislation. It uses qualitative content analysis within the corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication framework proposed by Kotler and Lee (2005) to investigate how corporations in the UAE disclosed information on their CSR activities in 2018 and 2023. Design/methodology/approach The authors refer to the CSR communication framework proposed by Kotler and Lee (2005), which puts forward a set of marketing communication strategies that can be used to promote a corporation. The authors identify the strategies used by the top 14 companies operating in the UAE in their CSR disclosure in the fall of 2018 and the spring of 2023, respectively. The authors note any changes that have occurred over time and differences between the distinct business sectors. Findings The findings indicate a continuing reliance on the marketing communication strategies associated with corporate philanthropy, cause promotion and being a good corporate citizen. All of the corporations in the study showed evidence of engaging in an increasing diversity of CSR initiatives and a corresponding diversity in the marketing communication strategies they used to promote them. Practical implications Corporations wishing to promote themselves through their CSR activities and build a positive reputation would do well to select a diverse set of CSR activities communicated in a variety of ways. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first longitudinal, comparative study examining the CSR marketing strategies of the top corporations in the UAE. As such, it contributes to the ongoing debate on CSR in the Middle East in general and to understanding more about the approach as well as the changes in approach to CSR in a Muslim-majority Middle-eastern and secular developing economy, the impact of CSR legislation and government regulation on CSR disclosures in different business sectors and the promotional opportunities afforded by effective CSR disclosure within the UAE in particular.

Courageous Role Model or Threatening Villain: A Parallel Mediation Model of Corporate Activism and Citizen Political Engagement

Through their sociopolitical activism, business leaders increasingly call for citizens to become more politically engaged in favor of a partisan position. This research develops and tests a framework that reveals that corporate sociopolitical activism can indeed elicit such political engagement but runs the risk of simultaneously inciting backlash from citizens who oppose the company’s envisioned political ends. Whereas politically congruent citizens perceive a company’s activism to be morally courageous and are thus inspired to support the company’s stance, politically incongruent citizens feel threatened by the company’s activism and become politically engaged in protection of their political identity. Companies may, however, succeed in increasing moral courage attributions without simultaneously affecting citizens’ political identity threat by acting as first movers in their activism. A series of experiments, including a stimulus sampling approach with 30 real cases of corporate sociopolitical activism, lend support for this framework. The results provide several implications for the political responsibilities of business leaders in contemporary democracies.

Are environmental responsibility companies socially responsible? Evidence from tax planning activities

Malaysia's Income Tax Act of 1967 does not impose penalties on environmentally friendly companies engaged in tax planning. The primary objective of this study is to examine the relationship between a company's environmental activities and the tax planning of publicly listed companies in Malaysia. A sample of 158 publicly listed companies from various industries except for financial institutions in Bursa Malaysia will be used. The annual report included non-financial data such as the environmental responsibility variable. The annual report was also used to collect the remaining data including tax planning, profitability, size and debt ratio. The multiple regression analysis indicates that companies actively participating in environmental initiatives are more inclined to adopt socially responsible tax practices to uphold their credibility among stakeholders. These companies reinforce their reputation as responsible corporate citizens committed to sustainability by demonstrating consistency between their environmental and tax practices. This study additionally revealed a positive relationship between larger companies and tax planning due to their greater access to resources and experience which enabled them to employ more advanced tax planning tactics. The utilization of permanent and temporary book tax differences (BTDs) as factors for tax planning presents a more sophisticated approach to evaluating corporate tax strategies as suggested by future research.

Glow & Lovely: Purpose-driven Brand

The rebranding of Fair & Lovely (F&L), one of Hindustan Unilever Limited’s (HUL) flagship brands, to Glow & Lovely (G&L) in 2020 had hogged the limelight. HUL termed the rebranding as an important evolutionary step that moved away from the “regressive idea of beauty” and banished an undesirable social stereotype. Stakeholders had divergent opinions with the rebranding effort being termed from “path-breaking” to “too little”. Likewise, there was a divided house on the future sales of the repositioned brand. However, G&L, akin to its predecessor, maintained traction in the marketplace. The case provides an opportunity to understand the concepts of brand positioning and brand repositioning. It highlights how a corporate citizen can engage in responsible advertising and break an undesirable social stereotype. Attributes associated with fairness were identified to capture the extent of brand repositioning. Attributes associated with fairness were identified to capture the extent of brand repositioning. The primary data collected on such attributes was analysed with the help of Multi-Dimensional Scaling using alternating least-squares (ALSCAL) method. Discriminant analysis was used to understand which attributes differentiated various brands of fairness creams.

