Corporate Social Performance Research Articles

The communication strategy of corporate social performance: a study of Chilean companies

The communication strategy of corporate social performance: a study of Chilean companies

CEOs’ Pre‐Career Exposure to Religion and Corporate Tax Avoidance

AbstractIn response to the burgeoning interest in CEOs’ pre‐career experience, this study focuses on their pre‐career exposure to religion. We argue that CEOs who were exposed to religion before starting their professional career will be imbued with the values that prioritize social obligations. Moreover, these imprinted values become activated in the context of corporate tax payment, such that firms with a CEO who attended a religious university are less likely to avoid tax. We further explore how CEOs’ present social context, including political corruption, corporate social performance and present exposure to religion, provides situational cues that moderate the baseline relationship. An analysis of a sample of US listed firms from 2000 to 2019 provides general support for our predictions.

Corporate social responsibility, reputation and performance in the Zimbabwe’s mining sector

Orientation: The Zimbabwe’s mining sector regrettably has a poor corporate social responsibility (CSR) record, which has earned the mining corporations a bad reputation and poor business performance.Research purpose: The study investigated the relationship between CSR, corporate reputation (CR), and performance in Zimbabwe’s mining sector.Motivation for the study: The implementation of CSR programmes in the Zimbabwean mining sector has been inconsistent over the years, with some firms virtually uninvolved in such activities. The impact of CSR in that sector remains largely unexplored.Research approach/design and method: The study was quantitative, involving a survey of 330 managers and other professionals working in Zimbabwean mining sector firms. The collected data were analysed using correlation and regression analyses.Main findings: Two CSR dimensions, namely, stakeholder CSR and ethical CSR, contributed to CR. Corporate reputation exerted a positive impact on social performance and negatively towards operational performance.Practical/managerial implications: The study provides practical solutions to mining firms on which CSR practices are essential for strengthening both CR and performance.Contribution/value-add: The study represents a novel effort to model the relationship between CSR, CR and the performance of Zimbabwe’s mining sector. It offers the basis for future research studies on CSR practices and CR in several sectors of the Zimbabwean economy.

Can green funds improve corporate environmental, social, and governance performance? Evidence from Chinese-listed companies.

Green funds play pivotal roles in driving corporate sustainable development. Utilizing data from Chinese publicly listed companies from 2010 to 2021, we examine the impact of green funds on corporate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance and the underlying mechanisms. The research findings claim that green funds positively affect corporate ESG performance. Mechanism analysis systematically demonstrates that green funds contribute to elevated corporate ESG performance by alleviating financial constraints, enhancing managerial efficiency, and fostering green innovation. Heterogeneity analysis further underscores that the effect of green funds is particularly potent in companies with high external attention. Furthermore, green funds also play significant roles in production capabilities and economic value. This research enriches the micro-level evidence on the development of green funds and furnishes substantial implications for sustainable development.

CSR attribution: Is it the cornerstone of CSR success?

PurposeThe current study aims to propose and empirically investigate a conceptual model of the most relevant antecedents and consequences of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) attribution, thus providing a practical and concise model as well as examining brand attachment as a mediator explaining the relationship between CSR attribution and its consequences.Design/methodology/approachA between-subjects experimental design was employed. The study included two experimental conditions; intrinsic and extrinsic CSR attribution and a control condition. An online self-administered survey was utilised for data collection. The sample was a convenience sample of 336 university students. Both one-way between-groups ANOVA and Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) were utilised for hypotheses testing.FindingsThe most significant antecedents of CSR attribution in order of importance are the firm's approach to CSR communication, past corporate social performance, CSR type and the firm's call for customers' participation in its CSR. CSR attribution exerted a significant direct positive impact on brand attachment and trust. Three significant indirect consequences of CSR attribution were PWOM intention, purchase intention and brand loyalty intention. Whereas trust played a significant mediating role between CSR attribution and its three indirect consequences, brand attachment exerted significant mediation only between CSR attribution and brand loyalty intention. Brand attachment might mediate the relationship between CSR attribution and purchase intention. However, brand attachment failed to play a mediating role between CSR attribution and PWOM intention.Originality/valueSeveral studies marginally investigated CSR attribution. Despite the vital role of CSR attribution in how consumers receive firms' CSR engagement, the availability of CSR attribution-centric studies is limited. By introducing a model of the most relevant antecedents and consequences of CSR attribution, this study aids in understanding the psychological mechanism underlying consumers' CSR attribution and provides valuable implications.

