Drivers Of Corporate Social Responsibility Research Articles

Global CSR, drivers and consequences: a systematic review

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide a systematic review of research studies on the drivers and consequences of corporate social responsibility (CSR).Design/methodology/approachThis paper used a systematic literature review using research papers published on the drivers and consequence of global CSR from 2010 to 2020.FindingsThe findings of this paper show that the principal themes of published research articles on the drivers and consequences of CSR are internal drivers, external drivers and consequences of CSR. Publications on the drivers and consequences of global CSR have been dominated by studies that used quantitative approach and cross-sectional design. A significant number of studies also used secondary data source with most of these studies not being sensitive to sectorial influences. More importantly, this study revealed that the emphasis of CSR on actions that demonstrate social responsibility is more associated with overall financial performance and firm value when contrasted against ethical statements of social responsibility which is associated with weaker firm financial performance and outcomes. Moreover the review indicated that the level of CSR engagement and disclosure has been associated with higher share prices whereas low level of CSR disclosure in sensitive industries results in lower share prices. In addition, employees’ intention has been identified as a critical driver for CSR activities. Furthermore, it was also identified that firms engage in CSR because of internal institutional factors such as ethical corporate culture and top management commitment, whereas external drivers of CSR include socio-political factors, globalisation and environmental accountability.Practical implicationsCSR is an area that can be harnessed to contribute to sustainable solutions to global challenges. It also provides an added advantage of ensuring that the perpetuation of the relationship between businesses and society are more complementary.Originality/valueThis review is one of the few studies focussed on highlighting the drivers and consequences of global CSR. This review also provides proof of the areas of research that need attention and provides recommendation on future areas of study on the drivers and consequences of global CSR.

The Influence of Corporate Governance and Corporate Foundations on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Reporting Practices

ABSTRACT This study investigates whether corporate governance and corporate foundations have any influence on corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting practices in the context of a developing country – Mauritius. Data were collected from Mauritian listed companies for the period of 2007–2014. Content analysis was used to assess the extent of CSR reporting. Multivariate regression was used to investigate the three research hypotheses. It was found that firms which contribute to a CSR foundation, generally report a higher level of CSR information provision. Conversely, state ownership has a negative influence on the level of CSR reporting while board independence had no significant influence on CSR reporting. This study contributes to the literature by shedding light on less explored intrinsic drivers of CSR reporting. While the role of extrinsic drivers (e.g. institutional obligations) remains relevant, it is only through an organizational/management commitment to ethical and social issues that substantive embedding of positive managerial attitudes toward CSR and stakeholder will occur.

A review of empirical research on corporate social responsibility in emerging economies

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide a systematic review of empirical research studies on corporate social responsibility (CSR) in emerging economies.Design/methodology/approachThis paper employed a systematic literature review using research papers published on CSR in emerging economies from 2010 to 2019.FindingsThe findings of this paper show that the principal themes of published research articles on CSR in emerging economies are (1) effects of CSR, (2) drivers of CSR and (3) challenges of CSR. Additionally, publications on CSR in emerging economies have been dominated by studies that used quantitative approach and cross-sectional design. A significant number of studies also employed secondary data sources with most of these studies not being sensitive to sectoral influencesResearch limitations/implicationsThe research is non-empirical.Practical implicationsCSR is an area that can mitigate some of the developmental challenges of emerging economies and also stimulate the economic growth of firms. Thus, governments and organisations must partner to provide suitable conditions that would influence organisations to incorporate CSR in their business plans.Originality/valueThis review is the first of its kind that identifies the principal thematic domains of research on CSR in emerging economies. This review also provides proof of the areas of research that need attention and also provides recommendation on future areas of study on CSR in emerging economies.