CSR in India – A Vision for the Sustainable Future

CSR has emerged as a critical component of modern business practices, especially in the Indian context. The dynamic background of CSR in India reflects a transformation in the role of corporations from mere profit-making entities to responsible corporate citizens contributing to societal welfare. With a rich history deeply intertwined with philanthropy and social causes, India has witnessed a significant shift in the way businesses perceive and execute their social responsibilities. In this backdrop, the present paper puts an attempt to comprehensively analyze the role of CSR in contributing sustainable development and challenges within the Indian CSR ecosystem. Further, the article concludes with strategics to address these challenges, advocating for collaborative efforts and policy reforms to shape the future of CSR in India.

The Influence of Ethical Leadership on Organisational Culture and Employee Behaviour; The Adopted Rore, a Posiitive Impact

In today’s complex and dynamic business world, the significance of ethical leadership in shaping employee behavior and company culture has received a lot of attention. The study employed a quantitative design using questionnaires to gather data, and the statistical software (SPSS) version 16 was utilized for data analysis to examine the impact of ethical leadership on employee behavior. Purposive sampling was employed in a deliberate and random selection process to identify 50 people from various industries in Accra for the research population. Ethical leaders set an example for their employees by acting morally and upholding the company’s values. Employees who follow moral role models are more likely to do prosocial actions, such as helping colleagues, becoming good corporate citizens, and demonstrating loyalty to the organization. The study came to the conclusion that moral leadership has an effect on both business culture and employee behavior. Ethical leadership, defined by its dedication to moral principles, honesty, and principled judgment, has been demonstrated to be essential to the establishment and maintenance of a strong workplace culture. Leaders who uphold moral standards act as role models, affecting the attitudes and actions of those under them. Organizations were advised to keep emphasizing the need of holding staff members accountable for unethical actions. Organizations should strategically place and empower leaders to function as ethical role models in light of the projected effect that ethical leadership has on employee behavior. Programs for developing leaders should include a strong emphasis on the value of moral leadership conduct and how it influences workers’ behavior. By recognizing the significance of ethical leadership, organizations may actively cultivate a culture that is consistent with ethical standards. In the long run, this will improve worker conduct and help the company succeed as a whole. The structure for further study is given by this abstract.

Перспективные направления дидактических исследований в России

The article presents the findings of the study undertaken as part of the project for the Russian Foundation for Basic Research — Promising Areas of Didactic Research in Russia. The authors discuss social and cultural issues in didactics, such as instability and non-standard living and professional conditions, the dynamism of the professional arena, unexpected intricacy of job responsibilities, and others. The study reveals how the research area has expanded beyond the discovery of common patterns in schooling and higher education to include preschool, postgraduate, corporate, domestic, and senior citizen education, as well as tutoring. It raises new didactic challenges related to the digital transformation of education and describes changes in the methodological regulation of didactic research using V.S. Styopin’s typology of scientific rationality, which encompasses classical, non-classical, and post-nonclassical kinds.
 The authors present a review of didactic research in higher education based on the integration of competency and value-semantic methods that focus on the search and application of perso­nal meanings in both education and subsequent activities. They also discuss the specific features of adult education practices as well as the challenges they pose to didactics, including changes in subjects of education, multi-agency in the educational process, multiple ‘integration points,’ ‘non-cognitive’ types of experience, a shift in the teacher’s position, and the coherence and complexity of didactic theory.

Corporate Social Responsibility Practices in China's Petroleum Industry: A Comparative Analysis of PetroChina and Sinopec

Against the backdrop of global energy transition, Chinese petroleum enterprises are facing both opportunities and challenges. This study employs a literature review approach and a comparative case analysis method to thoroughly examine the corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices of PetroChina and Sinopec in the domains of environmental protection, social responsibility, and employee welfare. The research reveals disparities between the two companies concerning preventive environmental management, prioritized philanthropic efforts, and employee rights safeguarding. Consequently, the study proposes three recommendations encompassing strategic integration, participation in international standards, and internal organizational significance construction, aiming to enhance CSR implementation. By offering practical insights, this research serves as a reference for Chinese petroleum enterprises, contributing to their improved international competitiveness and reputation. In the ever-evolving landscape of sustainability and business ethics, such insights can aid these enterprises in navigating their roles as responsible global corporate citizens, ensuring a harmonious balance between economic growth and social welfare.

