CSR Norms Research Articles

The More, the Merrier? The Behavioral Effects of a Firm’s CSR Mission and Monetary CSR Incentives on Employee CSR Engagement

ABSTRACT We experimentally investigate the combined effects of CSR-related informal (i.e., CSR mission) and formal control elements (i.e., provision of monetary CSR incentives) on employee CSR engagement, considering employees’ CSR norms. We predict that a substantive rather than a symbolic CSR mission positively impacts the CSR engagement of employees who attach high importance to CSR and expect monetary CSR incentives to be effective under a symbolic CSR mission, and if employees attach low importance to CSR. The findings show that a substantive relative to a symbolic CSR mission increases the CSR engagement of employees who attach high importance to CSR. Under a symbolic CSR mission, employees increase their CSR engagement when monetary CSR incentives are provided, while under a substantive CSR mission, monetary CSR incentives are only effective for participants who attach low importance to CSR. The results support firms in designing suitable and effective CSR-related management control systems. Data Availability: Data is available from the authors upon request. JEL Classifications: M41; M52.

MNEs and the Duality of Institutions: Regulative Pressures, Social Responsibility Pressures and FDI

Given the constant changes taking place in the international business (IB) landscape, a firm’s institutional environment is recognized as a key source of uncertainty. Addressing calls to explore how multinational enterprises (MNEs) strategize to manage complex institutional pressures, this paper examines the effects of institutional duality on entry mode choices. We explore how key institutions – both at home and abroad - affect MNEs’ foreign direct investment (FDI) decisions. In practice, country of origin still matters as MNEs seek to manage the pressures exerted by their host institutional environments, whilst also strategizing to maintain home market institutional legitimacy. Further, we propose and show that regulative and normative institutional pressures affect the choice of FDI mode differently. Using a sample of 44,881 FDI events between 2013 and 2019, we show that higher degrees of FDI such as wholly owned subsidiaries, tend to be used by MNEs when the distance between normative institutions, i.e., home and host CSR norms and practices, is high. Whilst regulative distance is managed through setting up joint venture relationships, wholly owned subsidiaries are chosen to control whether, and to what extent, MNEs adapt to different, host market CSR standards and practices.

Reporting of Corporate Social Responsibility Practices : An Evidence from Indian BSE-Listed Companies

CSR activities presently spread across a wide scope of zones including environmental protection and biological protection. As per Section 135 under Schedule VII of Companies Act (2013) in Indian context, it furnishes that each organization in India with a total asset holding exceeding or equals to ₹five hundred crore rupees or an annual sales of exceeding or equals to ₹1000 crores rupees or a net profit of more than or equals to ₹5 crore rupees for any one financial year is required to establish a Corporate Social Responsibility Committee. Using the sample of BSE listed corporates across several industrial sectors in India, the objective of the study is to investigate whether there is an improvement in the corporate social responsibility scores of companies over the predetermined time range (from 2014-15 to 2019-20). Application of paired samples t-test as to test whether the mean difference between two groups is significantly different from zero indicates interesting CSR based outcomes for the items designed under CSR checklist. The derived findings were also found to be robust to the application of non-parametric statistical testing technique. It has generated suitable research insights for the academicians and policy makers of Indian corporate sector and will facilitate them to establish appropriate CSR norms to be applicable in India

Be careful what you wish for: a European perspective on the limits of CSR in the legal profession

ABSTRACT Law firms, bars and lawyers associations qualify as ‘enterprises’ in the sense of all international CSR norms such as the UN Global Compact, the UN Guiding Principles, the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and ISO 26000 Guidance on Social Responsibility. Thus, these CSR norms apply to law firms and lawyers in principle. Lawyers are, however, not only service providers. They have also an official function based on human rights and rule of law guarantees of access to justice and the courts. Therefore, the application of CSR norms has to be adapted to the specific role and duties of the lawyers. This applies in particular to their capacity (1) as enterprises and suppliers of services, (2) as gatekeepers concerning the ‘CSR-compliance’ of their clients, and (3) as ‘legal’ advisors. An important element is lawyers’ independence. Besides certain legally defined responsibilities, lawyers are not to be identified with their clients and their deeds. A more far-reaching responsibility, based on ‘social expectations’ in line with the UN Guiding Principles, risks undermining the independence of the attorneys and their role in the administration of justice as the examples from the Nazi regime and McCarthy era show. Be careful what you wish for.

