Integrating Corporate Social Responsibility Research Articles

Obstacle factors of corporate social responsibility implementation: Empirical evidence from listed companies in Taiwan

This study is an initiative to integrate corporate social responsibility (CSR) and apply mind-mapping techniques to demonstrate the mind map of CSR implementation and obstacles faced by companies listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) and Gre Tai Securities Market (GTSM) in Taiwan. In addition, this study takes the initiative to conduct a compressive questionnaire on CSR of those companies listed. The results show that “shortage of human resources” is the major obstacle to CSR implementation and that “no mandatory regulations” is the first priority in terms of needing improvement for CSR implementation. In addition, an independent sample t-test produces a mean score of 73% for the items on CSR reports as regulated by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is reported. Moreover, a factor analysis is used to identify four dimensional factors (namely, “company resources,” “regulations and international environment,” “knowledge of CSR” and “capital” variables) as the effective predictors. This research also determines that cross-level obstacles to CSR implementation are correlated and demonstrates a view of “cross-level ecosystem of obstacle factors of CSR implementation.” Finally, the results of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) members to disclose CSR information after the financial crisis are also compared and analyzed with our research in this study.

Sustainable Business Education – A Romanian Perspective

In the light of recent events, like economic “crisis” started in 2008, or notorious Enron scandal, has arisen an increasing demand of ethics courses in universities’ curriculum. If in Western European countries, this process of topics integration like corporate social responsibility (CSR), sustainability, ethics or associated terms, have known an extensive growth, in developing countries, like Romania, its assimilation and design of a new curriculum still remain a challenge. In this paper, I offer a requirement overview of ethics business education in Romania. From the analysis of the CSR integration in the Romanian business, I summarized a set of key topics, which should be found in university curriculums, in order to provide students with skills and knowledge that allow them to manage sustainable businesses. I then looked over five business universities’ curriculum, and tried to identify those key topics, and concluded with suggestions regarding the design of accountability curriculums.

Integrating Corporate Social Responsibility in Corporate Governance Codes in the EU

While having different starting points, corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate governance have developed along similar paths and today they are linked in many different ways. As a consequence of this development, CSR is becoming an integral part of corporate governance codes in the EU, and the aim of this article is to analyse the extent of this integration. It is concluded that stakeholder-related issues in particular are now part of most codes in the EU, whereas corporate governance recommendations refer less frequently to specific CSR issues. However, specific CSR recommendations are still common, so it seems that in most codes it is recognised that there is a strong link between CSR and corporate governance. Even though this link may be widely recognised, it is also clear that the existing codes show a great variety of solutions to the integration of CSR and corporate governance codes. It is shown that for CSR the codes mostly contain specific recommendations related to transparency and that other recommendations are less specific. The vagueness of the recommendations on CSR issues seems to be common to all the codes examined. This general vagueness makes CSR recommendations 'soft' and frequently open to interpretation. It is also shown that the countries whose codes are most dominant in the field of corporate governance do not seem to be at the forefront of integration of CSR in their corporate governance codes. Furthermore, an analysis of two examples of the reporting on CSR recommendations under the comply-or-explain principle shows that the adoption of this principle for CSR disclosure may not work without measures to overcome some of the shortcomings seen hitherto in the application of the comply-or-explain principle.

Integrating Corporate Social Responsibility and Culture as a Strategy for Holistic Corporate Success in India

The study intends to explain the relationship between Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and organisation culture in a corporate organisation manufacturing electrical appliances (CFL/lamps) in India. It also highlights the initiatives of top managerial staff for CSR activities and their values for the business and environment. An Organisational Culture Questionnaire (OCQ) was designed to study organisation culture and managerial values which were found to have positively changed in recent years; however, the roots of local culture and politics were still there. Hind Lamps Ltd of Bajaj group has successfully practised its CSR initiatives in business and created awareness among its stakeholders of complex business issues. They were also trying to structure their views about strategies and techniques which they need to develop, in order to do business in a way which is consistent with environmental conservation and sustainable development. However, they are struggling to gain competitive advantage. Therefore, if CSR policy is not integrated with the organisational culture, it may not positively contribute to organisational image building. So, in order to gain the full competitive advantage of CSR initiatives, it is necessary that core social and cultural values are integrated with the CSR policy of the organisation and developed in the employees. Only then can they leverage the social dimension of corporate strategy.

