An integrated management systems approach to corporate social responsibility

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

Opportunities for the tertiary sector to demonstrate social responsibility

This paper explored current practice and opportunities for active social responsibility within the tertiary sector in Australia.

Corporate social responsibility in professional team sport organisations : towards a theory of decision-making

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Perceptions of investors and stockbrokers on corporate social responsibility : a stakeholder perspective from India

This paper aims to understand the perceptions of shareholders and brokers regarding corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives by Indian companies. The research, presented in this paper, employs stakeholder theory to examine the perceptions of investors and sharebrokers on CSR in the context of a fast growing country, India. The data has been collected by using semistructured survey instrument. The findings of the study highlight that the respondents in both categories of stakeholder groups agree that CSR-oriented companies enjoy higher levels of investor confidence, which is reflected in higher stock prices, and leads to enhanced reputation and corporate goodwill. The research demonstrates that Indian companies are in fact implementing CSR initiatives and that stakeholders have a considerable interest in such initiatives. Both the groups expect higher CSR disclosures from large corporations and multinational companies operating in India. Educational initiatives have received maximum attention from the both the groups of stakeholders followed by the environmental issues. Investors are least aware of healthcare and rural development initiatives possibly because of the relatively low penetration of Indian financial markets into the rural areas. This study demonstrates that the stakeholder theory is a useful tool for collecting and evaluating CSR data and explains that the stakeholder perception of CSR performance determines corporate initiatives to a certain level. The findings would help in building consensus on strengthening the implementation and establishing the future CSR framework in emerging economies and other parts of the world. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Corporate social responsibility disclosures and earnings quality: Are they a reflection of managers’ opportunistic behavior?

Purpose – This paper aims to explore the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosures and earnings quality proxied by earnings accruals. Specifically, we examine whether CSR disclosures are context-specific, that is, whether companies dominated by powerful stakeholders are obliged to behave in a responsible manner to constrain earnings management, thereby reporting higher-quality earnings to investors. Design/methodology/approach – This paper explores the relationship between CSR disclosures and earnings quality proxied by earnings accruals. Specifically, we examine whether CSR disclosures are context-specific, that is, whether companies dominated by powerful stakeholders are obliged to behave in a responsible manner to constrain earnings management, thereby reporting higher-quality earnings to investors. Findings – Results show that managers in an emerging economy manage earnings when they provide more CSR disclosures. Such earnings management is achieved through income increasing discretionary accruals. Furthermore, companies from export-oriented industries dominated by powerful stakeholders (international buyers) disclosing more CSR activities, provide transparent financial reports through constraining earnings management. Originality/value – The findings of this study are significant for both investors and policymakers. Investors should not take for granted that firms engage in CSR activities, behave ethically and provide transparent financial reports. As we document that firms might manipulate earnings through discretionary accruals and provide less transparent financial reports to shareholders, the credibility of firms’ CSR policies should be assessed with caution. Policies directing at promoting socially responsible practices instead of motivating the desired behaviour, may provide managers with additional incentives to utilise CSR for opportunistic behaviour. Thus, policymakers need to be cautious about this opportunistic behaviour and enhance monitoring to enforce social compliance. Possibly, some guidelines can be introduced to confirm that CSR disclosures are based on actual practice and not just a “green wash” statement to deceive stakeholders.

A stakeholder approach to corporate social responsibility, reputation and business performance