Institutions and Corporate Social Responsibility

We provide an overview of existing research on CSR and institutions and suggest avenues for future development. We begin by laying out how the three major forms of institutionalism have approached CSR, what kinds of institutions and levels of analysis have been used, and how this has been linked to various domains of CSR. Based on this overview, we derive implications for research and directions how work at the intersection of CSR and institutions might advance. Specifically, it seems to us that the field should stop viewing institutional conformity as CSR and instead apply insights from comparative institutional analysis to voluntary (“explicit”) forms of CSR, leverage configurational methods, and explore the co-evolution of CSR and institutional norms.

Normative spaces and the UN Global Compact for transnational corporations: the norm diffusion paradox

Regime theorists argue that international regimes and institutions are based on principles, norms and decision-making procedures that constitute a set of patterned behaviours around which expectations converge. The notion of these institutionalised ‘logics of appropriateness’ has led to the proliferation of many global norms, such as the UN Global Compact, that are considered to govern the practices of multinational corporations in the extractive sector. The key question that this paper asks is, to what extent is the UN Global Compact influencing the behaviour of mining companies in Ghana — particularly the social responsibility performance of Newmont Ghana Gold Ltd and Chirano Gold Mines Ltd.? Since the existing global CSR norms thrive mainly on voluntary subscription and compliance, the overall objective of this paper is to underscore the paradox of putting a widely acclaimed arrangement such as the Global Compact into practice and its implications for the livelihoods of expected ‘norm beneficiaries’. The goal is to contribute to the literature on the nature and rationale of CSR in Ghana, as well as to improve our understanding of localised diffusion and contestations of global norms.

Potential contribution of the socio-economic approach to management to a better integration of CSR norms and economic standards

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to show the importance of an integrative approach to CSR.Design/methodology/approach– The paper is based on the qualimetrics intervention-research methodology. It is an exploratory research project.Findings– The intervention-research case study shows an example where an integrative approach to CSR was made possible.Research limitations/implications– The paper only presents an example of a company. Future research should show how the method that has been experimented to integrate CSR might be implemented.Practical implications– The paper might help company actors debate and propose an innovative approach to CSR.Social implications– The paper provides scientific methods to better negotiate the creation of norms and standards in the field of CSR, enabling to move one step further as regards ISO 26000.Originality/value– It shows some of the conditions required to bridge the gap between CSR and financial standards.

Measurement of corporate social performance: an Indian perspective

PurposeThis paper aims to: design a comprehensive, review‐based and statistically tested corporate social responsibility disclosure (CSRD) index; measure item‐wise and theme‐wise the social performance of the top 82 companies in India; and investigate item‐wise and theme‐wise the variations in CSRD.Design/methodology/approachThe paper presents an empirical study of CSRD in 2009‐2010, using content analysis, Cronbach's α, the Kolmogorov‐Smirnov and Shapiro‐Wilk tests of normality and a six point scale (0‐5), mean, skewness, kurtosis, and Levene's, Kruskal‐Wallis's and Mood's median tests for analysis and interpretation.FindingsCSRD shows less satisfactory social performance, mainly narrative, and varies significantly among items and themes. Community development, with a mean score of 14.30, is the most disclosed theme, followed by HR, with a score of 11.20. The human element is the center of social performance in India. More than equal focus should be given to the environment and to emissions, which impact the greater interests of the world. Some burning global issues like water usage, alternative sources of energy, product safety and innovation have not received adequate attention.Research limitations/implicationsThe study offers ample scope for the further studies as each and every theme and item considered in the model/index requires individual focus to serve the future generations of mankind. Longitudinal/transnational studies in the area of CSR could be carried out to set the scene for further studies.Practical implicationsThe paper recommends mandatory CSR norms leading to improved disclosure, the sharing of innovative knowledge, cost reductions and enhanced effectiveness in managing scarce resources.Originality/valueThe paper evaluates social performance in the economic, social, religious environment and highlights the emerging philanthropic attitude. The paper improves an existing model by incorporating an emerging dimension, i.e. “Emissions of carbon and other harmful gases”. The CSEEE index designed here is highly appropriate for developing economies like India. The paper measures CSRD using six‐point scales for the first time.