The determinants of corporate social responsibility (CSR) committee: executive compensation, CSR-based incentives and ESG performance

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate whether executive compensation, corporate social responsibility (CSR)-based incentives, environmental social and governance (ESG) performance and firm performance are the significant predictors of CSR committees, in addition to CEO, firm and corporate governance characteristics, from the tenet of stakeholder and managerial power theories.Design/methodology/approachSwitzerland is an exemplary country from the perspective of corporate governance and executive compensation. This empirical study includes a panel data set of listed Swiss companies, so fixed-effect logistic regression has been used.FindingsIt has been found that the companies that offer CSR-based incentives and higher compensation to their CEOs and have better ESG performance are more likely to have CSR committees.Practical implicationsThis empirical paper fills the gap in the literature, guides practitioners about the factors that influence the creation and efficiency of CSR committees, and inspires regulatory bodies to ponder on a mandatory CSR committee to form resilient and sustainable organizations worldwide.Social implicationsCOVID-19 has re-emphasized the prominence of sustainability and the stakeholder approach. Thus, this paper indicates that CSR committees require the adaption and implementation of a holistic sustainability policy that integrates both external and internal factors and thereby provides a whole process for sustainability issues.Originality/valueThe impact of CSR committees on corporate social performance (CSP) has already been investigated. However, the predictors of CSR committees have been less scrutinized in the literature.

Corporate Governance and Ownership Structure Effect on Corporate Social Performance: Evidence from Non-Financial Industries of Pakistan

This paper will examine the diversified associations between corporate governance and ownership structure impact on corporate social performance in dissimilar industries across Pakistan non-financial. The OLS models regression are estimation to using data from 2011 to 2020, that the non-financial industries of Pakistan. Corporate governance including board independence (BINDP), board size (BSIZE), and audit size and committee (A&COM), and structure ownership including, ownership managerial (MOWN), ownership family (FOWN), and ownership concentration (COWN), inspires of organizations corporate social performance with environmental and social risk market capitalization. Generally, the outcomes significant of ownership structure and corporate governance is recognized in industries of non-financial different at a joint level while examines the organizations with a risk whole risk market capitalization disclosure. That suggest to identifying the ownership structure and corporate governance can risk mitigate the market capitalization disclosure non-financial industries in term of correlation the corporate social performance improving and the developed the benefits with the calculation of identical female director in women on board and family ownership organizations (independent or executive) to the panel. This study also demand consideration to the corporate governance and improve structure ownership to enhance the corporate social responsibility in industries non-financial with market risk capitalization analysis, whereas risk control performance of industries analysis after complement by critical mass and independent directors properties.

Corporate social performance and board gender diversity: the moderating role of governance

PurposeDrawing on legitimacy and upper-echelon theory, this paper aims to investigate the moderating role of corporate governance in the relationship between corporate social performance (CSP) and board gender diversity (BGD).Design/methodology/approachUsing Morgan Stanley Capital International measures of social and governance performance, the authors use 2,950 firm-year observations from US companies for the years 2016–2020 to show that good performance on social issues drives BGD.FindingsThe panel data model indicates that the relationship between CSP and BGD is strengthened when firms display robust corporate governance.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the extant literature through empirical consideration of CSP as a predictor of BGD, a relationship that has rarely been examined. It further highlights the significant role of corporate governance in ensuring that women have access to corporate boards. Discussion and findings highlight that social performance and governance may significantly contribute to the diversity of socially cognizant boards.

Red tape reform, transaction costs, and corporate social performance: A natural quasi-experiment in China

The question of how government red tape affects corporate social performance (CSP) has received little attention. Based on the transaction cost and institutional theories, we hypothesize a theoretical link between external red tape and CSP. We employ a natural quasi-experiment based on the gradual rollout in some cities of administrative licensing centers, which aimed to reduce red tape and link these with firm-level charitable donation data from 1998 to 2016. Results show that red tape reform improved CSP by reducing corporate efficiency-based transaction costs and that this facilitating effect is heterogeneous in terms of red tape reform characteristics. Our study advances external red tape research by confirming the positive role of red tape reform in fostering socially conscious stakeholder behavior.

Digital technology innovation and corporate environmental, social, and governance performance: Evidence from a sample of listed firms in China

AbstractCorporate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance is gaining significance in global sustainable development. Corporations can improve ESG performance through digital technology innovation (DTI). However, few studies systematically examined the relationship between DTI and ESG performance. This study uses digital technology patent application data as a proxy for DTI to provide empirical evidence. Analysis of Chinese A‐share firms from 2009 to 2021 shows that DTI significantly improves ESG performance, particularly for small‐sized and non‐state‐owned firms. Mediation analysis indicates that DTI promotes ESG performance by increasing internal control quality and human capital. Institutional environment and government digital attention optimization enhances DTI's promotion effect on ESG performance. Firms with advanced digital transformation can better improve ESG performance through DTI. The findings expand the theoretical understanding of DTI's role in corporate sustainability and provide practical insights into how managers can leverage DTI opportunities to strengthen ESG performance.

