From strategic corporate social responsibility to value creation: an analysis of corporate website communication in the banking sector

2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (7) ◽  
pp. 1529-1552 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Palazzo ◽  
Agostino Vollero ◽  
Alfonso Siano

PurposeIncreased public scrutiny and stakeholder pressure have given more importance to strategic corporate social responsibility (SCSR) and its three dimensions – orientation, process and value creation. At the same time, they provide banks the inspiration needed to pursue business goals, attain positive performances and communicate their social responsibility efforts. This paper analyses whether and how companies in the banking sector use corporate websites to communicate SCSR dimensions.Design/methodology/approachA content analysis was performed based on the corporate websites of leading banks included in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index and the Hang Seng Corporate Sustainability Index to assess the prominence of SCSR communication.FindingsThe study shows that banks give less prominence to SCSR on corporate websites differently from companies belonging to other sectors, as they are less likely to expose their orientation to SCSR and pay slightly less attention to value creation than other companies.Practical implicationsThe paper provides theoretical insights into SCSR dimensions and how they are communicated on corporate websites. From a practical standpoint, the study provides guidance for managers in the banking sector aimed at improving their communication efforts, avoiding decoupling issues and adopting a consistent value creation perspective.Originality/valueFew studies have used a value creation perspective to differentiate between the dimensions of a SCSR approach. The paper fills this gap by assessing the communication efforts adopted by banks and insurance companies in this area.

2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 231-249
Author(s):  
Evans Asante Boadi ◽  
Zheng He ◽  
Eric Kofi Boadi ◽  
Josephine Bosompem ◽  
Philip Avornyo

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to draw on affect social exchange theory and related literature to develop and test a research model linking employees’ perception of corporate social responsibility (CSR) to their outcomes [performance and organisational pride (ORP)] with moderating variables: perceived work motivation patterns (autonomous and controlled motivation) to sustain firm’s operations through their employees. Design/methodology/approach The authors used Ghana as a case for this study due to recent turbulences in the banking sector of Ghana. A sample data of 244 subordinate/supervisor dyads from rural and community banks was collected with a time-lagged technique and analysed through a structural equation modelling for this study. Findings These employee’s perceptions of CSR positively related to their performance and ORP. Autonomous motivated employees had a stronger positive moderated impact on perceived CSR-Performance link whereas controlled motivated employees recorded a stronger impact on perceived CSR-ORP link. Practical implications Based on these results, managers and human resource (HR) professionals can aim at acquiring favourable employees’ perception of their firms’ CSR initiatives. In that, it can help firms to remain in business particularly in difficult times. Also, autonomous and controlled motivators may seem inversely related, however, they are not contradictory to each other. Both can coexist within a firm and it is crucial that HR professionals and managers endeavour to balance them discreetly to attain organisational goals. Originality/value Despite the growing interest in CSR across continents, CSR outcomes on employees among small and medium scale firms especially in Africa has fairly been toned-down by respective management of firms, governments and researchers.


2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 225-253
Author(s):  
Suvendu Kumar Pratihari ◽  
Shigufta Hena Uzma

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to understand the perception of the bankers towards an integrated approach to corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives in a strategic way of achieving sustainable growth of the banking sector. The paper additionally provides insights into different CSR initiatives and their implementation process in the context of scheduled commercial banks (SCB) of India.Design/methodology/approachThe study is exploratory and endorses the qualitative approach of primary research methodology by adopting a non-random stratified sampling method. The localist approach of the face-to-face interview has been applied to collect the data from 26 elite class respondents from 13 SCBs. The interview method was semi-structured and open-ended. The conformity, trustworthiness, credibility, transferability, dependability test of the study have ensured the quality of the data.FindingsThe study reveals that the bankers perceive CSR as a moral obligation for the benefit of the society, beyond the regular banking operations. Further, the study comprehends that the CSR initiatives play a vital role in establishing the bank's image, brand and reputation, as well as, building a strong bond of trust among the employees and the bank management. Besides, CSR activities facilitate to cultivate a better culture by improvising in the quality of customer service for achieving competitive advantages.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings of the study represent a significant contribution to CSR theory from the interface of banking and society. Significantly, the results confirm that CSR initiatives play a vital role in building trust and minimise the gap between the employees and the management of the bank. The banks can increase its acceptance in the society and achieve competitive advantage by integrating CSR objectives with the business objectives to strengthen the corporate personality and brand.Practical implicationsThe study will help practitioners to develop the social identity of their firm to achieve competitive advantages in long-run. The bankers can channelise their limited resources while planning, designing and the implementation of different CSR activities with the overall goal of the bank in a cost-effective way. The study is confined only to public and private SCBs and limited to the geographical scope of one state in India. Therefore, further exploration may be carried out by considering other banks and geographic regions in India and different cross-cultural settings.Originality/valueThe originality of the study lies with the in-depth analysis and quality check of the data. The results can contribute significant value to the qualitative method of conducting research.