The perceived value of measuring the impact of CSR performance on CSR investment: evidence from the UAE

This study examines drivers of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) measurement and investment in CSR. Specifically, the study examines the links between the underlying motives for measuring CSR performance, namely to comply with regulation, to provide management support, and improve stakeholders’ satisfaction, and the impact thereof on CSR investments. The analysis of survey data of 307 companies based in Dubai identified five clusters of CSR measurements. The results show that while CSR measurement is a significant driver of CSR investments, there are varied associations between the three main drivers of CSR measurement and investment in CSR practices. Theoretical and practical implications of the study, are discussed.

What drives CSR communication effectiveness on social media? A process-based theoretical framework and research agenda

While practice and research show that Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) communication on social media can have positive effects on corporate reputation, brand attitude and purchase intention, consumer engagement with CSR posts has been underwhelming. Companies are not successfully tapping into the inherent potential of social media communication. This theoretical review integrates extant CSR and social media communication research to contribute to a better understanding of the processes involved in CSR effectiveness on social media. We develop a theoretical model of CSR social media communication, that takes into account its specific characteristics—sensitivity to peer influences through norm activation, interactivity, viral CSR message propagation through sharing, CSR empowerment, and humane-oriented appeals in CSR posts. The hypothesized framework connects CSR and social media-specific drivers with two social media CSR communication outcomes: i) CSR effectiveness in terms of CSR associations, corporate/brand attitude and purchase behavior, and ii) social media performance indicators related to propagation on the network—social media endorsement and opposition (liking, positive and negative commenting, and sharing of the CSR post). The model explains the resulting relationships through mediation processes based on CSR credibility and motive attribution, psychological consumer empowerment, moral emotions, as well as social identity and norm activation. Self-construal and community identification are identified as consumer-based contingency factors of these effects. The review framework provides an extended process-oriented agenda for future studies. The paper recommends multi-brand experimental field studies in a real-life social media setting and highlights the requirement of industry collaboration. The expected findings will help companies to choose relevant CSR initiatives, design effective CSR posts, boost viral propagation on the network, and counter and avoid social media opposition through negative feedback.

Do business ethics really matter?

Do business ethics really matter?

Institutional drivers for corporate social responsibility in the utilities sector

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the influence of characteristics of the institutional environment on the disclosure of corporate social responsibility (CSR).Design/methodology/approachThis is a quantitative and descriptive research. The dependent variables used were environmental dimension (ED) and social dimension (SD) that together compose the corporate social performance (CSP). The independent variables that will be used are the characteristics of the institutional environments of Brazil and the UK. Thus, for this end, variables of the national business system of both countries will be used: corruption transparency, access to credit by countries, quality of the education system and labor relations. After their collection, the data were submitted to descriptive and inferential statistics and hierarchical regression.FindingsData show that UK companies make more disclosure in CSR than Brazilian companies. Through linear regression, it can be seen that the institutional environment affects disclosure in CSR. In the UK, a country with better educational, labor, political and financial indicators than Brazil, it presented better CSR practices. The findings reveal that the better an institutional environment, the more firms act in CSR. The findings of the research confirm the premise of institutional theory: different institutional fields can modify business performance.Research limitations/implicationsThe study analyzed only the disclosure practices of companies in the public sector. Thus, the results should be carefully analyzed, without generalizations for all industry sectors. Therefore, it is suggested that future research looks at other industry sectors as well as other institutional contexts, i.e. other countries.Practical implicationsMultinational companies may have different CSR practices according to the institutional environment in which they operate. For example, companies in developed countries, such as the UK, have greater stakeholder pressure. Given this, managers must adapt their environmental strategies according to the institutional environment in which they operate.Originality/valueThis research contributes to CSR studies in various institutional contexts. There is a consensus in the literature that institutional environments affect firms' CSR practices. However, few empirical studies show results between the national business system and CSR. Thus, the present study intends to fill this research gap.