Conceptual framework of value creation through CSR in separate member of value creation chain

Abstract The main goal of this paper is to prepare a conceptual framework which would help to determine where any kind of value might emerge while various actions of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) are implemented. Such conceptual framework is suggested as a backbone for further research and empiric justification in order to develop a simplified yet effective CSR outcome evaluation model which might be used in practice in any company. Such practical model should help to determine which CSR action might bring maximized value outcome with lowest costs. The main attention in this paper is concentrated only on a single company as a member of value creation chain (VCC). The paper lays foundation for perspective to develop the research in a holistic way - to evaluate the effect of CSR integration in whole VCC. Many authors have debated the different possibilities of simultaneously incorporating social, environmental and economic concerns into management thinking and practice (Aguilera et al., 2007) in organizational behavior; Buysse and Verbeke (2003); Starkey and Crane (2003); Barin-Cruz et al. (2006) in strategic management. All those scholars have been developing concept of CSR from different point of view. This paper concerns value creation through CSR as economical category. But therefore in order to indicate areas of possible value creation, various all above mentioned aspects of CSR concept are taken into account. This paper suggests a framework of value creation through CSR, considering CSR implementation might help to create shared value for few beneficiaries simultaneously. The framework consists of all four types of responsibilities described by Carroll (1999), different levels of CSR activity, three major groups of beneficiaries (company, society, stakeholders) and areas of possible value creation.

Integration of CSR into Value Creation Chain: Conceptual Framework

The main goal of this paper work is to suggest a framework which would help to determine where and what value might be created through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in whole value creation chain. Concept of CSR is defined by the European Commission (2002, p. 5) and remembered by Steurer et al. (2005), CSR as “a concept whereby companies integrate social and environmental concerns in their business operations and in their interaction with their stakeholders on a voluntary basis”. Many authors have debated the different possibilities of simultaneously incorporating social, environmental and economic concerns into management thinking and practice (Aguilera et al. (2007) in organizational behavior; Buysse and Verbeke (2003); Starkey and Crane (2003); Barin-Cruz et al. (2006) in strategic management; Hall and Martin (2005) in technological innovations). All those scholars have been developing concept of CSR from different point of view. This paper work concerns value creation through CSR only as economical category. But therefore in order to indicate areas of possible value creation, various all above mentioned aspects of CSR concept are analyzed. The review of theoretical and empiric researches showed that value created through CSR for the company might emerge as a part of any of the following benefits: financial benefits, better quality, marketing benefits, better organizational culture, effectiveness doing business globally. This paperwork suggests a framework of value creation through CSR, considering CSR implementation might help to create shared value for few beneficiaries. The framework consists of all four types of responsibilities described by Carroll (1999), three major groups of beneficiaries (company, society, stakeholders) and areas of possible value creation. But, as theoretical research shows, this framework first should be adopted for value creation chain (VCC) before analyzing value creation through CSR possibilities in whole VCC. Considering specifics of CSR implementation in VCC the framework of evaluating value creation is suggested. The framework consists of seven stages which should be used as guidelines for program of empiric research. Further studies should concentrate attention on shared value creation through CSR in VCC where in every stage company is one of the beneficiaries. Measuring such value might be extremely difficult, because value received by stakeholders and society appear as use value quite often. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.ee.24.1.2016

Data warehouses for sustainable supply chain management: a reference framework

This paper presents a reference architecture for information integration in sustainable supply chain management. This architecture aims to provide an integrated information infrastructure across a supply chain. It is intended to provide support to the interchange of information related to the socially responsible management of corporations by coordinating and communicating the information stored in the different information systems of companies across a supply chain. The presented reference architecture has been designed as an improvement and application of data warehousing technologies to the field of sustainable management of supply chains. It contributes to the research on the development of information and communication technologies for the integration of corporate social responsibility in organisations.