Government environmental initiatives, managerial environmental attention, and corporate ESG performance: from the perspective of attention-based View

ABSTRACT Using firm-level data in China from 2011–2022, we employ text analysis and machine learning methods to construct government environmental initiatives (GEI) index, and examine the impact of GEI on corporate environment, social, and governance (ESG) performance. Based on attention-based view (ABV), we find that GEI increases corporate ESG performance by promoting managerial environmental attention (MEA), especially in high-polluting industries and state-owned enterprises (SOEs). Furthermore, the results remain unchanged after robustness tests. Our findings imply that GEI serves as an effective means for advancing the sustainable development of listed companies.

Risk and return efficiency of manufacturing firms: Integrating corporate social responsibility performance

AbstractThis paper uses Data Envelopment Analysis to assess the performance of stocks in terms of return on assets, risk and their Environmental‐Social‐Governance score. Next, latent class analysis (LCA) is used to determine groups with similar performances and relates group membership to a set of covariates. The empirical application employs a set of 139 European manufacturing companies from 2016 to 2021 period. The results suggest stocks on average perform 25% below their potential in each of the three dimensions. The LCA suggests five groups and membership of lower performance classes significantly relates with lower size, R&D expenses and Tobin's Q.

Sustainable threads: analyzing the impact of corporate social performance, CSR message authenticity and information transparency on purchase intentions

With the deepening exploration of the study on corporate social responsibility (CSR), CSR has progressively gained significance for enterprises. This study aims to analyze the impact of fashion companies’ information disclosure on the intention of Chinese consumers who purchase clothing by providing information related to the environment, suppliers, manufacturing processes, and pricing. An experimental study was conducted using stimuli on 412 consumers in Shandong Province, China. The research results are as follows. First, it was found that consumers’ perception of Corporate Social Performance (CSP) has a positive effect on the authenticity of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) message and consumers’ subjective norms. Second, CSR message authenticity and consumer subjective norms mediate the perception of CSP in the process of leading to purchasing activities. Third, consumers perceive the authenticity of a company’s CSR activities according to the degree of transparent information disclosure of the cost and manufacturing process of its products. This study shows that the CSR information provided by the company is authentic depending on the degree of CSR information transparency of the company, and that it leads to a purchase intention when consumers judge that the company’s CSR activities are authentic. Accordingly, it is suggested that many fashion companies’ CSR activities lead to product purchases when they are continuously conducted on environmental, social problems, and transparency in the production process.

Weighing in on the average weights: Measuring corporate social performance (CSP) score using DEA

This study develops a new DEA approach to incorporate such market-level information (i.e., average weights over firms) to create a composite corporate social performance (CSP) measure. The new model addresses the challenge that stakeholder expectations—expressed as the CSP weights of different CSP dimensions—are usually unknown at the firm level, but some reliable estimates of the average weights (across firms) are available at the industry or market level. Distinct from the traditional DEA, the new approach can incorporate constraints on the average values of weight distributions and is built on a computational framework new to the literature. The new model is compared with the traditional CSP approach, using longitudinal investment data by socially responsible funds (SRF). The regression results show evidence that the traditional CSP score, which is widely used in the management literature, may not be a reliable CSP score: firms with higher CSP scores tend to have lower SRF investment (in both the number of SRF and total shares). In contrast, the DEA-based CSP scores show the correct and positive correlation with SRF investment. Overall, this paper contributes to the literature by presenting a more reliable CSP approach and a new, generalizable DEA model. This is also the first empirical work documenting the potential validity issue of the traditional CSP scores.

Corporate social performance: Does management quality matter?

We use common factor analysis on seven individual management quality measures to extract a management quality factor and examine its relationship with corporate social performance. Using managers’ draft risk during the Vietnam War as an instrumental variable for management quality, we find that firms with higher-quality managers score better in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The cross-sectional results suggest that high-quality managers strategically invest in CSR when potential benefits outweigh the costs. Specifically, the positive relationship between management quality and CSR is more pronounced for firms under fierce product market competition when CSR is crucial for differentiating the firm from its competitors. Moreover, CSR becomes more sensitive to management quality when customer awareness and investor attention are high, increasing the likelihood that CSR enhances customer perception and investor trust. Finally, we find that CSR investment by high-quality managers creates more shareholder value, suggesting that higher-quality managers are more capable of “doing well by doing good.”