2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 605-621 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jose Ventura ◽  
Cesar Sandro Saenz

Purpose – The aim of the study is to propose a model for conducting socially responsible operations in the mining industry, thriving to reach and sustain world-class standards in regard to profitability and environmental sustainability. The model uses a framework built upon a set of best practices in social responsibility by some of the largest mining companies in Peru. Design/methodology/approach – The methodology adopted emphasizes the scrutiny of best practices among 92 initiatives undertaken by 10 companies – 5 large and 5 mid-sized companies as measured by the ratio “amount of investment” – which contributed most to prevent social conflict escalation. Data set received input from in-depth interviews to managers in charge of social affairs as well as from interviews to social constituents – beneficiaries and local authorities. Content analysis supported data processing and analysis of results. Findings – Main findings comprise the following: distinct schemes for managing social responsibility in dependence upon impact evaluation indicators were found, which help to organize three models for conducting mining operations: traditional mining, up-to-date mining, and sustainability-oriented mining; evidence of distinct pathways undergone by large- and mid-sized companies in their quest to up-scale their corporate social responsibility profile. Originality/value – Overall results from this study suggest the feasibility to modeling the social responsibility of mining companies in accordance to three dimensions – social, economic, and environmental – that draw from the analysis of best practices undertaken by large- and mid-sized companies.


2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 166
Author(s):  
Tahreem Noor Khan

Purpose: The concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has been widely known in the Islamic banking sector yet there is criticism and lack of trust which exists among stakeholdersDesign/Method/Approach: To reduce negative concern and to fill the gap in the literature, this research reinforces the integration of ethical and moral principles in the banking business.Findings: One of the integral and core elements of Islamic economics is ‘falah’; which focuses on wellness and the concept of reward in this world and hereafterOriginality/Values: To fulfil the needs of the ethical aspect of Islamic banks which leads to ‘falah’, this research has extracted the underlying theoretical issues of Islamic bank Corporate Social Responsibility (web visibility, initiatives, strategy).  This research also determines the extent of CSR visibility in twelve leading Islamic banks’ corporate websites.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 25
Author(s):  
Randa Sleibi ◽  
Naser Abdelkarim

This study empirically evaluates the potential relation between strategic Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) dimensions and strategic value creation and establishes an order of importance of these dimensions according to Palestinian public shareholding corporates listed on Palestine Exchange. This is a quantitative research that analyzes corporates’ responses on a descriptive and correlational questionnaire designed specifically for the research purpose.Cross-sectional analysis revealed important correlations between the strategic value and CSR dimensions across various sectors, such as a strong positive correlation with Proactivity in the Banking sector, a moderate negative correlation with Voluntarism in the Industrial sector, a strong positive correlation with Visibility in the Investment and Services sectors and no correlation in the Insurance sector. The order of preference with respect to dimensions also varied among sectors: the most important dimensions for the Banking, Industrial, Investment, Services and Insurance sectors were Visibility, Centrality, Voluntarism, Centrality and Proactivity; Respectively.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Meier Zhuang ◽  
Wenzhong Zhu ◽  
Lihui Huang ◽  
Wen-Tsao Pan

