The effect of CEO civic engagement on corporate social and environmental performance

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (8) ◽  
pp. 1054-1070 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wonsuk Cha ◽  
Michael Abebe ◽  
Hazel Dadanlar
Keyword(s):  
Civic Engagement ◽  
Environmental Performance ◽  
Corporate Philanthropy ◽  
Corporate Social Performance ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Environmental Engagement ◽  
Social And Environmental Performance ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
Personal Engagement

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between a chief executive officer (CEO)’s personal engagement in broader societal causes (CEO civic engagement) and firm’s social and environmental performance. Design/methodology/approach A theoretical framework was developed based on upper echelons and stakeholder theories to argue that CEOs’ professional background characteristics can be closely related to firm-level social and environmental performance. Hierarchical OLS analysis was conducted using data from 178 large, publicly traded large US firms between 2010 and 2013. Findings Overall, the findings suggest that firms led by CEOs with active civic engagement are more likely to support various philanthropic efforts. Additionally, the findings suggest that firms led by civic-minded CEOs are more likely to support an active corporate environmental engagement by investing significant resources in various environmental causes. Contrary to the authors’ predictions, the level of CEO civic engagement was not a significant predictor of firm level community engagement activities. Research limitations/implications The findings extend current scholarly work on executive determinants of corporate social performance by highlighting the important role of CEOs’ personal engagement beyond studying CEOs’ demographic characteristics. Specifically, the findings that the CEO-civic engagements lead to higher degrees of corporate philanthropy and environmental performance show that CEOs’ civic engagement can go beyond what is considered symbolic executive actions. Practical implications The findings suggest that firms that seek to foster social and environmental performance in a meaningful way should recruit and retain CEOs that have a personal commitment to and engagement in various social and environmental issues and causes. Originality/value By empirically examining the effect of CEO civic engagement on corporate philanthropy, community involvement and environmental performance, this paper seeks to contribute to the scholarly conversation on the effects of CEOs in shaping the firm’s social and environmental engagement and addressing external stakeholder concerns.

Prioritizing sustainability strategies for global extractive sector firms

2012 ◽  
Vol 23 (6) ◽  
pp. 615-629 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip R. Walsh
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Environmental Performance ◽  
Environmental Damage ◽  
Performance Practices ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Sustainability Strategies ◽  
Extractive Sector ◽  
Social Environmental ◽  
Social And Environmental Performance ◽  
Corporate Social

PurposeThis paper seeks to examine the importance of corporate social and environmental initiatives to extractive sector firms and by measuring the level of social, environmental and economic sustainability in 128 countries around the world and applying these measures to a framework comprised of a sustainability indices matrix, and identifying certain strategic approaches to social and environmental practices.Design/methodology/approachThe matrix contains eight categories of sustainability attainment and a k‐means cluster analysis is employed to identify what countries belong to each of these categories and to what extent these clusters identify countries with similar characteristics that may impact the focus of corporate social and environmental performance practices for extractive sector firms wishing to pursue projects in those countries.FindingsThe study finds that, in those jurisdictions where social and environmental sustainability is well established, extractive sector firms are required to deal with established rules and regulations that require a more reactive strategic approach. The various combinations of sustainability levels amongst the many countries around the globe require various combinations of strategies related to corporate social and environmental performance.Practical implicationsThe realization that, today, extractive sector firms who choose to ignore the need for appropriate corporate social and environmental performance are risking increased costs arising from social and environmental damage created by their projects supports the need to create pro‐active strategies for addressing social and environmental responsibility.Originality/valueThis paper's contribution is the development of a framework for measuring the component levels of sustainable development and clustering a large number of countries into specific categories with recommended approaches to social and environmental sustainability strategies.

