The impact of gender diversity on the relationship between managerial entrenchment and corporate social responsibility: evidence from UK companies

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 197-217
Author(s):  
Maali Kachouri ◽  
Bassem Salhi ◽  
Anis Jarboui

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to argue the relationship between managerial entrenchment (ME), corporate social responsibility (CSR) and gender diversity. Specifically, this paper aims to empirically examine the impact of board gender diversity (BGD) and gender diversity in top management teams (TMTs) on the relationship between ME and CSR. Design/methodology/approach This study uses panel data set of 300 UK companies listed during 2005-2017. Findings The results show that the positive relation between CSR and ME is more pronounced in companies where the level of women on the board is higher. However, women in TMT moderate this positive relationship. Research limitations/implications Women in TMT may be less responsive to shareholders’ preference for reduced company CSR concerns, but a higher percentage of women on the board can mitigate this effect. Originality/value This study suggests the dynamic relationship between CSR and ME.

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anissa Dakhli

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the direct and indirect relationship between institutional ownership and corporate tax avoidance using corporate social responsibility (CSR) as a mediating variable. Design/methodology/approach This study uses panel data set of 200 French firms listed during the 2007–2018 period. The direct and indirect effects between managerial ownership and tax avoidance were tested by using structural equation model analysis. Findings The results indicate that institutional ownership negatively affects tax avoidance. The greater the proportion of the institutional ownership, the lower the likelihood of tax avoidance usage. From the result of the Sobel test, this study indicated that CSR partially mediates the effect of institutional ownership on corporate tax avoidance. Practical implications The findings have some policy and practical implications that may help regulators in improving the quality of transactions and in achieving more efficient market supervision. They recommend to the government to add regulations and restrictions to the structure of corporate ownership to control corporate tax avoidance in French companies. Originality/value This study extends the existing literature by examining both the direct and indirect effect of institutional ownership on corporate tax avoidance in French companies by including CSR as a mediating variable.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anura De Zoysa ◽  
Nobyuki Takaoka ◽  
Yuqian Zhang

PurposeThis paper aims to examine the impact of three key factors — corporate social responsibility (CSR) awareness, CSR affordability and CSR management system (CSRMS) sophistication—on the CSR performance of Japanese firms.Design/methodology/approachUsing responses to 36 items developed on the Global CSR standard of ISO26000, two CSR indexes were constructed to assess the CSR management system sophistication and performance of Japanese firms. The relationship between the three key variables (CSR awareness, affordability and management system sophistication) and CSR performance was then examined through a partial least squares (PLS)-based structural equation model. Data were collected through a questionnaire survey of 146 firms.FindingsThe results of the study found a positive relationship between CSR performance and three exogenous variables (CSR awareness, affordability and management system sophistication). Furthermore, the study found that CSRMS sophistication played a mediating role in the relationship between CSR performance and firms' CSR awareness and affordability.Research limitations/implicationsThe study was limited to examining the CSR practices of a major province in Japan, which may hinder the generalisation of the findings to the rest of the country. Moreover, the data used for assessing the variables in this study were self-reported by the participating firms, in addition to being cross-sectional. The findings of this study clarified areas that policymakers, including Japan's business associations–Keidanren and Keizai Doyukai, and other relevant parties need to focus on for further improving CSR performances of Japanese firms.Originality/valueThis study highlights the role CSR awareness, affordability and CSRMS sophistication play in improving CSR performance. On the one hand, it identifies the critical role CSRMS plays in mediating the relationship among CSR performance, awareness and affordability. On the other hand, it advances CSR theory providing insight for practitioners to generate positive CSR outcomes.


2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 639-659
Author(s):  
Abdullah Alsaadi

Purpose This study aims to investigate the effect of financial-tax reporting conformity jurisdictions on the association between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and aggressive tax avoidance. Design/methodology/approach Using a sample comprising firms domiciled in Europe for the period 2008–2016, this study uses regression analysis to test the impact of financial-tax reporting conformity jurisdictions on the association between CSR and aggressive tax avoidance. Findings The empirical results show that there is a positive association between CSR and tax avoidance, and firms headquartered in low financial-tax reporting conformity jurisdictions are more likely to engage in CSR to hedge against the potential negative consequences of aggressive tax-avoidance practices as compared to firms domiciled in countries with high level of financial-tax reporting conformity. Practical implications This study confirms Sikka’s (2010, 2013) view of “organised hypocrisy” act committed by firms to cover their socially irresponsible activities of aggressive tax avoidance by engaging in CSR. Results have implication for various regulatory bodies and investors in that the type of financial-tax conformity does impact the link between CSR and tax avoidance, and based on that, CSR firms may engage in CSR to overcome any negative reactions that could be caused as a result of tax avoidance. Originality/value To the best of the author’s knowledge, this study is the first to investigate the impact of financial-tax reporting conformity jurisdictions on the association between CSR and aggressive tax avoidance. This study also contributes to the literature in that, it uses an alternative data set which offers a more objective assessment of CSR measure and covers multiple countries.