The integration of corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives into business activities: can lessons be learnt from gender diversity programmes?

While proponents of corporate social responsibility (CSR) have suggested that CSR initiatives should be integrated into mainstream business activities as 'strategic CSR' or 'shared value', research is lacking that explores how CSR programmes are integrated in companies. This paper compares CSR initiatives with human resource management (HRM) activities, which have a longer tradition of being integrated into company strategy. The focus is on gender diversity and CSR in a US Multinational Corporation (MNC). The MNC sees gender diversity as an integral part of business activities. In contrast, the MNC lacks a clear justification for the much broader CSR agenda, CSR activities seem not to reflect an overall set of values or purpose, integration into business activities is unclear, and targets are lacking.

Integrating corporate social responsibility and intellectual capital report: a small sample research

The article illustrates the empirical experiences of some Italian companies which started to integrate social and intangible issues in their voluntary corporate communication report. The main aims of this paper are two-fold. Firstly, using a small sample of companies disclosing their intangibles in a single document, the article describes some general trends in the direction of integrating corporate communication reports. Secondly, using an integrated approach in examining the effects of the investigated case studies on the Italian context, the article provides evidence of how the experiences of companies following a strong integration between CSR and IC report can contribute to model the development of a territory, that of Italy, which is characterised by a low national intellectual capital value, and it is in this that the main originality of the paper lies. The general findings go in the same direction: integrating intangibles' disclosure is a single document offers advantages for companies and for the context within which companies operate. The main limit of the research lies in the small sample of companies examined. However, the study can provide an impulse for further research on larger samples.

Half a World Away: The Integration and Assimilation of Corporate Social Responsibility, Sustainability, and Sustainable Development in Business School Curricula

ABSTRACTIn this paper, we review efforts by business school academics to integrate corporate social responsibility, sustainability, and sustainable development in their teaching and coursework. We draw from recent research to describe the challenges and constraints to such integration, as well as the opportunities and potential of such efforts. We then report on the results of a survey of academics in business schools which underscore these challenges and constraints. We conclude with suggestions regarding how individual faculty members, business schools, and the broader field and its institutions can respond to the relative absence of these subjects and their integration in business school curricula. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

Corporate social responsibility brand leadership: a multiple case study

PurposeThe purpose of this empirical case study is to apply several existing frameworks to consider the notion of integrating corporate social responsibility (CSR) with a brand leadership strategy. The investigation focuses on two main questions: What are the core components for the development of a CSR brand? What capabilities are necessary to implement a CSR‐related brand strategy?Design/methodology/approachFive firms provide input for a multiple case‐based approach.FindingsIntuitive and intended approaches for CSR brand leadership emerge from the multiple case study results. Different capabilities are required at each stage of the development and implementation process for CSR brand leadership.Research limitations/implicationsThis research extends three prior studies – Aaker and Joachimsthaler's brand leadership framework, Maonet al.'s proposed integrative framework for designing and implementing CSR, and Beverlandet al.'s capabilities view on the development of global brand leadership – and fills a theoretical gap.Practical implicationsManagers can use the proposed integrated and implementable framework to determine the impact of dynamic factors, such as ownership, culture, executive leadership, and the specific context of product and corporate branding, on the development and implementation of their CSR brand.Originality/valueNo studies examine how to leverage CSR in brand‐building activities. Specifically, no empirically grounded research examines the required path to create and manage CSR brands and associated benefits, nor is the number of capabilities required to develop a credible CSR brand clear. Comprehensive models of the processes for developing and implementing CSR brands and the capabilities that underlie them are needed. The proposed model emphasizes the contextualized need to rely on different capabilities at different stages of this development process to generate constructive and sustainable outcomes.

Integrating Corporate Social Responsibility at the Start-up Level: Constraint or Catalyst for Opportunity Identification?