Do labor unions enhance corporate social performance? Evidence from Korean financial markets

This study examines the impact of labor unionization on corporate social responsibility (CSR) in South Korean listed companies, particularly in the context of chaebol-affiliated firms. Using a dataset of 2,622 firm-year observations between 2005 and 2009, the study employs regression analyses to explore the relationship between unionization and CSR performance. Key findings indicate a significant negative correlation between labor unionization and CSR engagement, suggesting that unionized firms exhibit less involvement in CSR activities. This association, however, is not significant in chaebol-affiliated firms, where the unique corporate structure and shared resources appear to mitigate the influence of labor unions on CSR. Furthermore, the study reveals a positive link between CSR initiatives and labor productivity in unionized firms, indicating that CSR may enhance employee efficiency. The study highlights the intricate relationships between labor unionization, corporate governance, and CSR, particularly in the context of Korean business conglomerates. It emphasizes the importance of aligning labor interests with CSR commitments and underscores the role of effective corporate governance in promoting CSR activities. The positive impact of CSR on labor productivity underscores its potential in boosting employee performance. AcknowledgmentThis work was supported by the Gachon University research fund of 2023. (GCU-202303770001).

Sustainable Digital Shifts in Chinese Transport and Logistics: Exploring Green Innovations and Their ESG Implications

This study, situated in the context of China’s transportation and logistics industry, explores the impact of digital transformation on corporate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance, as well as the role played by green innovation. Analyzing data from 95 A-share listed transportation companies from 2011 to 2021, this paper examines the relationship between digital transformation and corporate ESG performance, drawing on information asymmetry and agency theories. The research finds that digital transformation significantly elevates corporate ESG levels, with more pronounced effects in state-owned and large enterprises. The degree of financing constraints modulates this relationship, indicating a stronger enhancement of ESG performance by digital transformation under lower financing constraints. Moreover, green innovation serves as a mediator between digital transformation and corporate ESG performance, revealing that digital transformation boosts ESG outcomes through fostering green innovation. The contribution of this study lies in providing new insights into the relationship between digital transformation and corporate ESG performance in a specific industry context, expanding the field through a lens of mechanisms and conditions, and underscoring the central mediating influence of green innovation.

Is managerial myopia detrimental to corporate ESG performance?

This study explores the nexus between managerial myopia and corporate Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) performance within the framework of China's A-share listed companies from 2010 to 2020. We provide a novel insight into how the temporal orientation of managerial decision-making significantly impacts ESG outcomes, highlighting the adverse effects of a short-term focus on sustainable corporate development. Using a robust dataset, we delineate the mechanisms through which managerial myopia undermines ESG performance, specifically in green innovation and corporate information disclosure quality. Further, it examines the efficacy of external governance mechanisms, such as the increased liquidity of stocks and the engagement of Big 4 accounting firms, as mitigating factors. The paper's methodology combines advanced regression analysis with propensity score matching to validate the causal relationship between managerial myopia and ESG performance, controlling for potential endogeneity and selection bias. The findings suggest that managerial myopia indeed poses a significant challenge to achieving high ESG standards, with implications for both policymakers and corporate governance practices. This study contributes to the broader discourse on corporate sustainability by linking managerial cognitive traits to ESG performance, with a specific focus on the Chinese market, thereby enriching the understanding of ESG dynamics in emerging economies.

Refining ESG Disclosure's Role in Corporate Economic, Environmental, and Social Sustainability Performance

This research examines the complexities of corporate sustainability, exploring the interconnections between environmental, social, and governance (ESG) disclosure, corporate governance frameworks, investor engagement in ESG practices, and sustainability performance improvements. Regression analysis were employed to analyze data collected from 121 participants across various professions in India. The findings indicate that ESG disclosures have an impact on the Sustainability Performance Transformation Index (SPTI), suggesting that disclosures alone may not necessarily lead to improved sustainability. Additionally, SPTI was found to be correlated with company management practices and investor engagement in ESG issues. The model demonstrates strong explanatory power (R2 = 0.979), underscoring the importance of adopting multidisciplinary methodologies for achieving lasting transformation. The conclusions drawn from this study offer insights that businesses, investors, and policymakers can leverage to strike a balance between long-term sustainability objectives and economic development.

Corporate social performance feedback and corporate social responsibility decoupling in China: The salience of legitimacy and/or efficiency

AbstractDespite its detrimental effects, corporate social responsibility (CSR) decoupling has been underexamined in the literature. This research explores why and how companies engage in CSR decoupling from the perspective of behavioral theory of social performance. We contend that legitimacy threats drive firms with corporate social performance (CSP) below stakeholder expectations toward substantive CSR initiatives, which reduces CSR decoupling. In contrast, efficiency deficit drives firms with CSP above stakeholder expectations toward symbolic CSR initiatives, increasing CSR decoupling. Building upon literature on issue salience, these relationships are moderated by industry culpability and earnings pressure. A longitudinal analysis was conducted on Heckman two‐stage estimation using a sample of 5166 Chinese publicly listed firms from 2010 to 2019, which supports our hypotheses. Additionally, the findings remain robust after rigorous tests. This study contributes to the CSR literature by shedding light on the impact of CSP feedback on CSR decoupling and enriches the behavioral theory of social performance by incorporating the perspective on CSP feedback through issue salience.