2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 403-445 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chiara Amini ◽  
Silvia Dal Bianco

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyse the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on firm performance in six Latin American economies. Firm performance includes five distinct dimensions, namely, firm turnover, labour productivity, innovativeness, product differentiation and technological transfer. The countries under scrutiny are Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Mexico. Design/methodology/approach Propensity score matching techniques are used to identify the causal effect of CSR on firm performance. To this end, World Bank Enterprise Survey (2006 wave) is used. This data set collects relevant firm-level data. Findings CSR has a positive impact on the outcome variables analysed, suggesting that corporate goals are compatible with conscious business operations. The results also vary across countries. Research limitations/implications The pattern that emerges from the analysis seems to suggest that the positive effects of CSR depend on countries’ stage of industrialisation. In particular, the least developed the economy, the wider the scope of CSR. Nonetheless, the relationship between conscious business operations, firm performance and countries’ level of development is not directly tested in the present work. Practical implications The main practical implication of the study is that Latin American firms should adopt CSR. This is because corporate responsible practices either improve firm performance or they are not shown to have a detrimental effect. Social implications The major policy implication is that emerging countries’ governments as well as international organisation should provide meaningful incentives towards CSR adoption. Originality/value The paper provides three major original contributions. First, it brings new descriptive evidence on CSR practices in Latin America. Second, it uses a broader and novel definition of firm performance, which is aimed at capturing developing countries’ business dynamics as well as at overcoming data limitations. Finally, it reassesses and extends the empirical evidence on the impact of CSR on firm performance.


2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 563-575 ◽  
Author(s):  
José Luis Fernández Sánchez ◽  
Ladislao Luna Sotorrío ◽  
Elisa Baraibar Diez

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to provide more knowledge about the model to generate reputation and its relationship in the long term with companies’ strategy of social responsibility. Particularly, research is done to test whether there is a positive effect of firms’ social behaviour (corporate social responsibility [CSR]), analysing differences of intensity and consistency, on their corporate reputation (CR) and whether the current financial crisis is a factor that has changed the relationship between both variables (moderator factor). Design/methodology/approach – This study uses a sample of 26 Spanish large firms of the Ibex35 index and covers an eight-year period from 2004 to 2011. To test the hypotheses of this research, a fixed-effects model was estimated using moderating regression analysis. Findings – The results obtained show that, for the Spanish Ibex35 companies, CSR practices according to their consistency have a significant positive effect on CR and in turbulent environments, as in the current financial crisis, it has had a significant positive influence on the CSR-CR relationship. Originality/value – Although a substantial number of empirical studies have examined the relationship between firms’ strategy and their performance, only a few of them have analysed the impact of the external environment on this relationship, whereby there is a need for longitudinal studies with different economic scenarios to achieve better knowledge of the CSR–CR relationship.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shafat Maqbool ◽  
Nasir Zamir

PurposeThe research on the role of corporate social responsibility in investors' decision process has proliferated over the past few decades. This paper aims to explore the mediating role of financial performance in the relationship between corporate social responsibility and institutional investors.Design/methodology/approachPanel regression was performed on a sample of 29 commercial banks nine years from 2009 to 2017.FindingsThe initial findings of the study show that that corporate social responsibility has a positive and significant impact on institutional investors. However, when the interaction term (financial performance) was incorporated, the relationship between CSR and institutional turns out to be neutral. The study concludes that financial performance plays a pivotal role in the selection of investment avenues.Originality/valueIn Indian context, there is a dearth of research work which studies the impact of sustainable practices on investors' decision process. This topic has received wider attention but lacks insights from developing countries, like India. This article presents a new approach to verify the relationship through the mediating variable (financial performance).


