Social Responsibility Issues Research Articles

Modernization of Mali’s investment policy in the context of improving the sustainable development strategy

Since 2012, the Republic of Mali has been facing numerous security challenges caused by the separatist uprising led by the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad and many non-State armed groups. This led to a loss of control by the authorities in several areas where the provision of public services and the operation of development programs were disrupted. The base of the economy - the agricultural sector - suffered, on the one hand, due to physical destruction of infrastructure and delays in the construction of new facilities due to limited financial and implementation opportunities, and on the other - due to limited access of households to agricultural resources and modern irrigation methods, which hindered the development of agriculture, expansion of acreage. The devastating consequences also affected other areas of the country. As a result, there is still an urgent need for humanitarian assistance, especially in the northern part of the country, and food insecurity due to the conflict and dependence on weather conditions remains a serious problem. Thus, money transfer programs from major international donors are one of the main sources of functioning of the economy and society of Mali. However, such dependence, in the end, does not benefit the country much in the context of long-term and sustainable development. This is confirmed by the difficulties that have arisen in recent years in connection with the imposed international sanctions. On the other hand, the country has quite attractive investment potential, but foreign investments pursue in most cases purely private interests of investors, ignoring the issue of social responsibility of business and not contributing to the restoration of the social and environmental spheres of Mali. In this regard, the study is devoted to the problem of sustainable development of the country and the possibility of using investment policy tools to implement policy objectives in this area. To this end, the formation and state of Mali’s sustainable development policy is analyzed; the dynamics of the main indicators reflecting the aspects of sustainable development are assessed; the world experience of implementing the concept of “green” investments that had positive environmental and social effects is reviewed. Conclusions are drawn about the need to revise and modernize the policy of attracting investments into the economy of Mali, which will provide additional opportunities for comprehensive development and increasing the level of independence.

일본 영화 <모라토리움기의 다마코>에 나타난 히키코모리 특성과 회복탄력성 고찰

The purpose of this study is to discuss ways to overcome the hikikomori phenomenon, a reclusive loner, through the Japanese film <Tomako in Moratorium> directed by Yamashita Nobuhiro (山下敦弘) released in 2013. Characteristics of hikikomori are dreamer temperament, escapism, and double appearance. Hikikomori shows a state of maladjustment in reality, with a tendency to identify imaginary images with reality. The gap between the ideal and the reality of hikikomori works as a factor that makes social adaptation difficult while generating cognitive dissonance.
 Basically, hikikomori shows fear of society or loss of confidence. Hikikomori fail to form bonds with others and experience wounds as people, entering their own world and living an isolated life. Hikikomori needs a period of recovery to become normal. This process can be defined as resilience, and the expression of interest and love between family members can have a direct impact.
 The female protagonist of this movie shows herself living a meaningless daily life without hope. In particular, this movie takes the attitude of calmly conveying the frustrating and helpless reality of young people from an objective standpoint and does not scold them. This is because the appearance of helpless young people is not arbitrary, but rather a result of issues of social responsibility or structure. The movie presents that the helpless heroine's daily life was a fierce inner struggle as she prepares step by step for her positive future. In conclusion, rather than unilaterally criticizing helpless young people, society and the older generation need to be more relaxed and interested in helping them develop resilience.

MSME Legitimacy During a Pandemic

This study aims to determine what factors influence MSME during the pandemic in relation to issues of leadership, legitimacy, green management, social responsibility and partnership. This research is quantitative by using SEM (Structural Equation Modelling). The sample comes from Bandung, Surabaya and Situbondo with totalling 120 MSME respondents. There are correlations among leadership with green management, leadership with social responsibility, green management with legitimation and social responsibility with legitimation. However, the value of r or the determinant of almost all variables is lower than 0.5, which indicates that the level of prediction is not high in explaining the actions that MSME should take when facing a pandemic crisis. This study highlights the importance of the factors that influence MSMEs in facing a crisis, in this case is a pandemic. The factors found turned out to have predictions that were not too high, so the interviews be done, which was qualitative in nature in helping to investigate problems deeply in MSME during the pandemic. An important finding in a crisis is that MSME actually seeks legitimacy from the government, especially to gain access to assistance.

Global research patterns in corporate social responsibility within electronic commerce: A bibliometric analysis

This study examines the importance of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in e-commerce literature by locating and collecting data from academic publications. By doing a search using specific terms such as “e-commerce”, “electronic commerce”, and “corporate social responsibility” in a prominent online publisher’s database from 2001 to 2023, our analysis reveals the increasing importance of the CSR matter in the field of e-commerce. Multiple levels of observation have identified this growing trend (conceptual, geographical, and technological). This article primarily focuses on providing a conceptual framework that provides the economic reason for the increasing interest in corporate social responsibility (CSR) issues in the field of electronic commerce. While there are several ethical and social aspects that can account for this interest, this research specifically explores the complementing justification.

