The contribution of corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives to student enrollment and performance in Ghana

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Karim Fusheini ◽  
Hussein Salia

PurposeFinancing is a major obstacle to achieving quality education for all persons of school-going age in less-developed countries. Consequently, corporate institutions through corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives are increasingly becoming government partners in financing education sector projects. The effect of these CSR interventions on education funding gap, school enrollment and academic performance is yet to be adequately evaluated, hence the reason for this study.Design/methodology/approachThis study used in-depth interviews and focus group discussions on examining the contributions of CSR initiatives to school funding, enrollment and academic performance from the viewpoint of teachers, students and heads of schools. The interviews were tape-recorded, transcribed, reviewed and sorted according to key and recurrent themes.FindingsThe study shows that CSR interventions have contributed to student enrollment in beneficiary schools, improved academic and core-curricular performances of students. Funding gaps in schools have also being unraveled through this study which will inform policy decisions going forward. However, the informal financiers may have other reasons unknown to the resource recipients for investing in the education sector.Research limitations/implicationsThe research only considered the perspectives of teachers, students, pupils and heads of schools on the effect of CSR interventions on enrollment and performance. The views of CSR initiators (corporations), opinion leaders and other stakeholders of the schools are reserved for future research.Practical implicationsIt is therefore imperative that managers of school systems are cautious in establishing exchange relationship with informal financiers as there may be other hidden reasons behind the corporate support to the beneficiary schools.Originality/valueThe addition of other stakeholders' perspective on the effect of CSR initiatives on school enrollment and students' performance is a novelty.

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (5) ◽  
pp. 671-688
Author(s):  
Juniati Gunawan ◽  
SeTin SeTin

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze accounting research developments in the area of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in Indonesia for the period 2012-2016. The focus of CSR literature review is on disclosures and not to examine CSR activities or programs. Design/methodology/approach This study applied a descriptive approach to provide evidence on the major variables that have been examined in CSR research and what is the measurement used to measure CSR disclosures. The CSR research development was traced through mapping articles published in the international journal with the subject of category accounting (Schimago Journal rank quartile Q3 and Q4), and national journal (national accredited accounting journals, as well as the proceedings of National Symposium on Accounting [NSA]). A total of 5,971 articles were reviewed and resulted in 31 Indonesian CSR articles in accounting which are dominated by quantitative methods (93.5 per cent), and as many as 28 articles were analyzed. Findings The analyses result showed that (1) 75 per cent of CSR research were in the areas of financial accounting and capital markets, followed by tax accounting and corporate governance; (2) The most widely used variable associated with CSR was financial performance; which (3) More than 80 per cent of the CSR research used annual reports as the source of data with only 19.23 per cent using sustainability reports; (4) 65.38 per cent of the CSR disclosure measurement referred to used other CSR disclosure lists, other than the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). Research limitations/implications The study results are important as a basis for future studies to provide a platform for the analysis to cover the gap between CSR studies in the academic and business areas for not only Indonesia but also other countries. Comparative studies between countries will be essential for future research to provide empirical evidence on the development of CSR research in accounting fields. Practical implications The study provides comprehensive pictures in how CSR disclosures have been analyzed in academic area so that practitioners in business field are able to understand the results on which variables are associated with CSR. Further, the practitioners could enhance their CSR implementations and reports to gain the utmost benefits for their business. Originality/value This study is considered as the first CSR literature review analyzed in accounting research publications. As CSR topics have been emerging developed in many field of studies, reviewing this topic in the accounting area resulted interesting findings. These findings are useful for not only Indonesia but also other countries. Further, this study provides platform to fill many gaps for future research in the topic of CSR in accounting field.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Haruna Babatunde Jaiyeoba ◽  
Shahoriyer Hossain ◽  
Hamzah Mohd Salleh ◽  
Amal A.M. Elgharbawy