Institutional Drivers for Corporate Social Responsibility of Ghanaian Firms

The concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) has dominated the academic space with a significant number of studies focusing on attempting to establish the relationship between corporate responsibility and firm performance. Minimal empirical attention is, however, accorded to attempting to establish what drives corporate responsibility among firms. This study sought to examine the institutional drivers for CSR practices of firms in Ghana using a mixed-method approach. An interview was conducted with personnel in charge of executing their respective firm’s corporate responsibility initiatives to obtain a firsthand insight into the level of appreciation for CSR among Ghanaian firms as well as to identify the drivers for CSR. The drivers for CSR were classified into internal and external institutional drivers. The study sourced for data for its analysis by administering questionnaires to 100 respondents. Responses were quantitatively analyzed using a regression technique. Among the internal drivers for CSR, it was found that only board commitment to CSR was a significant and positive driver of corporate responsibility. International trade relations, the media, and the local community were similarly found to be significant and positive drivers of CSR among the external drivers. Regulations was found to be a significant driver for CSR but impacted on corporate responsibility negatively. It is recommended that incentives by the government, award schemes, and enforcement of CSR reporting be implemented to drive a broad adoption of CSR among firms in developing nations.

Industry and community peers as drivers of corporate social responsibility in India: The contingent role of institutional investors

The extant research has widely investigated the various institutional antecedents of corporate social responsibility (CSR). However, the role of peer groups on the firm’s CSR has received relatively less attention. To this end, the present study examines the CSR of the firms due to the mimetic isomorphism mechanism arising among ‘industry peers’ (i.e., peer firms which operate in the same industry) and ‘community peers’ (i.e., peer firms with their headquarters located in the same geographical area). The study examines CSR along two dimensions: CSR engagement level and CSR spending. The study examines the fixed effects regression on a balanced panel data, collected from the annual reports and CMIE Prowess database of 321 listed firms from 2015 to 2018 in India. The results indicate that both the industry and the community peers positively influence the CSR engagement level and CSR spending of the firms. However, community peers’ effect is stronger than the industry peers’ on both dimensions. The divergence from peer groups’ mean CSR spending negatively moderates the peer group and CSR relationships. The results further indicate that institutional investors reduce the mimetic isomorphic (shouldn’t it be isomorphic mimetic) pressure on the firm. The study contributes by proposing a measurement index of CSR engagement level. Managers can develop appropriate business policies for a firm’s CSR activities based on ‘industry’ and ‘community’ peer firms.

When Public and Business Interests Collide: An Integrated Approach to the Altruism-Instrumentalism Tension and Corporate Social Responsibility Theory

ABSTRACT This article attends to the debate of what motivations – instrumental or altruistic – should drive corporate social responsibility (CSR) decisions and practice; I offer an integrated instrumental and duty-based framework. While the win-win instrumentalism that underlies much of CSR practice is problematic and needs addressing, the notion of altruism is also flawed. Such an application of deontological principles, while well-intentioned, is a) based on a misreading of Kant’s humanity formula, b) does not lend itself to the inherent duality of the CSR concept, and c) constrains the quest and need to mainstream ethical CSR. Instead, I propose that a more pertinent question is how to address firms’ tendency to choose those societal issues that yield private benefits. In this regard, drawing on W.D. Ross’ moral philosophy, I provide a three-level decision criterion for addressing situations where firms’ private interests and social aspirations collide.

Does Social Responsibility Always Begin at Home? The Relation Between Firms’ Pension Policies and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Activities

Pension freezes are highly visible corporate actions with the potential to hurt the firms’ reputation as a “responsible” employer. We document that firms sponsoring defined-benefit pensions step up CSR engagement following announcements of defined-benefit pension freezes. Freeze firms also increase their usage of CSR-related keywords in public disclosures following the freeze. We find a stronger CSR response to relatively more severe freezes, to more controversial cash-balance conversions, and in larger sponsors. This is consistent with CSR increases being motivated by the need for reputation-repair. We also find that CSR increases following an accounting rule change that makes pension deficits more visible. Collectively, our findings highlight an important driver of CSR: the need to restore or manage reputation, especially in the face of corporate actions that can hurt stakeholders.