Social responsibility of the state as an anti-crisis component of public administration

The article examines the multifactorial issue of social responsibility, investigates the phenomenon of social responsibility of the state, and determines the role and place of social responsibility in overco ming crisis situations. It is established that in a broad sense, the social responsibility of the state is a system of effective management of the territory, including economic, political, social, security, cultural and environmental measures, in order to increase and maintain the standard of living of the population, which would satisfy the majority of citizens. At the same time, it should be about ensuring sustainable development and prospects for further improvement. It was determined that social responsibility is defined by a dynamic value system, which is characteristic of individuals, social communities and society in general, state and local authorities and their representatives. The emergence of social responsibility is directly related to social values that determine the activity and behavior of all participants in social processes. Based on this, it can be stated that the social responsibility of the state is realized as a manifestation of the will of each individual.
 It has been proven that in modern conditions, the key factor for overcoming crisis situations and ensuring the effective development of the state is a stable and society-oriented government, which in its activity covers both the needs of citizens and advanced management practices. In the conditions of a difficult economic, political, social and demographic situation in Ukraine, the social responsibility of the state should become one of the components of a unifying national idea that will help overcome the systemic crisis that affects all spheres of social life. It began to play an especially important role during a full-scale war, when the issue of the survival of the state depends on interaction and mutual trust between the authorities and citizens. It has been proven that for modern Ukraine the focus of actions of public authorities, private and public sector on protection of state interests and support of the economy should become characteristic. A similar vector of development of Ukrainian society contributes to complex development, when the process of formation of common values is accompanied by support from all participants in power-social relations.

Exploratory study about achievements and issues of university social responsibility — “USR” as a dynamic process

“University Social Responsibility”, commonly abbreviated as USR, is a term that was created at the beginning of the 2000 s. The term USR was advocated by the inspiration of “Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)” under the rapid progression of globalization. CSR is understood as being a corporate management way through which a company achieves a balance of economic, environmental, and social imperatives, while at the same time addressing the needs of stakeholders. Hence this term includes an idea of corporate management and competition theory. In this respect, USR can be said to differ from previously used terms to discuss universities’ roles and missions. Positioning this point as a property of USR, this study focused on this term. This is a literature review that aims to extract features of USR based on its nature and to consider achievements and issues. This study classified the research topics using the text mining method first and dug deep changes in the research trends by reading papers that were selected along with those topics carefully. As a result, three features were detected: a dynamic process on the practice base, a methodology to design corporative university management, and a top-down style concept. The concept of USR differed depending on the social situation in each country, while USR has converged as a way to meet the demands of social contribution to universities in the practice process. Since around 2018, there has been a trend toward improving the substantial quality of education while intending to differentiate from other universities.

SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AS A MANDATORY COMPONENT NURSING SPECIALIST

Purpose: to reveal some aspects of social responsibility in nursing as a component of the concept that is fully related to the context and health care system of each society. Materials and Methods. Research materials of domestic and foreign authors are used. The study used: the bibliosemantic method and the system analysis method. The study was conducted on the basis of the analysis of competencies and practical results acquired by the applicants in the process of training for future professional activities. Results. Competency-based assessment of nursing education, rather than a prescribed educational program or curriculum, holds potential for future nursing leadership development for both education and professional practice in global nursing. Any view of social responsibility and the nursing profession must address the complex issues surrounding nursing education worldwide. The study was conducted to analyze the concept of social responsibility of a nurse. Clarifying the social responsibility of nurses and highlighting it in nursing will undoubtedly lead to patient and client satisfaction, professional development and a reduction in health care costs. In addition, by identifying facilitators, inhibitors, and concepts of social responsibility, nurse managers and nurse educators will be able to design and implement their management and teaching activities based on the scientific findings that are necessary for proper teaching and implementation. Social responsibility which is “closely related to many professions, providing an important framework for guiding the overall development of such professions and their companions”. Furthermore, they see social responsibility as closely related to a number of humanistic constructs, including human rights, social justice and community participation. One of the most important factors in addressing current and future social responsibility issues is the creation of a global agenda for nursing education. Conclusion. Studying and taking into account the points of view of nursing experts, as well as the conclusions of previously conducted research on this topic can be used to take measures to eliminate barriers and prevent the provision of quality nursing care, public health protection.