This conceptual paper examines the issue of integrating CSR at the start-up level with the aim of increasing the firm’s ability to identify new opportunities. Both a constraint and an occasion to strengthen the company’s legitimacy and competitive advantage, CSR principles and practices are a key vehicle for opportunity identification and implementation. Historically, SMEs have contributed significantly to the improvement of existing products and services, and the creation of new ones. Grounding CSR in the strategy of enterprises at the start-up level is increasingly examined as an effective management tool with multiple benefits for opportunity identification. CSR may be promoted as a means of nurturing creativity and innovation at the start-up level and beyond, through pushing entrepreneurs to imagine new business models, to discover new raw materials, as well as to create new products and services so as to respond to both economic and social expectations.

Moving from Informal to Formal Economy through Consulting

Moving from Informal to Formal Sustainable Performance through a Qualimetrics Approach to Management Consultancy If we consider the expression “formal economy”, there is more to it than meets the eye. Indeed, even within the formal economy there is a strong hidden, unveiled and informal aspect that has been largely ignored. If we think in terms of company regulations, we may even be inclined to say that there exists a strong desire from the part of a number of managers to reach some sort of informal status quo. The informal economy is considered as impressive, but its very definition remains somewhat blurred as it is context specific, in particular when analyzing the infra-micro economic aspects related to organizational phenomena within companies. An aspect which is not enough addressed in management literature is therefore the informal economy concealed within the formal economy of firms and organizations, such as evoked by the “Strategy as practice” (Whittington, 2006) stream. We would like to emphasize what this informal economy within formal organizations means, and demonstrate that converting this organizational informal economy into a more formal approach is necessary to better integrate corporate social responsibility and sustainable development with a view to reconciling the formal and the informal in the field of management consulting .

Emerging strategic corporate social responsibility partnership initiatives in agribusiness: the case of the sustainable agriculture initiative

Abstract Over the past 20 years the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has gained momentum in business practices and strategies. In the agribusiness sector, the need for CSR integration has recently triggered a number of private sector led initiatives that should contribute to sustainable agricultural practices. Consequently we emphasize that for managing innovation processes for sustainability and their institutional context, the food sustainability discourse also needs to investigate the state of the art of CSR in agribusiness. Based on a model to compare and contrast accountability standards we analyse the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative (SAI) platform and its principles. We conclude that over the past 5 years agribusiness corporations have become more pro-active in addressing sustainability concerns, and mainstream initiatives start to compete with the traditional niche markets. The SAI was founded by three big players in the food industry, and represents a global initiative among a number of private-sector driven institutional innovations for the sustainability transformation of the mainstream parts of the sector. In order to evaluate and exploit their potential for sustainable development, we advise scholars, policy makers, and managers to not only address questions about legitimacy and stakeholder involvement, but also take strategic objectives into account.

Evaluating and integrating corporate social responsibility standards: Implications for CSR concepts

Standards play a major role when concepts of corporate social responsibility (CSR) ought to be implemented and corporate social performance (CSP) ought to be assessed. Ethical reasoning and stakeholders’ expectations help to measure companies’ intentions to implement CSR standards and to measure their efficiency. With different standards of CSR (company standards, industry standards, multi-stakeholder standards and independent standards) companies may implement we categorize and еvaluate those standards and give advice which opportunities but also threats may arise for companies when implementing such codes within firm-specific CSR concepts. We suggest a combination of different standards and replenish them with firm-specific codes of conduct.

An integrated management systems approach to corporate social responsibility

A great deal of research has emphasized the strategic management of corporate social responsibility (CSR). However, gaps remain on how CSR can be effectively integrated with existing business processes. One key question remaining is how to design business processes so that they accommodate stakeholder requirements in an integrated manner. The purpose of this paper is to present a framework that can be used to integrate CSR into business processes. The framework highlights the concept of simultaneous ‘top-down integration’ and ‘bottom-up community-related indicators development’ approaches to CSR. These two approaches are elaborated with the help of two cases. The top-down approach focuses on building CSR into existing business initiatives through an integrated management systems (IMS) approach. This paper concludes that an IMS approach provides the infrastructure for the integration of CSR. The bottom-up approach focuses on the development of indicators linked to community initiatives. Examples of best practice for both the top-down and bottom-up approaches are provided in two case studies.