Purpose This paper aims to intend to ascertain whether corporate social responsibility (CSR) can serve as an effective promotional tool for the Malaysian halal certified companies in the era of Covid-19 pandemic. Starting from being nice to do, the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic has brought CSR to the forefront of businesses, forcing them to rapidly shift from profit maximisation to business preservation. Thus, it is practically crucial to ascertain whether CSR could be effectively used to promote halal brands in this era. Design/methodology/approach To achieve the stated aim, a survey questionnaire was developed and used to collect data from 295 participants who are familiar with the concepts of CSR and halal in Malaysia. The data collected were analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. Findings The findings reveal that the commitment to halal best practices, zakat and charitable donations, environmental responsibility, employee welfare and responsible dealings with clients are the most important CSR activities that can promote halal certified companies in the era of Covid-19. Whilst there is a positive relationship between halal economic responsibility and CSR as a promotional tool, such relationship is not significant. Nevertheless, the relationship between legal responsibility and CSR as a promotional tool is negative and insignificant. Research limitations/implications Limitations are inevitable in any study where a convenient sampling technique is used. Respondents from Klang Valley in Malaysia make up a large proportion of the study’s sample. This may consequently limit the generalisability of the findings of this study. Hence, future research should adequately collect data from other cities in Malaysia. Moreover, this paper does not differentiate between perceptions of Muslims and non-Muslims or between male and female; this might have an effect, as Muslims are likely to favour most of the items in the questionnaire used to collect data for this study. Thus, future research may collect sufficient data to shed more light on this issue. Originality/value The researchers have revealed that CSR is an effective promotional tool for the Malaysian halal certified companies in the era of Covid-19 pandemic. Study of this nature is rare in academic literature.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Velte

Purpose This paper aims to analyze the governance-related and financial determinants and consequences of corporate social responsibility assurance (CSRA). Design/methodology/approach Based on a legitimacy theoretical framework and on the business case argument, the author conducts a structured literature review and includes 66 quantitative peer-reviewed empirical (archival) studies on key CSRA proxies (CSRA adoption, choice of CSR assuror and CSRA quality). Findings In line with the business case for CSRA, the literature review indicates that internal corporate governance, country-related governance and specific financial determinants as reporting, firm size and industry (sensitivity) have a positive impact on CSRA adoption. Research limitations/implications A detailed analysis of CSRA proxies is needed in future archival research to differentiate between symbolic and substantive use of CSRA. In view of the current regulatory initiatives on CSR reporting and their decision usefulness, future research should also analyze in greater depth CSRA proxies as moderator and mediator variables. Practical implications With regard to the increased stakeholder demand on CSRA after the financial crisis of 2008–2009, firms should be aware of the value-added of CSRA to increase the decision usefulness of their CSR reports and firm reputation. Originality/value The analysis makes useful contributions to prior literature by focussing on empirical quantitative (archival) research method, structuring research on the business case for CSRA with respect to its governance and financial determinants and consequences for firms and stressing moderator analysis in archival CSRA research.


2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 463-483 ◽  
Author(s):  
Inna Blam ◽  
Katarína Vitálišová ◽  
Kamila Borseková ◽  
Mariusz Sokolowicz

Purpose The paper aims to analyze actual issues of the corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices in monofunctional towns in Russia, Slovakia and Poland. The process of social investment restructuring is obviously under way in these countries. However, there can be identified a few examples where the dominant employer with the long tradition (from the soviet period, even longer) has initiated and directly influenced by the social policy the local and regional development. The paper analyzes their development during the past decades, with the special emphasis on social issues. It identifies its strengths and weaknesses and defines future research areas. Design/methodology/approach The first part of the paper defines the CSR with focus on the social sphere and relationships between local dominant employer, local government and community. Refer to the theory, the paper adopts a case study methodology to explore the specifics of CSR with a focus on monotowns, especially the role of local dominant employer and its relationship with local government and community in three selected post-communist nations – Russia, Slovakia and Poland. The research uses also the secondary data (the strategic documents, statistical data) and own observation during the study visits to the selected cities. The authors analyze the town’s development during the past decades, with the special emphasis on the social issues. Findings It is shown that maintenance and development of essential living conditions in many monofunctional towns depends upon the direct participation of large dominating companies. The paper argues that there is a principal difference between the current social policy conducted by these dominant local employers and the policy that was conducted in the past. What is more, most of the engagement of large in the social affairs in monotowns refers to the CSR concept. The paper summarizes the common features and differences in functioning monotowns in selected states, from the perspective of social responsible behaviors of dominant companies, suggests the practical implications and identifies future research areas. Originality/value The paper maps the specific kind of social responsibility interconnected with the issue of local and regional development – monotowns in Russia, Poland and Slovakia – in the countries with common political and social history. It brings in the form of case studies the detailed overview of the selected examples from Russia, Ukraine and Poland dealing with the CSR. Based on the collected data, it summarizes the advantages and disadvantage of these towns and opens the new research areas.