Corporate Social Responsibility: The New Engine of Entrepreneurship Development

As modern societies evolve, entrepreneurial sustainability becomes increasingly relevant and applicable across developed and developing countries worldwide. The issue of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in business has grown significantly, and it has been identified as a strategic weapon for entrepreneurship growth today. Thus, the present study attempted to examine CSR's influence on entrepreneurship development. Carroll's four social responsibilities in this study can be considered as CSR: economic, legal, ethical, and philanthropic. The study followed a positivist research paradigm, deductive reasoning, a causal-comparative research method, and convenience sampling techniques for its procedural operations. The study's target population was the total number of registered small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Dailekh District. The study incorporated 465 business owners as the sample size. The structured survey questionnaire was used to collect the primary data. The data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics like percentages, frequency, and structural equation modeling. In order to analyze the data, SPSS 20 and AMOS 23 were used. The results of the study demonstrated that there is a significant positive impact of CSR on entrepreneurship development. Therefore, the concerned stakeholders should consider preserving CSR in their businesses. In addition, the study's results will be a source of information for stakeholders like entrepreneurs, customers, researchers, and academicians.

Islamic Social Reporting (ISR), Sharia Supervisory Board (SSB), and Financial Performance: Empirical Evidence on Islamic Banks in the GCC Region

This study aims to determine the relationship between the disclosure of Islamic social reporting (ISR), the Sharia Supervisory Board (SSB), and the financial performance of Islamic banks in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region. The Islamic banks that were the sample of the study totaled 25 banks spread across Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates with a sample period starting from 2013 to 2017. This research uses multiple regression testing and is complemented by content analysis. The results of content analysis show that the average level of ISR disclosure in Islamic banks in the GCC area is 56.53%. That is, the issues of social responsibility have not become a major concern for most Islamic banks. Furthermore, based on the test results, the ISR disclosure level proved to have a positive effect on financial performance. In addition, the existence of SSB in Islamic banks is also proven to have a positive association with financial performance which is proxied by return on average assets. These findings indicate that there are special things in Islamic banking such as disclosure of ISR and SSB that can have a good impact on the financial performance of Islamic banks.

Transforming Learners: A Programmatic Approach to Helping Students Find “The Right Work”

Research suggests the current generation of learners (called Zoomers or Gen-Z) takes a values-driven approach to their careers. Increasingly, this generation seeks out workplaces that center issues of sustainability, social responsibility, diversity, equity and inclusion. The preferences of Gen-Z suggest that building business programs that focus on “the right work” are both relevant and necessary to meet the expectations of this generation. It is unsurprising, then, that leading business education associations like AACSB have placed emphasis on building education programs that have a positive societal impact. In this article, we outline our programmatic approach to help learners engage in the “right work” and to address calls for building business programs that engage in more responsible, ethical, and sustainable models of management education. In sharing our approach, we 1) emphasize the value of using a programmatic design to facilitate curricular change, and 2) demonstrate how transformative learning theory can provide a practical way of reenvisioning business programs that address the concerns of Zoomers.

Management Control Practices as Performance Facilitators in a Crisis Context

In modern times, disruptive contexts have challenged the functioning of organisations, as shown by recent events, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the current war in Europe. The literature highlights the role of management control practices (MCP) as resources that help to improve decision-making processes and organisational performance and competitiveness in a crisis context. In response to stakeholders’ pressures, companies are integrating Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) issues into their measurement and control systems. The aim of this research is to examine whether companies perceive MCP as a resource to support the decision-making process and contribute to organisational performance and competitiveness in a crisis environment, as well as to ascertain the perceived role of CSR in MC. A survey by questionnaire was conducted among the 250 major exporting companies in Portugal. Results show that in a crisis context of uncertainty and unpredictability such as the COVID-19 pandemic organisations perceive MCP as having (1) a significant influence on organisational performance and on leveraging organisational competitiveness; (2) a significant link with CSR. In general terms, this study provides new insights into the perceptions of the role of MCP as a valuable resource to achieve organisational competitiveness and performance in disruptive social and economic contexts.