Doing well by doing good

PurposeThis article aims to describe how one company has used an ethical approach to strengthen a competitive position based on knowledge management and technological innovation.Design/methodology/approachThe article presents a case study of Indra, a leading Spanish technology company, showing how it has integrated corporate social responsibility within its strategic objectives.FindingsWhat can you do to get and keep that competitive edge? One firm thinks it has found the answer by incorporating ethical behavior and corporate social responsibility (CSR) into every aspect of its activities. It seems that a corporate culture focused on ethical behavior can improve your standing and reputation inside and outside the company, so that employees, shareholders and communities at large see the organization as ready to do the right thing, rather than motivated exclusively by making money.Practical implicationsThe article explains how basing competitive advantage on ethics and social responsibility can benefit stakeholders and improve long‐term profitability in a technology‐driven company. It shows how embedding ethical considerations and CSR as a basic aspect of strategy development and communicating this approach to stakeholders affects employee motivation and behavior, together with company reputation.Originality/valueThe article demonstrates the connections between corporate social responsibility initiatives and human resource development in an organization reliant on knowledge management as the basis of innovation.

Ethics and corporate social responsibility integrated into knowledge management and innovation technology

PurposeThe main purpose of this paper is to offer an analysis of how firms could integrate ethical values and corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives into its corporate and business strategies, especially in relation to its knowledge management (KM) strategy, technological innovation and human development.Design/methodology/approachA model for the “strategization” of ethics and CSR – i.e. their integration into a firm's strategies – is put forward in this paper. In addition, this model is evaluated through a case study of a Spanish innovative company, Indra. Data were generated based on interviews with various managers involved in the development of CSR, KM and corporate strategies.FindingsThe paper provides evidence of the efforts this company is making in order to connect CSR initiatives with competitive advantage through the development of intangible assets such as human capital and innovation capacity, for which KM is an essential tool.Research limitations/implicationsThe case study is limited to one company in order to go deeper into the “strategization” of CSR process. Future studies will focus on a larger and more diverse sample of firms.Practical implicationsImportant factors of influence, which have been observed in this process, have been extracted from the case study, such as the necessity of promoting the company's ethical principles through its corporate culture, the human resources practices which encourage the access to and the transfer of knowledge, and relationships with its stakeholders that allow the creation of knowledge, innovation and human development.Originality/valueThe paper provides a model of integration of ethics and CSR into the company's strategy through four stages: establishment of CSR vision, diagnosis of CSR problems, development plan of CSR development, and communication. This model can provide a roadmap for managers in other firms in order to formulate and implement a CSR plan in accordance with the company's strategies and mission.

Like a Bridge Over Troubled Water: Discourses Integrating Corporate Social Responsibility and Growth in International Business

In this paper, the purpose is to illustrate how organised actors within an international business environment manage to integrate conflicting perspectives on growth and corporate social responsibility (CSR). An empirical study of sustainable fishing in Britain between 2002 and 2005 illustrates how different organisations succeed in creating a shared meaning on sustainability and CSR among the participant organisations. The empirical material is analysed with the help of critical discourse analysis. Results indicate that the form of collective understanding displayed in the study, may have unforeseen consequences for sustainability and principles developed to handle this issue within an international business context. Implications are that an interdisciplinary perspective within economics and other scientific fields could contribute to models with increased possibilities to be applied in empirical settings.

Like a Bridge Over Troubled Water: Discourses Integrating Corporate Social Responsibility and Growth in International Business

In this paper, the purpose is to illustrate how organised actors within an international business environment manage to integrate conflicting perspectives on growth and corporate social responsibility (CSR). An empirical study of sustainable fishing in Britain between 2002 and 2005 illustrates how different organisations succeed in creating a shared meaning on sustainability and CSR among the participant organisations. The empirical material is analysed with the help of critical discourse analysis. Results indicate that the form of collective understanding displayed in the study, may have unforeseen consequences for sustainability and principles developed to handle this issue within an international business context. Implications are that an interdisciplinary perspective within economics and other scientific fields could contribute to models with increased possibilities to be applied in empirical settings.