Corporate Social Responsibility Research Articles

Gender diversity, corporate social responsibility and real earnings management for policy management decision: evidence from emerging market

Purpose The study aims to examine whether board gender diversity and corporate social responsibility (CSR) affect real earnings management (REM) practices of public companies in Nigeria. Design/methodology/approach The study analyzes data of public companies for the period of 2011 through 2020. Data on board gender diversity, CSR and REM were collected from audited financial statements. Findings The empirical findings show that companies with greater diverse board are effective in restraining REM, thus supporting the theoretical framework of the study. Also, the result provides strong evidence of association between CSR performance and REM for policy management decision. Research limitations/implications The study is constrained by not considering all public companies in the country. Furthermore, it considered only gender among numerous important board attributes and environmental, social and governance (ESG) among numerous CSR attributes. Hence, future studies should consider other important attributes on REM and important attributes of board diversity and CSR on real earnings management. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to investigate the relationship between heterogeneous board gender diversity, CSR via ESG and REM in emerging markets such as Nigeria. Therefore, it provides appropriate treatment of CSR with science and technology via EGS viewpoint of organizational operations and behavior of managing earnings. Therefore, developing better policy management for sustainable development

Deliberative ideals and hegemonic practices – political CSR in extractive industries

Purpose Political Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), based on ideas about deliberative democracy, have been criticised for increasing corporate power and democratic deficits. Yet, deliberative ideals are flourishing in the corporate world in the form of dialogues with a broad set of stakeholders and engagement in wider societal issues. Extractive industry areas, with extensive corporate interventions in weak regulatory environments, are particularly vulnerable to asymmetrical power relations when businesses engage with society. This paper aims to illustrate in what way deliberative CSR practices in such contexts risk enhancing corporate power at the expense of community interests. Design/methodology/approach This paper is based on a retrospective qualitative study of a Canadian oil company, operating in an Albanian oilfield between 2009 and 2016. Through a study of three different deliberative CSR practices – market-based land acquisition, a grievance redress mechanism and dialogue groups – it highlights how these practices in various ways enforced corporate interests and prevented further community mobilisation. Findings By applying Laclau and Mouffe’s theory of hegemony, the analysis highlights how deliberative CSR activities isolated and silenced community demands, moved some community members into the corporate alliance and prevented alternative visions of the area to be articulated. In particular, the close connection between deliberative practices and monetary compensation flows is underlined in this dynamic. Originality/value The paper contributes to critical scholarship on political CSR by highlighting in what way deliberative practices, linked to monetary compensation schemes, enforce corporate hegemony by moving community members over to the corporate alliance.

Breaking through the glass ceiling: women on the board as a mechanism for greater environmental transparency

Purpose This research paper aims to examine the influence of greater female participation on the board of directors on the environmental transparency of companies. Design/methodology/approach To achieve the purpose of this study, the authors analyzed the environmental transparency of 412 companies in the energy sector, headquartered in 19 countries, during a four-year period (2016 to 2019). Findings The data reveal that gender diversity has a positive effect on the environmental transparency of companies in developed countries and on the total model. Furthermore, after removing the US companies, the results remained the same, indicating that companies with more women on the board tend to have greater environmental transparency. Regarding corporate governance variables, the results show that companies that have a corporate social responsibility committee tend to have greater environmental transparency, both in emerging countries and in developed countries. Practical implications The findings indicate that if companies aim to have greater environmental transparency, they must encourage female participation on boards, giving them equal opportunities for professional growth. Organizations must deconstruct the ideology that women are fewer valuable members of their boards, which limits their contribution to organizational success. Additionally, regulators can encourage greater female participation on boards through the implementation of quota laws. Originality/value The authors’ evidence indicates that the presence of women on board is an antecedent of greater quality in the dissemination of environmental information. Thus, managers of companies in the energy sector must understand that diversity on the board affects communication with its stakeholders through environmental transparency.