2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-76 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fara Azmat ◽  
Ambika Zutshi

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the understanding of the term corporate social responsibility (CSR) by Sri Lankan immigrant entrepreneurs in Australia. It also seeks to investigate the importance the entrepreneurs place on CSR, their understanding of stakeholders, the types of CSR activities undertaken by them, and the issue of social capital.Design/methodology/approachData were collected through in‐depth semi‐structured interviews with Sri Lankan entrepreneurs based in Victoria, Australia.FindingsThe interviewees were aware of the term CSR but, nevertheless, had different interpretations of its meaning. However, CSR was considered important and all the interviewees were, in some way, involved in CSR activities and also had a good understanding of the importance of their stakeholders. Findings also highlighted the significance attached to social capital by the entrepreneurs such as informal relationships and trustworthiness which build the intangible attributes of CSR. The present findings can be attributed to immigrant entrepreneurs behaving partly to adapt to the host country, by changing their beliefs, values, traditions and partly by being influenced by their home country culture as found in the extended part of this current study.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper addresses gaps in the fields of both CSR and immigrant entrepreneurship literature. However, the small sample size is a limitation and further research is required in order to generalize the findings.Originality/valueIt is important to have an understanding of the interpretation of social responsibility amongst immigrant entrepreneurs. Despite the steadily growing number of Sri Lankan immigrant entrepreneurs and their potential impact on the Victorian and Australian socio‐economic context, this area remains under‐researched. This paper addresses this gap in the literature and makes an attempt to provide insight into this area that can be used as a catalyst for future research.


2019 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Keshara Manindri De Silva ◽  
Chitra Sriyani De Silva Lokuwaduge

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to critically review the existing literature on corporate social responsibility (CSR) to develop a framework to analyse the impact of CSR on employee commitment to the organisation. Design/methodology/approach Using the scoping review, this paper reviewed the published articles on CSR and employee commitment and how CSR and employee commitment were defined, theoretically supported and conceptualised for a comprehensive understanding of current and future research directions in the field. Findings This paper presents a framework developed through the analysis of existing literature on the impact of CSR) on employee commitment to the organisation. This framework aims to explore the impact of internal CSR and external CSR on employee commitment while using the contractual position of employees as an intervening variable. Originality/value During a time where employee attraction and retention is widely discussed as a competitive advantage, this framework could be used by any industry, especially those with high staff turnover such as mining. The researchers propose to use this framework to explore how perception towards external CSR (directed towards external stakeholders) and perception towards internal CSR (directed towards the own employees) can influence organisational identification and commitment levels. To address several gaps in the literature, this model is based on the Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and Social-Identity Theory.


2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 525-546
Author(s):  
Shahbaz Sheikh

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to empirically examine the relation between incentives from CEO inside debt (deferred compensation and pension benefits) and corporate social responsibility (CSR).Design/methodology/approachInstrumental variable (IV-GMM) regressions are used to estimate the relation between CEO inside debt and CSR.FindingsThe results of this paper indicate that CEOs with large inside debt tend to invest more in CSR. Analysis of CSR strengths and concerns supports this finding and shows that CEO inside debt is significantly positively (negatively) associated with CSR strengths (concerns). Further tests indicate that CEO inside debt exerts a positive and significant effect on all five dimensions of social performance (diversity, community, product, employee relations and environment).Research limitations/implicationsThe results of this study are based on US corporations. Future research should investigate if these results hold for firms in other countries in order to better our understanding of the relation between CEO inside debt and CSR.Practical implicationsCEOs use CSR as a risk management strategy to reduce corporate risk in order to protect the value of their inside debt.Social implicationsThe results in this paper provide a practical tool to boards of corporations to increase investment in CSR. The results suggest that boards can encourage CEOs to invest in CSR by increasing incentives from inside debt.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the literature that examines the relation between inside debt and CSR by showing that CEO inside debt exerts a positive impact on CSR.