Corporate social responsibility communication for both business and societal sustainability in ten South African organisations

In the context of South Africa as a developing country, we argue that CSR communication should contribute to both business sustainability and the empowerment of society for societal sustainability. This study aimed to explore the perceptions of senior South African communication practitioners regarding sustainability and the practice of CSR communication to support dual sustainability. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten senior communication practitioners responsible for CSR and/or CSR communication in ten national and international organisations across South Africa. Our findings revealed that although all practitioners recognised sustainability as the purpose of CSR, business sustainability was prioritised, while societal sustainability has only been supported. CSR communication was primarily used to enhance business sustainability by portraying the company as a responsible corporate citizen through corporate communication efforts to enhance its reputation. This is attributed to the fact that the current CSR communication theory is based on corporate communication, which prioritises business objectives.We contend that a more comprehensive theoretical framework, including principles of development communication, would enable CSR communication to significantly contribute to societal sustainability.

Do business ethics moderate corporate corruption risk-ESG reporting relationship? Evidence from European ESG firms

PurposeThis paper aims to explore the relationship between corporate corruption risk and environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting and if this relationship is moderated by business ethics.Design/methodology/approachData from a sample of 347 European firms selected from the ESG Index between 2010 and 2020 were used to test the model using panel data and multiple regressions. This paper considered the feasible generalized least squares estimation for linear panel data models. A multiple regression model is used to analyze the moderating effect of business ethics on the association between corporate corruption risk and ESG reporting. For robustness analyses, the authors included the alternative measure of the dependent variable, and they applied the simultaneous equation model for the endogeneity test.FindingsThe empirical results reveal a negative relationship between corporate corruption risk and ESG reporting. Furthermore, the findings suggest that business ethics positively moderate the relationship between corporate corruption risk and ESG reporting.Practical implicationsThis paper presents an enormous contribution to the various economic agents involved in the company. The results could attract the attention of socially responsible investors and, above all, corporate citizens. Moreover, the managers of corrupt companies could take into account the results of this study by being more committed to an optimized transparency strategy on ESG reporting.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to investigate the moderating role of business ethics on the relationship between corporate corruption risk and ESG reporting in the European context. It is also the first study documenting that business ethics reinforce the relationship between firm corruption and nonfinancial information transparency. This study fills a research gap as it expands the existing literature, which generally focuses on the impact of corporate corruption on ESG reporting.

Tax amnesty, corporate social responsibility disclosure, and organizational inertia

AbstractThis study investigates the empirical association between corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure and tax compliance when there is a tax amnesty policy provided by the government. Utilizing the difference in difference method, we studied the impact of the tax amnesty program on tax compliance and CSR disclosure of companies in the mining industry in Indonesia context for the research period 2014–2019. Consistent with inertia theory, we observe the organizational inertia phenomena as the findings indicate the insignificant impact of the tax amnesty program on tax compliance and the marginally significant negative impact on CSR disclosure. This might come from corporate attributes that cause the inertia such as routines and procedures as well as the fixed mindset of the companies' decision‐makers on the cost and benefit of becoming corporate citizens. The inertia might also reflect the weaknesses in the management control system, especially in the belief and boundary control system. This research discusses the impact of tax amnesty on CSR disclosure which has been rarely investigated in previous studies. This study also extends the inertia theory on the taxation context and provides policy implications on tax amnesty.

Family Firms and Employee Pension Underfunding: Good Corporate Citizens or Unethical Opportunists?

This study draws upon the behavioral agency model and the concept of socioemotional wealth to investigate how family firms’ employee pension underfunding decisions differ from those of non-family firms. We explore how these differences are influenced by financial distress, generational stage, and whether the firm is eponymous. We test our hypotheses using data from 452 US firms over an eleven-year period. Our results suggest that family firms are less likely to underfund pensions, but this effect is attenuated in later generational ownership stages and in non-eponymous firms.

The Perception of Customers Towards Sustainable Practices in Indian Banks

Sustainable Development (SD) is currently becoming more well-known. As a result, many kinds of organizations are working together to guarantee that sustainable development is noticed in pursuing their objectives, such as profit-making, providing social services, philanthropy, etc. Sustainable development (SD) is preserving the integrity of social and natural systems while pursuing economic growth. Non-Financial Reporting is a framework for organizations to report on their operations in this area, particularly about the triple bottom line or the accounting of the environment, society, and economy. 
 Given their critical role in funding global economic and developmental activities, financial institutions, particularly banks, must contribute significantly to sustainable development. In this context, it is challenging to overstate how important it is for banks to behave responsibly as corporate citizens in society, particularly in a growing nation like ours. Their actions should demonstrate how they care about the environment and human rights. 
 This paper emphasizes the significance of "Going green" and promoting sustainable practices in the Indian banking sector. The perception of customers toward Sustainable practices in Indian banks has not been the subject of much research. The study aims to comprehend how consumers feel about green banking services and their effectiveness and benefits. Friedman Ranking test and Chi-Square have been used as tools for the analysis.