Keeping them honest? Exploring the impact of labor unions on CSR

Purpose The role of labor unions in relation to corporate social responsibility (CSR) remains both ambiguous and crucial for union members and business leaders. Given the complex relationship between labor unions and corporations, this study aims to address whether labor unions keep corporations honest (by monitoring CSR activities) or potentially render CSR initiatives less necessary. Design/methodology/approach Using data from the MSCI Kinder, Lydenberg, Domini Database for firms in the Russell 1000 Index, this study examines the link between labor unions and CSR in U.S. companies over a six year period. Generalized least squares models were used to test the hypotheses for 3,937 firm-year observations. Findings The findings show that unionized companies generally pay less attention to CSR compared to nonunionized ones. The presence of labor unions and positive union-management relations both show a significant negative impact on CSR ratings, where positive union-management relations negatively affect CSR ratings more than just the presence of labor unions. Further, when considering the environmental, social and governance aspects of CSR separately, the results are more complex, suggesting that the relationship between labor unions and CSR varies depending on specific ESG dimensions. Originality/value CSR, a well-researched area, rarely addresses the companies' relationships with labor unions. Studies in South Korea and the UK have touched on the impact of labor unions on CSR, but in the USA it remains unexplored. This study extends this line of work by examining U.S. companies.

Social reputation, loan contracting and governance mechanisms

Purpose This study aims to investigate whether social reputation via corporate social responsibility (CSR) awarding facilitates access to debt and decreases the cost of debt and whether governance mechanisms moderate this relationship. Design/methodology/approach The sample covers the period between 2002 and 2021, during which CSR award data were available in the Thomson Reuters Eikon/Refinitiv database. The empirical models are based on country, industry and year fixed-effects regression. Findings While the main findings produced an insignificant result for access to debt, they indicated strong evidence for the positive relationship between CSR awarding and the cost of debt. Moreover, the moderating effect highlights that while the sustainability committee helps CSR-awarded companies access debt more easily, independent directors help firms decrease the cost of debt via CSR awarding. Furthermore, the results differ between the US and the non-US samples, earlier and recent periods, high- and low-leverage firms and large and small firms. Originality/value For the first time, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, the authors assess whether social reputation via CSR awarding facilitates access to debt and decreases the cost of debt in an international and cross-industry sample. Little is known about the effect of social reputation on loan contracting, although social reputation conveys broader information that goes beyond the firm’s internal (performance) and external (reporting) CSR practices. The authors also draw attention to the differing roles of distinct governance mechanisms in leveraging social reputation for loan contracting.

Literature Review Regarding Corporate Innovation

This paper systematically reviews the determinants and consequences of corporate innovation. The main findings are as follows. From a micro-level perspective, the diversification of the gender structure of the board of directors, the improvement of the welfare of employees, the corporate social responsibility performance, the external competitive environment, and the choice of innovation strategy can positively promote the company’s innovation and ensure the quality, efficiency, and success rate of innovation. From a macro perspective, judicial independence stimulates innovative activities, while the promulgation of the monopoly law and the uncertainty of the economic policy will dampen the incentives to innovate. As for the consequences of innovation, it helps enterprises transform and upgrade, brings efficient management mode more in line with the operation of enterprises, creates differentiated products for enterprises, helps enterprises reduce costs, and improves the efficiency of employees, etc. This literature review focuses on several latitudes and multiple aspects to elaborate their comprehensive impact on innovation so that readers can understand faster and more conveniently. Moreover, it provides direction for innovation for companies and can also make countries more aware of the importance of innovation. Collectively, this survey is a supplement to the existing literature and has practical implications.

“Crew, don’t go anywhere near this man!” the co-construction of celebrity and responsible capitalism in broadcast interviews with a chief executive officer

Celebrity CEOs espousing Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) are receiving increasing media attention. However, researchers have not yet examined how CEOs and journalists co-create meaning about CSR in broadcast talk, an unscripted genre of news making, rife with contestation and cooperation. This paper presents a Conversation Analysis of six interviews featuring Dan Price, a CEO who pledged to “solve income inequality” by restructuring salaries in his company. Findings suggest that CSR anchored a process of double branding in which the CEO promoted himself and journalists reaffirmed their news philosophy. Price’s warm embrace by journalists across the political spectrum demonstrates a collaborative process of “celebrification”. Price created a transferable persona that appealed, through a mixture of political targeting and strategic ambiguity, to diverse audiences. Journalists elevated this persona by serving pseudo-criticism and showing identification. The story thus provided corporate media with the opportunity to reaffirm their commitment to “responsible capitalism”.