PurposeThe main purpose of this paper is to explore the influence mechanism of corporate social responsibility (CSR) for smart cities on consumers' purchase intention. The authors aim to identify the key components of CSR for smart cities based on the perspective of consumers, namely responsibility toward consumers, environment and community and validate their relationship.Design/methodology/approachThe authors exploit data collected by questionnaire surveys to estimate the effects of CSR for smart cities on consumers' purchase intentions and to investigate the statistical causality between them. The multilinear regression model is used to figure out the different impact levels of the three dimensions of CSR for smart cities on consumers' purchase intention.FindingsThe results illustrate that CSR for smart cities and its three dimensions all have significant positive impacts on consumers' purchase intentions. Besides, consumer–corporate identity (CCI) exerts a partial mediation effect on this influence mechanism.Research limitations/implicationsThis research is based on a rather small sample size. Besides, due to the time limitation and other factors, some other control variables are neglected in the regression model. Therefore, the impact level could be distorted.Practical implicationsThe authors put forward management implications according to research conclusions. Corporates should actively fulfill the CSR in the field of consumer responsibility to boost consumers' purchase intention. Corporate should strengthen the interaction with consumers to improve their corporate identity.Originality/valueThe main contribution of this paper is to provide convincing evidence of the impacts of CSR for smart cities on consumer purchase intention (CPI), thus proposing effective measures for corporates to win more consumers by taking on social responsibility for smart cities. This paper takes CCI as mediating variable to deepen the understanding of the impacts of CSR for smart cities on CPI, which is innovative and beneficial to enriching literature in related fields.


2015 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 200-225 ◽  
Author(s):  
Md. Hafij Ullah ◽  
Mohammad Afjalur Rahman

Purpose – This paper aims to provide a deeper understanding of the nature and extent of corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting in the annual report by banking companies in Bangladesh, identify the impact of regulatory change on CSR reporting and examine whether there is any relationship between the extent of CSR reporting and bank characteristics. CSR movement and CSR reporting practices by financial sector have gathered great momentum in recent years. Banking sector is in the leading position in discharging CSR reporting. Design/methodology/approach – The sample composed of all the 30 banking companies enlisted in Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), and the study used content analysis approach for systematic categorization and analysis of the contents reported in the annual report. A total of 97 CSR items classified into seven classes were selected through a relevant literature review, as the expected items and average, standard deviation, coefficient of variation, percentage and correlation, etc. were used as the tools of analysis. SPSS software version 19.0 was used to analyze the data. An ordinary least square (OLS) regression model is fitted to the data for assessing the effect of independent variables on total CSR reporting score. Findings – The study found that the extent of CSR reporting in banking companies in Bangladesh varies from 27.84 to 65.98 per cent, and on an average, they report 47.39 per cent of the expected CSR items in annual report. It is also observed that banking companies in Bangladesh emphasized on linguistic or written form than charts, graphs or pictures in reporting CSR activities to their stakeholders, and the study found no significant influence of the selected bank characteristics on the extent of CSR reporting. Moreover, the study observed significant impact of regulatory change on nature and extent of CSR reporting. Research limitations/implications – The study considered all the listed commercial banking companies in Bangladesh, and the annual report of 2011 was taken as the main source of data. Social implications – Among others, the implications of the study include the following. Banking companies are expected to get a real scenario of CSR reporting of the banking sector in Bangladesh and banking companies with poor CSR contribution expected to be motivated for contributing more in CSR activities. Government and other regulatory bodies can also get detailed information regarding CSR reporting practices for formulating guidelines in this regard. Originality/value – This empirical study on the determinants of extent of CSR reporting using a larger number of expected CSR items contributes toward a better understanding of the CSR reporting practices of the banking companies in Bangladesh. The study used a new independent variable “CSR Expenditure” in justifying its influence on CSR reporting and identified the impact of regulatory change on CSR reporting. The study expects contributing in the enactment of more regulatory requirements for bringing the CSR reporting into a certain framework and encouraging in more CSR reporting in Bangladesh.


