Constructs and Measures in Stakeholder Management Research

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Mattingly ◽  
Nicholas Bailey
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Social Performance ◽  
Stakeholder Management ◽  
Social Performance ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Composite Index ◽  
Socially Responsible ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Responsible Investing ◽  
Stakeholder View ◽  
Corporate Social

Stakeholder strategies, or firms’ approaches to stakeholder management, may have a significant impact on firms’ long-term prosperity and, thereby, on their life chances, as established in the stakeholder view of the firm. A systematic literature review surveyed the contemporary body of quantitative empirical research that has examined firm-level activities relevant to stakeholder management, corporate social responsibility, and corporate social performance, because these three constructs are often conflated in literature. A search uncovered 99 articles published in 22 journals during the 10-year period from 2010 to 2019. Most studies employed databases reporting environmental, social, and governance (ESG) ratings, originally created for use in socially responsible investing and corporate risk assessment, but others employed content analysis of texts and primary surveys. Examination revealed a key difference in the scoring of data, in that some studies aggregated numerous indicators into a single composite index to indicate levels of stakeholder management, and other studies scored more articulated constructs. Articulated constructs provided richer observations, including governance and structural arrangements most likely to provide both stakeholder benefits and protections. Also observed were constraining influences of managerial and market myopia, sustaining influences from resilience and complexity frameworks, and recognition that contextual variables are contingencies having impact in recognizing the efficacy of stakeholder management strategies.

A Special-Purpose Taxonomy of Corporate Social Performance Concepts

2001 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 42-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brett A. Stone
Keyword(s):  
Mutual Fund ◽  
Corporate Social Performance ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Social Performance ◽  
Socially Responsible ◽  
Fund Managers ◽  
Responsible Investing ◽  
Research Areas ◽  
Socially Responsible Mutual Funds ◽  
Corporate Social

The first iteration of a nonstatic special-purpose taxonomy of corporate social performance concepts is developed from a mailed, self-administered survey completed by managers of U.S. socially responsible mutual funds. The study combines the traditionally disparate research areas of Corporate Social Performance and Socially Responsible Investing. As a partial update of Rockness and Williams (1988), a descriptive account is presented of what mutual fund managers regard as the social issues that constitute corporate social performance. The resulting taxonomy represents an empirically derived framework useful in considering social accounting in general and accounting standard setting in particular.

scholarly journals Stakeholder ratings and corporate financial performance: Socially responsible for what?

2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 94-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniela Venanzi
Keyword(s):  
Financial Performance ◽  
Corporate Social Performance ◽  
Stakeholder Management ◽  
Social Performance ◽  
Negative Relationship ◽  
Corporate Financial Performance ◽  
Socially Responsible ◽  
Listed Firms ◽  
Key Stakeholders ◽  
Corporate Social

This paper aims at empirically supporting, in a cross-country and cross-industry analysis, the instrumental role of stakeholder management by adopting a disaggregated approach to the corporate social performance measurement. By using a sample of 250 European industrial listed firms, from 10 European countries, in the period 2001-2003, we find the following evidence: i) the firm is not socially responsible towards all stakeholders, but invests more in key-stakeholders, those who are (perceived as) more influential on its business and have a more valuable impact on its financial performance; ii) a null or weak significance of the relationship between corporate social performance (CSP) and corporate financial performance (CFP) in the whole sample hides highly significant opposite relationships in two separate sub-samples (i.e. firms with positive and negative relationship, respectively): the sign of the CSP-CFP link cannot be expected to be univocal, since the marginal reward-cost equilibrium of social investment is firm-specific.