Do foreign institutional investors drive corporate social responsibility? Evidence from listed firms in China

AbstractThis paper investigates the effect of qualified foreign institutional investors (QFIIs) on corporate social responsibility (CSR) within the context of listed firms in China. We find that QFIIs offer an incisive channel for improving socially responsible practices. In addition, we find that firms with QFIIs are more likely to comply with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines, and that their sustainability reports tend to be longer. We also find that this positive effect is more pronounced in firms with low initial CSR scores than those with high CSR scores at the time when QFIIs enter the sample. Our empirical evidence further confirms that this positive impact is driven by QFIIs from countries with high social awareness, or QFIIs from geographically distant countries, consistent with their motives, and is linked to the ownership of QFIIs, especially when the QFII is among the top ten of the largest shareholders. Finally, our extended analysis reveals that the increase in CSR performance associated with the presence of QFIIs results in greater firm performance and easier access to finance.

Political connections and corporate social responsibility: Political incentives in China

AbstractTo explore the motivations underpinning corporate social responsibility (CSR) decisions in China, a country characterized by extensive government intervention, this paper investigates whether building a good relationship with the government is a political incentive that is driving firms to conduct CSR by examining the effects of political connections on the latter. Our results indicate that politically connected firms exhibit better CSR. However, the effect is considerably more significant for firms with existing political relationships. Additionally, findings show that the effect is more prominent in firms for which political connections are more valuable, namely, non‐state‐owned enterprises, small firms, and firms operating in less market‐oriented cities, indicating that CSR can serve as a differentiation strategy to compete against other bidders. Dividing CSR activities into economic, environmental and social aspects, we find that the social‐based activities are more likely to be driven by political motivations. By categorizing CSR and political connections, this paper not only expands the scope of political CSR and renders the generated results that have been mixed together more distinguishable, but also provides a more precise understanding of the fundamental drivers of CSR in China from the perspective of resource exchange.

From Traditional to Strategic CSR: Systematic Literature Review

The idea of corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a very significant element of companies and societies functioning. Literature exemplifies that this concept still becomes more and more popular. Considering it from the strategic perspective can be a driver for businesses success. This article focuses on the CSR concept and its different aspects. The aim of the paper is to describe and exemplify the issue of the corporate social responsibility concept, with the focus on its strategic aspects. In order to achieve the aim of the paper, there have been set the following objectives: (1) to discuss definitions of the CSR concept, its origins, drivers and different types; (2) to present strategic CSR definitions, its benefits and dimensions; (3) to exemplify how to embed the CSR concept into strategy; (4) to discuss the complexity of the strategic approach to CSR. The study is based on the systematic literature review. At the beginning, the article presents the method of the study and the research sampling process. The next step of the study outlines the CSR concept and its definitions and key assumptions. Later, the article exemplifies the strategic approach to the CSR concept. The study confirms the significance of converting CSR activities into strategies and linking them with the grand strategy of companies. Nevertheless, there is still a big need to investigate this issue more deeply in order to have a better and more comprehensive view on that.

Politically connected firms and corporate social responsibility implementation expenditure in sub‐Saharan Africa: Evidence from Ghana

AbstractWhile previous research has emphasized the role of stakeholder pressures, firm‐specific factors, as well as CEO characteristics as important drivers of corporate social responsibility (CSR) implementation, our understanding of how political connections impact small and medium‐sized enterprises' (SMEs') CSR implementation expenditure is quite limited. In this study, we contribute to filling this gap by investigating the effects of political connections and CSR expenditure and explain the conditions that impact this relationship. Using data from 473 SMEs in Ghana, we find that political connections negatively influence CSR implementation expenditure. However, the negative effect is weakened when a firms' reputation and competitive CSR implementation pressures are high. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