2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (5) ◽  
pp. 710-722 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zainab Al Mubarak ◽  
Anji Ben Hamed ◽  
Muneer Al Mubarak

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of the corporate social responsibility (CSR) on the corporate image in the banking sector. The focus of the study is on four main components of CSR, which are economic, legal, ethical and philanthropic. Design/methodology/approach A model was used in this study to show the impact of different CSR’s factors on corporate image; (240) banks customers were approached using a questionnaire, where (155) responses were received and (144) valid responses entered for analysis. Findings The findings revealed that customers perceive CSR activities as a main element when dealing with banks. The corporate image is strengthened when banks adopt such activities, and positive and significant relationships were statistically found between CSR activities and corporate image. These activities differ in importance as perceived by banks’ customers. Research limitations/implications Enlarging sample size, involving more stakeholders such as employees and managers, and replicating the study in other countries would enrich the findings. Practical implications Banks are advised to consider the study factors in their activities and act as champions of CSR for the welfare of the society to strengthen their corporate image. Originality/value Many studies have discussed the issue of CSR, but very few are found in the Middle East, particularly in Bahrain, and in the banking sector. This paper calls for more investigation in this area for a better understanding of CSR activities and their effects on the corporate image.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
David M. Herold ◽  
Timo Dietrich ◽  
Tim Breitbarth

PurposeThis study aims to identify and deconstruct bullshit in banks' corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication to advance the management rhetoric research space, which has been characterised by an indifference to truth and meaning.Design/methodology/approachWe provide a typology of bullshit phenomena overview in the banking sector and follow the McCarthy et al.'s (2020) C.R.A.P. framework from to showcase how bullshit can be comprehended, recognised, acted against and prevented.FindingsThis paper puts a spotlight on written and spoken language to detect bullshit in banks' CSR statements. It provides actionable insights into how stakeholders can act against and prevent bullshit statements from occurring in the future.Research limitations/implicationsFuture research is warranted to assess the use of still imagery, events and video materials in corporate communications and non-financial reporting. Further rigorous assessment of actual CSR initiatives must be undertaken to assess claimed contributions.Practical implicationsMonitoring mechanisms and independent assurance statements prepared by authorised third parties may strengthen the motivation and ethicality of CSR activities.Originality/valueThis viewpoint is the first to follow the C.R.A.P framework and critically assess indifferences towards truth in banks' CSR communications.


2015 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Pérez ◽  
Ignacio Rodríguez del Bosque

Purpose – The aim of the authors of this paper is to propose a cognitive – affective – conative sequential model to study how three dimensions of corporate social responsibility (CSR) image (society, customers and employees) impact customer affective (identification and satisfaction) and behavioural (recommendation and repurchase) responses in the banking industry. The authors also test how the type of company (savings banks vs commercial banks) moderates customer responses to these three dimensions of CSR image. Design/methodology/approach – A multi-group structural equation model is tested using information collected from 648 savings banks’ customers and 476 commercial banks’ customers in Spain. Findings – The findings demonstrate that the perceptions of customer-centric CSR initiatives positively and consistently impact customer identification with the banking institution, satisfaction, recommendation and repurchase behaviours in the savings and commercial banks’ samples. The dimensions of CSR image that concern the activities oriented to society and employees only positively impact customer responses in the savings banks’ sample. Practical implications – The findings of this study can assist scholars in creating more informative CSR-based loyalty models that take into consideration new variables (satisfaction and type of company) and better approaches to the conceptualization of CSR image (e.g. the formative approach). The findings can also assist savings and commercial banks in better designing their CSR and communication initiatives to benefit from customer affective and conative responses. Originality/value – The contributions of the paper are threefold: the authors include satisfaction as a new variable in the study of the CSR-based loyalty model; the CSR image is conceptualized as a formative construct, and this provides new justifications for the mixed results reported by previous scholars who have analysed the effects of CSR image on customer loyalty; and the authors explore the moderating role of the type of company on the CSR-based loyalty model proposed in the paper.


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