Towards a more ethical market: the impact of ESG rating on corporate financial performance

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giovanni Landi ◽  
Mauro Sciarelli
Keyword(s):  
Data Analysis ◽  
Corporate Social Performance ◽  
Stock Exchange ◽  
Social Performance ◽  
Panel Data Analysis ◽  
Abnormal Returns ◽  
Socially Responsible ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
The Impact

Purpose This paper fits in a research field dealing with the impact of Corporate Ethics Assessment on Financial Performance. The authors argue how environmental, social and governance (ESG) paradigm, meant to measure corporate social performance by rating issuance, can impact on abnormal returns of Italian firms listed on Financial Times Stock Exchange Milano Indice di Borsa (FTSE MIB) Index, developing a panel data analysis which runs from 2007 to 2015. Design/methodology/approach This study aims at exploring whether socially responsible investors outperform an excess market return on Italian Stock Exchange because of their investment behavior, testing statistically the relationship between the yearly ESG assessment issued by Standard Ethics Agency on FTSE MIB’s companies and their abnormal returns. To verify the impact of an ESG Rating on a company’s abnormal return, the authors developed a panel data analysis through a Fixed Effects Model. They measured abnormal returns via Fama–French approach, running a yearly Jensen’s Performance Index for each company under investigation. Findings The empirical results denote in Italy both a growing interest to corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability by managers over the past decade, as well as an improving quality in ESG assessments because of a reliable corporate disclosure. Thus, despite investors have been applying ESG criteria in their stock – picking operations, the authors found a not positive and statistically significant impact in terms of market premium, when they have been undertaking a socially responsible investment (SRI). Practical implications The findings described above show that ethics is not yet a reliable fundraising tool for Italian-listed companies, despite SRIs having a positive growth rate over past decade. Investors seem to be not pricing CSR on Stock Exchange Market; therefore, listed companies cannot be rewarded with a premium price because of their highly stakeholder oriented behavior. Originality/value This paper explores, for the first time in Italy, when market extra-returns (if any) are related to corporate social performance and how managers leverage ethics to build capital added value.

scholarly journals Corporate social responsibility and firm performance in South Africa

2014 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Demetriades ◽  
C. J. Auret
Keyword(s):  
Regression Analysis ◽  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Firm Performance ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Social Performance ◽  
Sample Period ◽  
Socially Responsible ◽  
Responsible Investing ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Corporate Social

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) can be viewed from two different perspectives: that of the business; and that of the individual investor (Socially Responsible Investing, SRI). In this study regression analysis as well as an event study was used to examine the link between CSR and firm performance. The results suggested that in the short-term there were no significant price effects on the SRI shares. In contrast, the returns of SRI portfolios over the sample period seemed to be superior to those of conventional firms. The regression analysis found that generally the SRI coefficients were insignificant; however using one of the models during the fifteen year sample period, SRI constituents attained a ROE that was 11.18% higher (as well as a ROA that was 1.824% lower) than conventional firms. When the period was restricted to 2004-2009 it was found that social performance was positively - and sometimes significantly - correlated with ROE.

Top Managers as Drivers for Corporate Social Responsibility

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diane L. Swanson
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Corporate Social Performance ◽  
Social Performance ◽  
Moral Dilemmas ◽  
Moral Leadership ◽  
Business And Society ◽  
Socially Responsible ◽  
Top Managers ◽  
Corporate Social

This article addresses top managers as drivers for corporate social responsibility (CSR). It summarizes the responsibility roles implied by or assigned to managers in selected models of corporate social performance. Given this backdrop for business and society research, it focuses on the importance of moral leadership in directing the formal and informal organization toward socially responsible goals. In other words, the emphasis is on the focal role of top executive managers in driving social responsibility. This focus is not meant to convey that middle or lower managers are irrelevant to CSR. It is simply that their decision-making discretion is largely circumscribed by top managers, which is why middle and lower managers often face uncomfortable moral dilemmas when their values are incompatible with those established at a higher level of command. Finally, this article points to some contextual factors that impact socially responsible leadership in terms of external and internal controls.