Mapping 20 Years of Literature on CSR in Tourism Industry: A Bibliometric Analysis

The tourism industry has a tremendous impact on the environment and local communities. Therefore, corporate social responsibility (CSR) is essential both as a mediating factor and competitive edge for organizations in this field. This paper reviews CSR in the tourism industry and proposes a bibliometric analysis of 131 indexed articles, between 2001 and 2020. The most influential aspects of the literature (authors, articles, journals, institutions, and keyword networks) were identified. Co-citation analysis combined with content analysis of the 22 most cited articles was performed, and four research streams were revealed: 1) CSR and financial performance; 2) CSR practices, drivers, and inhibitors; 3) Reporting and communication of CSR; 4) CSR and stakeholder behavior. Future research guidelines are drawn from the most recent articles on this topic to shed new light for the future scholars working in the field.

Analysis of the use of Twitter as a tool for the management and communication of the CSR of leading European firms

The management of corporate social responsibility (CSR) requires dialogue between the organisation and its stakeholders. Considering that, today, interaction among any members of society is becoming increasingly faster and easier due to the use of Web 2.0, this latter can be considered a suitable tool for CSR management. The main purpose of this paper is to analyse the use of online social networks by enterprises as a communication strategy tool in the field of CSR management. To this end, all the messages from the verified Twitter accounts of 50 leading European blue-chip companies (EuroStock 50) from the year they were activated until June 2016 (127,811) were analysed using automated and manual content analysis. The conclusions drawn by this study show that this social network is only used for informative purposes, no two-way collaborative communication strategy being found. This leads to the need to proactively make companies aware of the advantages of social networks as CSR management tools and drivers of a collaborative interaction with stakeholders that would allow a more sustainable and more inclusive performance of CSR principles in their activities.

Strategic Planning for Sustainability

Sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR) have become mainstays of business activities: the percentage of large global companies professing to practice some form of sustainability and CSR has been steadily increasing, sustainability reporting has become the norm and businesses of all sizes are subject to sustainability and CSR drivers including the philanthropic motivations of their employees and the expectations of other stakeholders such as customers and investors. As such, sustainability management now includes finding a way to forge a coherent strategy that is can accommodate the broad range of sustainability and CSR activities including corporate funding of community activities, grants for nonprofits/NGOs, environmental sustainability programs to reduce energy and resource use, “cause” marketing and comprehensive system-level efforts to remake a business’s entire value chain. This chapter discusses research and practical advice on creating a sustainability strategy and managing an enterprise based on sustainable development principles.

Does managerial ownership influence corporate social responsibility (CSR)? The role of economic policy uncertainty

AbstractTo explore the drivers of corporate social responsibility (CSR), we investigate how managerial ownership influences CSR in the presence of economic policy uncertainty. Our results demonstrate that, when facing more economic policy uncertainty (EPU), firms with larger managerial ownership invest significantly more in CSR. This is in agreement with the risk mitigation hypothesis, where CSR offers insurance‐like protection against adverse events. When economic policy uncertainty is not considered, however, we find that managers with higher ownership stakes invest significantly less in CSR, suggesting that CSR is driven by the agency conflict. As managers own more equity, they are subject to greater costs of CSR. Additional analyses confirm the results, including dynamic GMM, propensity score matching and instrumental‐variable analysis.

Corporate Social Responsibility and SMEs in Vietnam: A Study in the Textile and Garment Industry

This study explored the influence of factors on the implementation of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in companies. The study used a quantitative approach in which a survey was conducted. The final 250 among various respondents in the textile and garment industry were used. The final respondents were top-, middle-, and low-level managers in 250 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Vietnam. The results indicate that competitive context, social influences, the understanding of managers about CSR, and the internal environment of companies are the four drivers of CSR. In the four drivers, competitive context has the strongest impact on adopting CSR. The finding implies that stakeholders’ pressure influences SMEs in this industry because of the high expectations from international stakeholders.