Does internationalization and board diversity affect family firms' sustainable performance? Empirical evidence from an emerging economy

AbstractThe purpose of this study is to examine the relation between internationalization and firm sustainable performance on a set of listed Indian family firms belonging to mid‐cap and large cap categories and listed on NIFTY 500. This paper aims to explore the heterogeneity among internationalization and a set of defined variables, namely, female representation on the board, firm size, firm age, industry type, leverage, corporate social responsibility (CSR) and the number of female executives in influencing the firm performance. We aim to incorporate corporate governance, the factors influencing decisions related to it and gender diversity in understanding the relationship between internationalization and firm performance in the context of Indian family firms. The Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) and panel data regression models are both used in the study's empirical methodology. In order to examine the relationship between internationalization, as indicated by the percentage of foreign ownership, and family firm performance, as indicated by Return on Equity (ROE), the study uses the data from 2014 to 2023 for analysis, totaling 16,586 firm‐year observations. The findings indicate that internationalization, measured in this study by the investments the companies make abroad, positively affects the performance of the family firms. Age, women on board and number of female executives are seen to have positive associations with the performance of family firms. However, it is seen that firm size for family firms negatively impacts the performance while CSR and leverage seem to have no significant impact.

Customers, Markets, and Five Archetypical Value Creation Logics: A Review of Demand-Side Research in Strategic Management

Scholars have examined the role of customer preferences, and demand-side characteristics more generally, in varied core strategy areas like market entry and timing, diversification, positioning, resource reallocation, and firm adaptation, among many others. We review this diverse demand-side literature and develop an empirical classification that identifies five archetypical customer value-creation logics seen in the literature to date. To apply each of these logics, a firm must look downstream with the intent of matching, leveraging, adapting, learning, or shaping customer preferences or market characteristics to create value for customers. For each value-creation logic, we detail the logic itself, how the demand side is characterized, how specific strategic decisions allow for value creation following the logic, literature gaps in the logic, and opportunities for future research. Opportunities include extending the work on existing logics, examining the combined effects of multiple logics, identifying understudied demand-side characteristics, and studying strategy applications for which demand-side attributes have received comparatively little attention to date. These include business models, corporate social responsibility (CSR), corporate governance, and demand-side shocks. Finally, we address implications for managerial practice.

A Study of Recent Trends in Online Green Marketing

The term "green" signifies innocence. Green symbolises purity of quality and fairness or justice in transactions. The promotion of environmentally friendly products is known as green marketing. Green marketing is also known as environmental marketing. It talks about how a company makes an effort to carefully prepare and promote products so as not to harm the environment. It is believed that everyone, whether a business or an individual, has an obligation to act in a socially conscious manner. Businesses are embracing green advertising as a new weapon for corporate social responsibility (CSR) and as a social endeavour. Companies are developing tools to protect the environment and building their brand as eco-friendly companies. Additionally, the study looks at India's green marketing techniques and offers a summary of the justification for its use by companies and look at the challenges associated with green marketing. This essay will discuss the value of green marketing to customers and the environment, break it down into its constituent parts, and conclude that green marketing is a strategy that will only become more and more popular as a means of protecting the environment for future generations.

A Systematic Literature Review on Green Human Resource Management Practices: Current Insights and Future Directions

This systematic literature review (SLR) aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of existing research on Green Human Resource Management (HRM) practices. As organizations increasingly recognize the imperative of integrating environmentally sustainable strategies, the role of HRM in fostering green initiatives has gained prominence. The review follows a structured methodology involving the identification of key databases, formulation of a targeted search strategy, and application of rigorous inclusion and exclusion criteria to select relevant literature.
 The review categorizes the selected studies based on themes such as the types of Green HRM practices, implementation strategies, and the associated environmental and organizational outcomes. Methodological rigor and quality assessments are employed to evaluate the credibility and reliability of the included studies. The synthesis of findings reveals patterns, contradictions, and gaps in the current state of the literature, providing insights into the diverse approaches organizations adopt to embed environmental sustainability in HRM practices.
 Key discussions encompass the implications of Green HRM practices on organizational performance, employee engagement, and the broader context of corporate social responsibility. The review critically examines the strengths and limitations of existing research, identifying areas for future investigation. Ethical considerations are emphasized throughout the review process, ensuring the integrity of the findings and acknowledging the contributions of original authors.
 This SLR contributes to the ongoing discourse on Green HRM by offering a consolidated overview of the current state of research, highlighting practical implications for organizations, and proposing a roadmap for future investigations. The findings of this review are valuable for HR professionals, scholars, and policymakers seeking to enhance the environmental sustainability of organizations through effective HRM practices.