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (2/3) ◽  
pp. 184-199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Safdar Sial ◽  
Zheng Chunmei ◽  
Tehmina Khan ◽  
Vinh Khuong Nguyen

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and firm performance and the moderating role of earnings management on the relationship between CSR and firm performance. Design/methodology/approach The empirical study used the updated data set (3,481 unbalanced observations for period 2009–2015) from Chinese listed companies on Shenzhen and Shanghai stock exchanges. The generalized method of moments (GMM) statistical approach has been used for the analysis. The authors utilized STATA to test GMM on a sample of Chinese listed firms data over the period 2009–2015. The unbalanced sample obtained 3,481 observations from China stock market and accounting research database and CSR ratings provided by Rankins (RKS). Findings The results demonstrated that CSR has a positive and significant relationship with firm’s performance; also, earnings management has a negatively moderate relationship between CSR and firm performance. These results imply that a high value of earnings management, which results in high level of symbolic CSR, converts to low firm performance of the Chinese firms. CSR actions (only as symbolic measures) promoted by managers as a means to cover their profit management incite an adverse effect on the company’s performance. This study has highlighted the impact of two different corporate social responsibilities: substantive and symbolic (genuine CSR vs greenwashing) on firm performance. Research limitations/implications The results of this investigation will be of distinct interest to company owners who wish to ascertain the effectiveness of the sustainability decisions of directors and managers, and also to investors and public authorities to estimate the positive relationship between CSR and company’s reputation and image, and thus, the positive influence on firm performance. Originality/value Previous studies have generally focused on the relationship between CSR and firm performance. This study provides the impact of earnings management (measurement of both aspects of accrual-based earnings management and real earnings management) on this relationship. Furthermore, this study examines the state of CSR in the Chinese market and provides empirical evidence of this relationship in emerging markets.


Author(s):  
Wenlu McIntosh ◽  
John C. McIntosh **

This paper examines the impact of board of director gender diversity on organizational outcomes associated with gendered corporate social responsibility (GCSR). The study employs a sample of 458 companies reported in the 2018 RobecoSam sustainability report to examine the relationship between the board of director gender diversity (GD) to GCSR performance. In particular, it examines the influence of GD on the percentage of women hired by a company, female employee turnover, and recruitment of female managers. The study shows companies with high GD have a higher percentage of female employees and have greater female representation in managerial ranks. There was no support for higher GD and lower turnover among female employees.


2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 858-875 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyungjin Lukas Kim ◽  
Jinyoung Han

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on employees’ compliance behavior concerning information security policy (ISP). A research model includes CSR activities as an antecedent of ISP compliance and as a mediator of the relationship between ISP compliance intention and the perceived costs of compliance. Design/methodology/approach In total, 162 respondents were surveyed from organizations with more than 500 employees. This study used partial least squares (SmartPLS 3.0) to analyze and examine hypotheses. Findings The results show CSR’s influence as a mediator in the context of ISP compliance. In particular, moral CSR can affect employees’ ISP compliance intention positively and fully mediate the relationship between the costs of compliance and ISP compliance intention. Employees would like to comply with ISP when they recognize the benefits of ISP compliance and the costs of ISP noncompliance. Originality/value This study examines influential factors on ISP compliance considering cost-benefit factors from rational choice theory. Moreover, the study contributes to ISP compliance research by being the first attempt to consider CSR in an ISP compliance research context. The results provide insights on how to strategically implement CSR activities in terms of organizational information security.


2017 ◽  
Vol 43 (5) ◽  
pp. 528-544 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Cooper

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the research question whether corporate social responsibility (CSR) and gender influence the likelihood of CEO turnover. Design/methodology/approach The author uses a large sample of firms over a 21-year period from 1992 to 2013 taken from firms cross-listed in the ESG STATS, Execucomp, and Compustat databases. Logistic regression is used to analyze the determinants of both CEO turnover and the gender of the newly hired CEO. Findings Firms with better social performance have higher rates of CEO turnover, performance notwithstanding. Further, for firms with decreasing financial performance, it is more likely they will replace their CEO if they have strong CSR vs firms with weak CSR records. In addition, as performance deteriorates, male CEOs will have a higher chance of being replaced relative to female CEOs. For female CEOs, other factors besides financial performance are important determinants of the likelihood of a turnover taking place. Research limitations/implications This study finds support for the stakeholder theory of CSR and does not support entrenchment theory. It is the first study to look at CSR, CEO turnover, and gender issues concurrently. Practical implications For practitioners looking for tangible effects of CSR in the workplace, this paper provides evidence that it does matter in terms of CEO turnover. The findings suggest that CSR is acting as a deterrent to bad behavior on the part of executives in the face of weak financial performance in particular. Originality/value This study is the first to look at the impact of CSR on CEO turnover. Importantly, the findings suggest that CSR is not something that a firm decides or thinks about in the “right” financial environment but is rather an omnipresent focus embedded within the mission of the firm.


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