Webs of Influence: Secondary Stakeholder Actions and Cross-National Corporate Social Performance

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kate Odziemkowska ◽  
Witold J. Henisz
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Social Performance ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Social Performance ◽  
Issue Salience ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Stakeholder Groups ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Cross National

We analyze the relationship between the actions and interactions of secondary stakeholders with an interest in corporate social performance (CSP) and variation in firm-level CSP across countries. Our work represents a significant theoretical shift in research exploring comparative CSP, which, to date, has focused on cross-national variation in institutions. We propose that stakeholders can also drive cross-country heterogeneity in CSP by influencing the salience of the issues for which they advocate. Stakeholders raise salience of CSP issues through their interactions with important sociopolitical actors within a country, signaling their collective ability to change expectations on CSP. CSP issue salience is also heightened where heterogeneous stakeholder groups advocate for CSP issues, signaling that issues have garnered widespread acceptance or legitimacy. Managers are also more attuned to the urgency of issues through the direct actions that stakeholders take against firms in the country. We also argue and find that these effects are moderated by interstakeholder interactions, which signal the degree of consensus among stakeholders on issues and their ability to mobilize repeatedly against firms. We draw on a novel data set of 250 million media-reported events to identify secondary stakeholders with interests in the environmental and social issues that constitute CSP, their direct actions against firms, and their interactions with important sociopolitical actors and each other. We show empirically that variation in secondary stakeholder actions and interactions between countries, and within countries over time, is associated with differences in firm-level CSP among a sample of 2,852 firms spanning 36 countries from 2004 to 2013.

Oil companies, social responsibility and CSP: combining actions and profiles

2017 ◽  
Vol 55 (10) ◽  
pp. 2111-2125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aline Pereira Pündrich
Keyword(s):  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Corporate Social Performance ◽  
Social Performance ◽  
Cultural Factors ◽  
Socially Responsible ◽  
Case Study Methodology ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Oil Companies ◽  
Corporate Social

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to focus on the influence of socio-economic and cultural factors and their influence on corporate social performance (CSP) (Clarkson, 1995) within developing and mature economies. It aims at identifying the characteristics of socially responsible actions within two contexts: France and Brazil. Design/methodology/approach Based on a case study methodology and a press database, this paper analyzes two oil companies, the French group Total SA, and the Brazilian company Petrobras. Findings By focusing on corporate social responsibility (CSR) actions in different socio-economic and cultural contexts, it was possible to identify a predominant CSP “proactivity” in both companies; observe a difference in CSR discourse and practice; note a heterogenic and composite CSR; and notice that companies do not choose their CSP posture, but are subjected to external classifications. Research limitations/implications The analysis of only one company per socio-economic and cultural context belonging to the same field could be considered as a limitation, although it allows a deeper analysis of events within both organizations. Practical implications Apprehending CSP within different contexts may help decision makers to better understand companies’ socially responsible postures and to observe the socio-economic and cultural factors that can influence them. Originality/value This paper highlights CSR practices and their CSP under different socio-economic and cultural perspectives for a more comprehensive understanding of factors that motivate and direct the actions of big corporate organizations.

scholarly journals Corporate Social Responsibility in a Comparative Perspective

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cynthia A. Williams ◽  
Ruth V. Aguilera
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Multinational Corporations ◽  
Corporate Social Performance ◽  
Stakeholder Management ◽  
Social Performance ◽  
Market Structures ◽  
Theoretical Perspectives ◽  
Governance Systems ◽  
Corporate Social

Comparative studies of corporate social responsibility (CSR) are relatively rare, certainly as contrasted with other related fields, such as comparative corporate governance or comparative corporate law. This is to be expected in a field, such as CSR that is still ‘emergent’. While theoretical perspectives on corporate social performance or stakeholder management have been developed over two decades, it is only in the last decade that businesses have begun to exhibit serious evidence of CSR in their strategic management and stakeholder social reporting. This article goes on to explore how CSR can reflect wider national business and governance systems, such as market structures and rules, institutional norms, and respective responsibilities of governments, corporations and other social actors. A particularly exposed role, most notably for multinational corporations from the global north, is emerging for corporations in developing countries.

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