THE EFFECT OF HYBRIDIZATION ON THE GOVERNANCE OF A PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP (PPP) IN THE CONSPECTUS OF MANDATORY AND VOLUNTARY FINANCIAL REPORTING

In the conceptualization and theoretical framework of hybrid organizations and in the construction of a role of key performance indicators, Alter (2004), and Ponte et al. (2017) refer to hybrid organizations as the result of hybridization, between the entities with and without profit. These hybrid organizations operate on the border between the non-profit (or public) and for-profit (or private) sectors and are both market-oriented and mission--oriented. The research project presented in this work shows how a hybrid organization faces the problem/challenge of managing, measuring, and reporting financial information, as well as the tools it uses to prevent possible deviations from mission or revenue. Through a systematic review of the literature, the author intended to contribute to the identification and characterization of performance measurement tools, which allow the control of both objectives, social and financial performance, in the hybrid organizational context, to reduce the risk of unwanted deviations. The performance of a PPP is measured from at least three perspectives: (1) the private aspects, such as a return of investment, (2) the public aspects, such as improvements in quality of life, and (3) the partnership itself, as an organization and management capacity. As a hybrid organization, the company cannot simply look for financial performance, social responsibility issues are also at stake, as well as a set of non-market aspects, such as: ethical behavior, contribution to social development, as well as improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families (Ponte et al 2017). Bearing in mind that performance management is only as effective as its measurements (Grossman, 2012), the measurement tool proposed matches the strategic challenges and control needs of hybrid organizations. The identified model, SBSC, provides a better understanding of the company’s sustainability strategy, inside and outside, associated with a holistic view of the aspects of social responsibility, as well, tracking its impact on the other key performance factors.

THE ROLE OF EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS IN THE DEVELOPMENT AND MANAGEMENT OF SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

The article discusses the importance and role of educational institutions in the development and management of social responsibility. The view of the activities of educational institutions in two directions is formed: the first, when an educational institution prepares socially responsible students, the second - as an institution is socially responsible to stakeholders. The definitions of a socially responsible higher education institution and a socially responsible university are considered. The issue of reaching all students at different levels on the issue of social responsibility within the framework of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals is raised. Attention is focused on the management of personnel of educational institutions within the framework of social responsibility, in particular personal responsibility, and promising areas of work are outlined. It is found that the implementation of European norms and standards in the educational services market by Ukrainian educational institutions will contribute to the enhancement of "European cultural identity and integration into the European intellectual, educational, scientific and technical space".

Influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on the use of social media on awareness' socio-environmental and sustainable consumption: Consolidating lessons from the pandemic

Many impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic were caused on people's health and the economy of countries in its first year, especially in emerging economies such as Brazil, were dire. Social distancing and the reduction of jobs caused impacts in many organizations, which led to the adoption of strategies allowing employees to work from home, adjusting family residences into home offices while facing reduction in industrial production and a decrease in economic activities. The pandemic also changed consumption behaviors, the use of social media (social networks), and people's socioenvironmental awareness. This research aims to evaluate the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on the use of social media, on environmental awareness, on sustainable consumption awareness and on the social responsibility awareness of different generations in Brazil one year after the beginning of the pandemic. For data analysis, the structural equation modeling method was used from a final sample of 1120 respondents. The results indicated that the COVID-19 pandemic positively influences the growing in social media usage (environmental issues and social responsibility issues) and sustainable consumption awareness. The study highlights that social media usage has the ability to positively influence environmental awareness, sustainable consumption awareness, and social responsibility awareness. The results provide a framework to analyze the consequential factors of the COVID-19 pandemic on sustainability awareness and the use of social media.

Corporate Social Responsibility and Financial Performance: Evidences from the Nigerian Industrial and Consumer Sector

The issue of corporate social responsibility has attractive more attention recently as result of its contribution towards stakeholders. This study investigated Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) on financial performance of some selected manufacturing companies in Nigeria. Ex-post facto research design was used for the study. The study population comprised of all customer goods and industrial sectors of manufacturing companies in Nigeria among which fifteen (15) of them were selected using purposive sampling technique for the period of 2010-2019. Secondary data were collected from the annual report the sampled companies. Two hypotheses were formulated and tested. Both descriptive and inferential statistics (correlation and multi - regression) were used for data analysis. The result of analysis revealed that CSR has significant relationship on financial performance measured with EPS and negative significant relationship on NPM of selected manufacturing companies in Nigeria

The systemic tenets of the key supply chain social responsibility approaches

Social responsibility issues keep reoccurring despite the popularity of numerous approaches perceived widely as adequate. In this paper, the authors conducted a systematic literature review to explore this phenomenon from a systems thinking standpoint. The findings revealed that each approach is founded on a different systemic paradigm, makes different assumptions on the nature of social responsibility issues, and has different objectives when resolving them. Therefore, employing any of these approaches alone will certainly fail given their underlying systemic limitations. The findings also revealed that these approaches are complementary from a critical systems thinking perspective, hence, researchers and practitioners can use their tools and methods together in the form of tailored interventions to better address efficiency, subjectivity, and fairness when resolving social responsibility issues. This paper concludes by proposing a practical framework based on critical systems practice which encompasses four systemic paradigms allowing the inclusion of a spectrum of perspectives, and assumptions.