Purpose - This paper aims to investigate business managers' assessment of stakeholders' influence on corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives. The key stakeholders included "employees" and "unions" as internal and "public", the "media" and the "government" as external stakeholders. The purpose was to estimate the influence of stakeholders that managers perceive as important. Moreover, the study sought to identify association between the CSR construct and corporate reputation and in turn whether this influences business performance. Design/methodology/approach - This study uses a mail survey with a random sampling of senior managers sourced from Dun & Bradstreet's Australian business database, focusing on large organizations (i.e. minimum $10 million p.a. reported sales and minimum 100 employees) as the selection criteria. A conceptual model was developed and tested using structural equation modeling. Findings - The results identified that "employees" and the "public" are perceived to be the influential stakeholder groups in CSR decision-making. There was evidence of a positive relationship between the CSR construct and reputation, which in turn influenced market share, but not profitability. Research limitations/implications - This study examined a cross-section of organizations using Dun & Bradstreet's database of Australian businesses and may not fully represent the Australian business mix. The effective response rate of 7.2 per cent appears to be low, even though it is comparable with other research in the CSR area. There may have been some self-selection by the respondents, although there were no statistically significant differences identified in the corporate characteristics of those invited to participate and those responding with usable questionnaires. Practical implications - Managers can adopt a stakeholder-influenced CSR strategy to generate strong corporate reputation to improve business performance. It is important to ensure that the interests of "employees" and "public" stakeholders are addressed within organizational strategy. Respondents were less concerned about government stakeholders and thus government involvement in organizational CSR may need to be revisited. Social implications - The major concern that emerges from these findings is the absence of the perceived importance of regulatory stakeholders on firms' CSR activities. Regulatory controls of CSR messages could reduce or eliminate inaccurate and misleading information to the public. Originality/value - The analysis explains the perceived relative influence of stakeholders on CSR decisions. It also provides an understanding of the link between organizational CSR reputation and organization's performance.

Corporate social responsibility, economic globalization and developing countries: a case study of the ready made garments industry in Bangladesh

Purpose – This paper aims to examine the state of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in labour-intensive industries in developing countries in the context of economic globalization. Using the ready-made garments’ (RMG) industry in Bangladesh as a case study, challenges and key issues relating to CSR are highlighted. Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws from the review of existing literature, and the content analysis of two leading newspapers in Bangladesh for a period of one year (July 2012-June 2013) to identify the key and contemporary issues related to CSR in the RMG industry. Findings – Findings identify the contemporary issues of concerns associated with CSR in the RMG industry, relating them to the debate on the applicability of Carroll’s CSR pyramid to developing countries. The findings suggest that non-compliance of CSR in labour-intensive industries is a function of the nature of economic globalization. The need for a stakeholder approach towards CSR for the profitability and sustainability of this industry is also highlighted. Practical implications – This paper makes contributions to two different but important interrelated discourses on CSR and economic globalization. It also provides insights into the complexity involved in CSR in labour-based export industries in developing countries and acts as a springboard for further research. Originality/value – The paper is the first to look at all major issues of concern regarding CSR in theRMG industry in Bangladesh. As Bangladesh is an exemplar of developing countries andRMGis a typical starter industry, the findings are generalizable to similar industries in other developing countries.

Firm characteristics, board diversity and corporate social responsibility: evidence from Bangladesh

Purpose – This study aims to purport to investigate the relationship between firm size, profitability, board diversity (namely, director gender and nationality) and the extent of corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosures within a developing nation context.
Design/methodology/approach – The dataset comprises 116 listed Bangladeshi non-financial companies for the period of 2005-2009. A CSR disclosure checklist was used to measure the extent of CSR disclosures in the annual reports and a multiple regression analysis to examine its association with firm characteristics and two board diversity features – female and foreign directorship.

Findings – Results indicate that large and more profitable firms provide more CSR disclosures. It was also found that female directorship has a negative association with CSR disclosures, while foreign directorship has a positive impact on such disclosures. This paper documents that CSR disclosures decrease further when family ownership is higher and there are more female directors on the board.

Originality/value – This study extends empirical evidence on the association between firm characteristics, board diversity and CSR disclosure practices from a developing nation context. Furthermore, this study also reveals that female directors’ impact on firm disclosures may differ between developing and developed nations, and somewhat impeded in the latter. This paper also provides empirical evidence on the importance of appointment of foreign nationals on the boards of developing countries to influence CSR practices.

The impact of employee perceptions of organizational corporate social responsibility practices on job performance and organizational citizenship behavior: evidence from the Chinese private sector

This paper examines the impact of employee perceptions of organizational corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices on their job performance and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). Hierarchical regression analysis on two-wave data from 184 supervisor/subordinate dyads from three organizations located in Zhejiang Province, South-East China, revealed that employee perceptions of CSR toward social and non-social stakeholders strongly influenced their OCB. However, employee perceptions of CSR toward employees, customers and government influenced neither their job performance nor OCB.