Corporate Social Responsibility in India: A Review of Corporate Contributions to Sustainable Development Goals

Corporate Social Responsibility in India: A Review of Corporate Contributions to Sustainable Development Goals

Disclosure of corporate social responsibility in Baltic public companies: choices of reporting and its determinants

ABSTRACT This article investigates the choices of CSR reporting and its determinants in Baltic public companies. We assess the overall CSR disclosure situation and reveal the disclosure format and measurement content for social, environmental, and governance components. Then we explore the determinants of choices of reporting. Logit and Tobit regression models for balanced panel data sets are applied from 2017 to 2021. Our findings showed that mandatory disclosure dominates among Baltic public companies. Size and some performance indicators such as ROA, EPS, ROE, and capital intensity are important for CSR disclosure. Larger companies choose to present the separate CSR report, while smaller firms disclose CSR in annual reports. Larger companies also choose quantitative disclosure measures instead of only qualitative ones.

Corporate social responsibility initiatives of banks and customers’ selection of banks in Hong Kong

PurposeThis study examines whether corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives positively impact customers’ selection of retail banks in Hong Kong (HK) and identifies which CSR domains affect customers’ selection of banks.Design/methodology/approachThis study adopted a quantitative approach. Primary data were collected from 416 customers of 22 retail banks in HK. The theoretical framework of this study was developed from a literature review, prior studies by Oberseder et al. (2013 and 2014), and CSR initiatives implemented by leading retail banks in HK. Descriptive statistics and statistical tests were used to analyze the data.FindingsThe study found that CSR initiatives positively affect customers’ bank selection. CSR initiatives related to the customer and environment domains are likely to have a greater impact on customers than those related to the society domain and are not likely to significantly impact customers’ bank selection.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the CSR literature by offering enhanced insight into the dynamics of CSR and its effects on customer bank selection. Furthermore, this study tests consumers’ perceptions of CSR initiatives in each CSR domain in the banking sector in Hong Kong – a novel approach that has not been previously explored in existing studies. These findings can help banks review the effectiveness of their CSR initiatives and make informed decisions on which initiatives should pursue improved CSR performance and efficient resource allocation.

Quantum Computing Approach to Realistic ESG-Friendly Stock Portfolios

Finding an optimal balance between risk and returns in investment portfolios is a central challenge in quantitative finance, often addressed through Markowitz portfolio theory (MPT). While traditional portfolio optimization is carried out in a continuous fashion, as if stocks could be bought in fractional increments, practical implementations often resort to approximations, as fractional stocks are typically not tradeable. While these approximations are effective for large investment budgets, they deteriorate as budgets decrease. To alleviate this issue, a discrete Markowitz portfolio theory (DMPT) with finite budgets and integer stock weights can be formulated, but results in a non-polynomial (NP)-hard problem. Recent progress in quantum processing units (QPUs), including quantum annealers, makes solving DMPT problems feasible. Our study explores portfolio optimization on quantum annealers, establishing a mapping between continuous and discrete Markowitz portfolio theories. We find that correctly normalized discrete portfolios converge to continuous solutions as budgets increase. Our DMPT implementation provides efficient frontier solutions, outperforming traditional rounding methods, even for moderate budgets. Responding to the demand for environmentally and socially responsible investments, we enhance our discrete portfolio optimization with ESG (environmental, social, governance) ratings for EURO STOXX 50 index stocks. We introduce a utility function incorporating ESG ratings to balance risk, return and ESG friendliness, and discuss implications for ESG-aware investors.

The Effect of Blockchain Technology in Enhancing Ethical Sourcing and Supply Chain Transparency: Evidence from The Cocoa and Agricultural Sectors in Ghana

This study examines the impact of blockchain technology on ethical sourcing and supply chain transparency in Ghana's cocoa and agriculture industries. Using the Diffusion of Innovation Theory as a framework, the study investigates the adoption and influence of blockchain technology on ethical sourcing practices and supply chain transparency. Regression analysis was conducted using data from 153 firms in the agricultural and cocoa sectors to explore the relationships between blockchain technology usage, ethical sourcing, supply chain transparency, adoption of new technologies, and corporate social responsibility. The results highlight the significant influence of blockchain technology adoption on supply chain transparency and ethical sourcing practices in the cocoa and agricultural sectors. Specifically, companies that utilize blockchain technology tend to have more transparent supply chains and are more likely to engage in ethical sourcing compared to those that do not. Moreover, there is evidence suggesting that the use of technology, particularly blockchain, is a strong predictor of increased transparency, with positive correlations observed across all industries. These findings illustrate the potential of blockchain technology to enhance ethical sourcing methods and supply chain transparency in Ghana's cocoa and agriculture industries. It is recommended that both public and private corporations consider investing in technology adoption, particularly blockchain technology, as it has the potential to improve ethical sourcing practices.