2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 611-622 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacek Lipiec

Purpose This paper aims to examine the performance of corporate social responsibility (CSR) portfolio at the Warsaw Stock Exchange. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses the CSR portfolio of public companies that was selected in a three-step procedure. In total, 23 companies were selected and formed a CSR portfolio that is traded on the Warsaw Stock Exchange under the Respect Index. The Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) is used to compare returns of CSR companies with respect to the market. The performance of this portfolio is measured in the period from 2010 to 2012. Findings This paper finds that the CSR portfolio measured under the Respect Index outperformed market in all time periods from 2010 to 2012. In addition, in 2010, the CSR portfolio exceptionally outperformed the market by almost 80 per cent. In 2011, even though the market was down, the CSR portfolio reported lesser losses: −0.93 vs −1.73 per cent. In the following year, the market regained and the CSR portfolio again outperformed the market by 14 per cent. This paper also finds that the CSR portfolio is more sensitive to systematic risk than to specific risk. In addition, the CSR securities move according to the market trend. Research limitations/implications The limitation of this paper is attributed to a cause-and-effect relationship. In other words, it did not answer whether adopting CSR led to higher profitability or profitability reflected an awareness of market conditions that favored the adoption of CSR. The future research should focus on this issue and indicate whether investors prioritize CSR over profits or vice versa. Practical implications The results indicate that investments in CSR portfolio companies bring abnormal returns to investors. In addition, the CSR portfolio may resist market downturns and even bring exceptional profits to investors. Originality/value This study explains the CSR portfolio’s performance on the Warsaw Stock Exchange by using the CAPM.


2014 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 556-576 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu-Chen Wei ◽  
Carolyn P. Egri ◽  
Carol Yeh-Yun Lin

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the extent to which societal culture has a moderating effect on the business benefits of corporate social responsibility (CSR). Design/methodology/approach – A cross-national research design was conducted using survey data collected from 164 firms in Taiwan and 196 firms in Canada. Findings – We found societal differences in the positive influence of CSR on corporate image and employee commitment. Specifically, we found that the relationships between CSR (customer-oriented and employee-oriented) and corporate image were stronger for Taiwanese firms than for Canadian firms. In addition, employee CSR was found to be more strongly associated with higher employee commitment in Taiwan than in Canada. While customer CSR was associated with enhanced customer loyalty, this relationship was similar for firms in both countries. Research limitations/implications – Multi-informants for data collection and longitudinal research design in future research would be required for further understanding of the relationships among the variables in this study. Practical implications – This paper suggests that the business benefits of customer and employee CSR practices may yield relatively greater competitive advantages in East Asian countries where CSR is not as established or taken for granted as in Western countries. Originality/value – This study draws on the strategic perspective to investigate the value of CSR practices yielding different business benefits in contrasting cultural contexts.


2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 668-698 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Pérez ◽  
Carlos López ◽  
María del Mar García-De los Salmones

Purpose Based on the principles of stakeholder theory, the purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between the information reported to stakeholders in corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports and companies’ CSR reputation (CSRR). Design/methodology/approach The paper implements two regression models to test how reporting to stakeholders influences the CSRR of 84 companies included in the Spanish “MercoEmpresas Responsables” reputation index. Findings The results demonstrate that greater global reporting intensity to stakeholders does not necessarily mean a better CSRR. Contrarily, the reporting-reputation link depends on the intensity of reporting to specific stakeholders such as investors, regulators and the media. The findings are explained largely by the institutional, political and business characteristics of Spain after the Great Recession of 2007-2008. Research limitations/implications The evidence reported in this paper confirms stakeholder theory as an adequate framework to understand corporate reporting to stakeholders and its relationship with CSRR. The findings suggest that stakeholder salience (i.e. power, legitimacy and urgency) is a key concept for understanding the reporting-reputation link better in future research. Practical implications In the light of the findings, companies willing to use reporting to stakeholders as a tool to improve CSRR should establish regular mechanisms for monitoring stakeholder power, legitimacy and urgency, provide complete information to investors in their CSR reports and minimize the amount of detail provided to regulators and the media in their CSR reports. Originality/value There is still little empirical evidence concerning how the information to stakeholders contained in CSR reports influences the processes by which CSRR is built or destroyed. This paper contributes to the previous literature by describing how the global intensity of reporting to stakeholders and the intensity of reporting to different stakeholder groups relate to CSRR.


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