Board composition, sustainability committee and corporate social and environmental performance in Australia

2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 517-540 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pallab Kumar Biswas ◽  
Mansi Mansi ◽  
Rakesh Pandey
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Performance ◽  
Small Sample Size ◽  
Positive Association ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Gender Composition ◽  
Board Independence ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Social And Environmental Performance ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
The Relationship

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the impacts of board gender composition, board independence and the existence of a board sustainability committee on the corporate social and environmental performance of Australian firms.Design/methodology/approachThe dataset comprises 2,188 Australian Securities Exchange listed firm-year observations (407 individual firms) from 2004 to 2015. The ASSET4 environmental, social and governance database is used to measure corporate social and environmental performance and their sub-dimensions.FindingsOur results show that firms with higher board gender composition, greater board independence and sustainability committees tend to have better social and environmental performance. This paper also provides empirical evidence of the positive association of these variables on the sub-dimensions of social and environmental performance. The results are robust after controlling for self-selection and various forms of endogeneity.Originality/valueThis is the first study that examines the relationship between sustainability committees and corporate social and environmental performance in the context of Australia. This study also overcomes the relatively small sample size and shorter study period issues of similar studies in Australia that provide inconclusive evidence on the relationship between each of board gender composition, board independence and corporate social and environmental performance.

Impact of corporate social responsibility intensity on firm-specific risk and innovation: evidence from Japan

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Megumi Suto ◽  
Hitoshi Takehara
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Research And Development ◽  
Manufacturing Industry ◽  
Corporate Sustainability ◽  
Idiosyncratic Risk ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Specific Risk ◽  
Corporate Social

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate investors’ perception of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and its risk-mitigating effects on firm-level innovation in Japan from 2006 to 2017. The authors examine the influence of CSR intensity on firm-specific risks, focusing on the risk-moderating effect of CSR on innovation. Design/methodology/approach The authors conducted a simple slope analysis and panel data regressions with input and output innovation measures and idiosyncratic risk based on an asset-pricing model. Findings The results demonstrate that CSR intensity not only reduces firm-specific risk directly but also indirectly by negatively moderating the relationship between firm-level innovation and idiosyncratic risk. Research limitations/implications Signaling trust to capital markets, CSR engagements in the manufacturing industry are clearly important for innovative firms with active research and development undertakings. Practical implications Corporate managers should further expand their efforts to make non-financial disclosures available, considering the interactions between CSR intensity and research and development financial risk. Originality/value In the context of Japanese firms, this study demonstrates the interaction between CSR practices and innovation activities from the perspective of long-term management of corporate sustainability.

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 CSR Strategic Approach, Financial Resources and Corporate Social Performance: The Mediating Effect of Innovation

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 3611 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pasquale Ruggiero ◽  
Sebastiano Cupertino
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Social Performance ◽  
Social Performance ◽  
Critical Factor ◽  
Mediating Effect ◽  
Financial Resources ◽  
Innovation Activities ◽  
Strategic Approach ◽  
Social And Environmental Performance ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
The Relationship

Given the current undefined relational effect between corporate financial performance (CFP) and corporate social performance (CSP) and the potentially myopic behavior of managers, this paper answers the call from some scholars to contribute towards a better understanding of the relationship between CFP and CSR. Different from other papers, it does so by analyzing the role of innovation activities as a mediator between CFP and CSR, applying a regression and mediation analysis between firms’ financial resources, innovation initiatives, and social and environmental performance. The results demonstrate that innovation is a critical factor in the relationship between CFP and corporate social performance (CSP) as it enables organizations to respond to new economic, social and environmental challenges faster and better than organizations that are not able to innovate. Therefore, the investment of financial resources in innovation initiatives is one of the most important levers to pursue and to increase CSP.

In search of ethics: from Carroll to integrative CSR economics

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 469-491 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sigmund Wagner-Tsukamoto
Keyword(s):  
Institutional Economics ◽  
Corporate Social Performance ◽  
Social Performance ◽  
Business Case ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Market Exchange ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Four Dimensions ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
Practical Implications