Corporate social responsibility and the relationship to stakeholders in large agricultural holdings in the Czech Republic

Corporate social responsibility and the relationship to stakeholders in large agricultural holdings in the Czech Republic

Presence: consumers’ different reactions to service and manufacturing firms with low CSR in social conduct

Purpose This study aims to explain why low social conduct in corporate social responsibility (SC-CSR), especially employee exploitation, has a stronger negative impact on consumer reactions for service firms than for manufacturing firms. Design/methodology/approach Five experiments compared consumer reactions to service and manufacturing firms with low SC-CSR. Study 1 used a choice-based conjoint design to examine the relative importance of various shared attributes when consumers chose services versus goods. Study 2 revealed that low SC-CSR led to more pronounced negative consumers reactions toward service firms. Studies 3A and 3B explained this difference through a serial mediation analysis. Study 4 ruled out an alternative explanation regarding the differentiated effects. Findings The results reveal that consumer reactions to employee exploitation in service firms are more negative compared to manufacturing firms. This is because consumers’ sense of presence (i.e. feeling of being there) is stronger in a service setting, leading to more intense empathetic emotions toward service employees. Originality/value This research contributes to the CSR literature by challenging the conventional notion that sweatshops are more problematic for manufacturing firms. By contrast, the results indicate a stronger negative effect on service firms. It contributes to the services marketing literature by conceptualizing a novel cognitive mechanism. Traditionally, consumers’ negative reactions are driven by anger. However, the authors show that empathetic feelings toward mistreated employees play a predominant role. While it is imperative for all firms to ensure fair treatment of their employees, the findings underscore the heightened significance of this aspect for service firms, given their susceptibility to more pronounced negative effects.

Double-edged sword of corporate social responsibility (CSR) halo: the role of CSR efforts and crisis type and severity

ABSTRACT In recent years, the restaurant industry has been struggling with a variety of brand crises, including both product and moral harm crises. To mitigate the negative impact of such crises on their brands, companies are actively engaging in corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives. While a number of previous studies have investigated the influence of CSR on consumers’ responses to a brand in a routine setting, few have incorporated crisis-related situational variables into their examination of the role of CSR in a brand crisis situation. In order to test the extent to which the CSR halo plays a role in consumers’ evaluation in a brand crisis event, this study used a scenario-based 2 CSR efforts (low/high) x 2 crisis type (product harm/moral harm crisis) x 2 crisis severity (low/high) experimental design. The findings suggest that a higher level of brand engagement in CSR can offset the negative consequences of brand crisis in the case of product harm and less severe brand crisis, compared to moral harm and severe brand crisis, respectively. Our results provide valuable insights for companies wishing to respond successfully to a brand crisis event based on predicted consumers’ responses and on their CSR reputation.

Empowering pro-environmental potential among hotel employees: insights from self-determination theory

PurposeThis research examines the role of green, inclusive leadership, corporate social responsibility, and pro-environmental attitudes on proactive pro-environmental behaviour among hotel employees. It further examines the indirect effects of pro-environmental attitudes between green inclusive leadership, corporate social responsibility, and proactive pro-environmental behaviour, as well as the moderating role of psychological contract breach between pro-environmental attitudes and proactive pro-environmental behaviour.Design/methodology/approachThe participants of this cross-sectional study were employees in the Malaysian hotel industry, and 374 usable questionnaires were used for data analysis. The data were analysed using Partial Least Squares – Structural Equation Modelling.FindingsThis study found that green, inclusive leadership, corporate social responsibility, and pro-environmental attitudes significantly influence proactive pro-environmental behaviour. For mediating effects, pro-environmental attitudes have been found to mediate the relationship between corporate social responsibility, green inclusive leadership and proactive pro-environmental behaviour.Research limitations/implicationsThe research proposes actionable measures to encourage environmentally friendly practices in the hotel sector. For companies to succeed, they must integrate green initiatives with their societal objectives. Pro-environmental mindsets are essential for implementing effective environmental policies, which in turn impact recruitment approaches. The advantages of fostering pro-environmental conduct encompass financial savings, enhanced standing, adherence to regulations, increased innovative thinking and improved workplace well-being.Originality/valueOver time, environmental degradation has been contributed by individual behaviours and the combined actions of businesses and organisations. This study significantly contributed to a new model underpinned by the Self-determination Theory by including new constructs influencing proactive pro-environmental behaviour.