Business and Human Rights in Russia: Emerging or Merging?

Abstract The increasing focus on business and human rights (BHR) in civil society and policymaking has not been matched by research on corporate actions to respect and protect human rights. The lack of research on BHR is especially acute outside of Western Europe and Anglo-centric contexts. This paper seeks to investigate how the largest Russian firms conceptualize and fulfil their human rights obligations under the UN Guiding Principles and the extent to which internationalization of those firms may have impacted these behaviours. I use a unique dataset created from a sample made of the 100 largest firms listed on the Moscow Stock Exchange. Using the theoretical construct of institutional conflict, I find that cross-listing on other stock exchanges and the extent to which firms frame their broader social responsibility issues as ‘sustainability’ or ‘sustainable development’ rather than ‘corporate social responsibility’ has a substantial impact on firm attention to human rights. While this attention is encouraging, firm disclosure of actions taken to mitigate against violations and protect human rights is extremely limited and the strength of domestic institutional pressures has resulted in very little firm action in the face of the extreme and widespread human rights violations being committed in Ukraine by Russia.

Corporate social responsibility, internal control, and firm financial performance.

As the global challenges facing sustainability issues continue to expand, the issues of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and ethical governance have become the focus of continued academic attention. CSR is important for firms to enhance their reputation and promote sustainable development. Using A-share listed firms from 2012 to 2019, this study empirically investigates the effect of CSR fulfillment on internal control and firm financial performance by constructing a regression model. The results show that there is a positive relationship between CSR and firm financial performance. Therefore, CSR fulfillment effectively improves the firm financial performance. Furthermore, this study finds that there is a partial mediating effect of internal control between CSR fulfillment and firm financial performance. Therefore, good internal control leads the firm to implement CSR, strengthen management, and improve financial performance. Further results show that the nature of ownership plays a moderating role in the mediating effect of internal control. This study enriches the mechanism of CSR on firm financial performance. Furthermore, it provides a theoretical basis for Chinese listed firms to fulfill CSR, improve ownership, and strengthen internal control.

Direct investment characteristics, problems and countermeasures of Chinese enterprises in countries along the Belt and Road

The Belt and Road Initiative is a major strategy proposed by the Chinese government to strengthen economic ties with countries along the route and promote mutually beneficial cooperation. As an important practice of the Belt and Road Initiative, Chinese enterprises' direct investment in countries along the route shows some general characteristics, while Chinese enterprises also face various problems such as high investment risks, cultural differences, and social responsibility issues in the process of direct investment. This paper aims to conduct in-depth research on these issues and propose corresponding countermeasures to promote the investment activities of Chinese enterprises in countries along the Belt and Road. First of all, risk management measures should be adopted, a comprehensive assessment of political, economic, cultural and other factors in countries along the Belt and Road, scientific and reasonable investment plans should be formulated, and the supervision and risk control of investment projects should be strengthened. Second, we should pay attention to technical cooperation and personnel training, improve the technological level of countries along the Belt and Road through technology transfer and technological innovation, and promote economic development and regional cooperation. In addition, we need to pay attention to the social responsibility awareness of enterprises in the process of direct investment, pay attention to environmental protection, etc., and establish a good corporate image and reputation, so as to promote the realization of the "Belt and Road" initiative and jointly promote economic development and prosperity. Finally, this paper concludes that in the face of many problems and challenges, Chinese enterprises need to have a high degree of strategic vision, cultural understanding and risk management capabilities, while focusing on innovation and development, and are committed to achieving mutual benefit and win-win results and achieving common prosperity.

Competence of managers from the perspective of corporate social responsibility: The case study

Sustainable enterprises development and their social responsibility determine harmonic development of entire economy, which constitutes higher priority than a profit value of single company. In the conclusion, managers who manage these companies should take into their account during their managerial activities, the good of entire society, in the same time stop to concentrate exclusively on processes leading directly to maximization of capital productivity. In the light of many analysis and conscious public opinion, this is the way the concept of business should be understood. This paper presents the results of research which the objectives were to elaborate empirical pattern of managerial staff competency profile for the organization operating in the high social responsibility sector and its comparison to the single real life case study. On the bases of the research results it is possible to conclude that managerial consciousness about social responsibility issue happens to be on the satisfactory level, but it does not mean that reality fits the pattern, especially from the perspective of singular competences like for instance honesty.