Contractual Control and Labour-Related CSR Norms in the Supply Chain: Dutch Best Practices

The Utrecht Law Review is an open-access peer-reviewed journal which aims to offer an international academic platform for cross-border legal research. In the first place, this concerns research in which the boundaries of the classic branches of the law (private law, criminal law, constitutional and administrative law, European and public international law) are crossed and connections are made between these areas of the law, amongst others from a comparative law perspective. In addition, the journal welcomes research in which classic law is brought face to face with not strictly legal disciplines such as philosophy, economics, political sciences and public administration science.The journal was established in 2005 and is affiliated to the Utrecht University School of Law. If you wish to receive e-mail alerts please join the mailing list.

Persuasive Authority Beyond the State: A Theoretical Analysis of Transnational Corporate Social Responsibility Norms as Legal Reasons Within Positive Legal Systems

The practice of law has been challenged by the promulgation of transnational norms associated with “corporate social responsibility” (“CSR”), arising beyond the State, with little or no connection to traditional sources of positive law. These phenomena, which we will refer to as “transnational CSR norms,” are increasingly important guides to behaviour for corporate actors, despite the fact that adherence to such norms is not “required” by positive legal systems. Perhaps for this reason, transnational CSR norms are typically poorly understood and possibly underutilized in the practice of law. The purpose of this paper will be to determine, by recourse to legal theory, whether, and if so how, transnational CSR norms may be related to positive legal systems, and therefore to the practice of law. In so doing, we will seek to develop a theoretical understanding of the role transnational CSR norms can, do, and ought to play within processes of legal reasoning, particularly from the theoretical starting points offered by analytical/ positivist, and discursive theories of law.

Persuasive Authority Beyond the State: A Theoretical Analysis of Transnational Corporate Social Responsibility Norms as Legal Reasons within Positive Legal Systems

The purpose of this paper is to elucidate by recourse to legal theory whether and how transnational corporate social responsibility (“CSR”) norms may be related to positive legal systems and to the practice of law. We will seek to develop a theoretical understanding of the role transnational CSR norms can, do, and ought to play within processes of legal reasoning, particularly from the theoretical starting points offered by analytical/ positivist, and discursive theories of law. It will be argued that transnational CSR norms serve as ready standards of conduct, that can provide persuasive and justifying reasons within a legal discourse. Razian positivism clearly elucidates how all positive legal systems are open systems. This means that external norms, including quite possibly transnational CSR norms, may come to be used within positive legal systems to define the scope of such systems and the parameters of legal obligation. This basic trait of positive legal systems makes transnational CSR norms relatable to legal obligation within positive systems of law. For such a relation to occur, however, there must exist an institutional nexus between the transnational norm and the positive legal system itself. That nexus will arise where the transnational norm is actually applied in making conclusive determinations of legal situations, by the norm applying institutions of a positive legal system. In certain circumstances, transnational CSR norms exhibiting traits such as “efficacy” and “authority”, operating as systems of social control, may be used as persuasive and justifying legal reasons by norm-applying institutions. In this way they can be seen to exist as a form of prima facie persuasive authority beyond the State. Any suggestion that transnational CSR norms are not relevant to the practice of law within a positive legal system is refutable on this basis. Instead, we will conclude that transnational CSR norms may possess a prima facie legal character that makes them readily utilizable within processes of legal argumentation, and very salient for legal practitioners and theorists alike.

Stakeholder’s Preference and Rational Compliance: A Comment on Sacconi’s “CSR as a Model for Extended Corporate Governance II: Compliance, Reputation and Reciprocity”

Lorenzo Sacconi’s recent re-statement of his social contract account of business ethics is a major contribution to our understanding of the normative nature of CSR as the expression of a fair multi-party agreement supported by the economic rationality of each participant. However, at one crucial point in his theory, Sacconi introduces the concept of stakeholders’ conformist preferences – their disposition to punish the firm if it defects from the agreement, refusing to abide by its own explicit CSR policies and norms. We take issue with him over this concept: we show that the assumption of conformist preferences is a moral premise, and it arguably weakens the normativity of the theory as a whole. As an alternative, we propose an evolutionary game theoretic approach. We draw upon recent applications of evolutionary game theory to moral philosophy (Skyrms, Danielson), and we use a computer simulation of the trust game. According to this approach, the failure of the logic of reputation, which is the problem conformist preferences were introduced to solve, is overcome through the dynamics of interaction.

Global Production, Company Codes of Conduct, and Labor Conditions in China: A Case Study of Two Factories

An attempt is made to understand the corporate ethical codes movement in China by drawing on case studies of two factories that had to respond to the corporate social responsibility programs. The process of implementation of corporate codes is examined at the company level along with the implication of code practices for labour rights.