PurposeRevisiting Carroll’s classic corporate social responsibility (CSR) pyramid framework, this paper aims to evolve a novel synthesis of ethics and economics. This yielded an “integrative CSR economics”.Design/methodology/approachThis theory paper examined how to conceptually set up CSR theory, argue its ethical nature and establish its practical, social and empirical relevance. Economic analysis reached out from contemporary institutional economics to Smith’s classic studies.FindingsThe paper reconstructed all of Carroll’s four dimensions of CSR – economic, legal, ethical and philanthropic responsibilities – through economics. The paper discounted a core assumption of much CSR research that economic approach to CSR, including the instrumental, strategic “business case” approach to CSR, were unethical and lacked any foundations in ethics theory. Integrative CSR economics reframes research on viability and capability requirements for CSR practice; redirecting empirical research on links between CSP (corporate social performance) and CFP (corporate financial performance).Research limitations/implicationsThe paper focused on Carroll as the leading champion of CSR research. Future research needs to align other writers with integrative CSR economics. Friedman or Freeman, or the historic contributions of Dodd, Mayo, Bowen or Drucker, are especially interesting.Practical implicationsThe paper set out how integrative CSR economics satisfies the “business case” approach to CSR and develops practical implications along: a systemic dimension of the market economy; a legal-constitutional dimension; and the dimension of market exchanges.Social implicationsIntegrative CSR economics creates ethical benefits for society along: a systemic dimension of the market (mutual gains); a legal-constitutional dimension (law-following); and the dimension of market exchange (ethical capital creation). Social benefits are not only aspired to but also are achievable as a business case approach to CSR is followed.Originality/valueThe paper’s main contribution is a new synthesis of economics and ethics that yields an “integrative CSR economics”.

Systemic corporate social responsibility: micro-to-macro transitions, collective outcomes and self-regulation

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 209-227 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brent D. Beal ◽  
Cristina Neesham
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Corporate Social Performance ◽  
Corporate Citizenship ◽  
Social Performance ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
System Level ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Management Approaches ◽  
Corporate Social

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to call attention to the need to revitalize the systemic nature of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and offer some suggestions about how this might be accomplished. The authors introduce the concept of systemic CSR and associate it with micro-to-macro transitions, the need to make systemic objectives explicit and the responsibility of system participants to regulate their behavior to contribute to these outcomes. Design/methodology/approach The authors comment, from a systemic perspective, on four different management approaches to CSR – shareholder value, corporate social performance, stakeholder theory and corporate citizenship. Three general systemic principles that participants can use as decision-making guides are a focus on value creation, ongoing assessment of collective outcomes and reflective engagement in the aggregation process. Findings The authors observe that businesses routinely demonstrate their ability to think in systemic terms in strategic contexts that require it. If businesses can address systemic issues in these contexts, then they can also apply systemic logic in furtherance of collective (or system-level) objectives. Originality/value The authors propose an approach to CSR that emphasizes micro-to-macro transitions, the need to make systemic objectives explicit and the responsibility of system participants to regulate their behavior to contribute to these desired objectives. Systemic CSR is unique in its explicit focus on the micro-to-macro transition (i.e. the process of aggregation), systemic objectives and the need to actively insource responsibility for contribution to the realization of those objectives.

Ethical values in the evaluation of corporate social performance

2016 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 180-196 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monte Wynder ◽  
Kirsty Dunbar
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Multinational Corporations ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Balanced Scorecard ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Ethical Decision Making ◽  
Corporate Social Performance ◽  
Ethical Values ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Corporate Social

Purpose – This paper aims to explore two factors that may moderate the relation between an individual’s ethical values and their evaluation of competing ethical and financial outcomes. It is argued that distance (i.e. low proximity) attenuates moral intensity, thereby inhibiting ethical decision-making (EDM). In contrast, it is argued that presenting outcomes in a separate social and environmental perspective in the balanced scorecard (BSC) increases EDM. Design/methodology/approach – In an experiment, participants evaluated social outcomes presented in a BSC. Proximity and scorecard format were manipulated in a 2 × 2 factorial design. Findings – The results indicate that physical and social proximity increase the extent to which performance evaluation is influenced by the ethical values of the evaluator. Contrary to expectations, BSC format did not influence the EDM of the evaluator. Research limitations/implications – Participants were undergraduate students which may limit the generalisability of the results. Further research should be conducted with practicing managers. The study focused on a particular ethical issue, hiring and training from the local community. Further research is necessary to consider the effect of personal ethical values on other aspects of corporate social responsibility (CSR). Practical implications – This study indicates that ethical values will be less salient when the outcomes relate to distant locations. There are important implications for multinational corporations seeking to avoid the liability of foreignness in their distant operations. Originality/value – Previous CSR research has focused on the institutional level. The focus of the authors on the individual’s decision-making process increases our understanding of the biases that can affect EDM.

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