A survey on bankers’ perception of corporate social responsibility in India

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.

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Panagiotis E. Dimitropoulos

Purpose Over the past decades, corporate social responsibility (CSR) has been considered as a significant corporate strategy and also has been documented as a main information dissemination mechanism of corporations to shareholders, creditors and other external stakeholders. This fact makes the CSR activities and CSR performance interconnected with the quality of firms’ financial reporting. The purpose of this paper is to study the impact of CSR performance on the earnings management (EM) behaviour using a sample from 24 European Union (EU) countries summing up to 121,154 firm-year observations over the period 2003–2018. Design/methodology/approach The study uses a multi-country data set with various dimensions of CSR performance including indexes regarding workforce, community relations, product responsibility and human rights protection. The empirical analysis is conducted with panel data regressions. Findings Evidence supports the negative association between CSR and EM indicating that high CSR performing firms are associated with less income smoothing and discretionary accruals, thus with higher financial reporting quality. Practical implications Regulatory agencies in the EU could use the findings of the study for the improvement of the accounting framework via enhancing the use and publications of social and environmental responsibility information and reports. Social implications Also, the current paper could be of interest not only to academic researchers but also to potential and existing investors in European corporations. The negative association between CSR performance and EM could be used by investors in assessing the risk of firms and the quality and reliability of their financial information. Originality/value This is the first study within the EU, which considers the multi-facet characteristics of CSR on the quality of accounting earnings and offers useful policy implications for regulators and investors.


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.


Author(s):  
Christine Adel ◽  
Mostaq M. Hussain ◽  
Ehab K.A. Mohamed ◽  
Mohamed A.K. Basuony

Purpose This paper aims to report on the quality of corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure in S&P Europe 350 companies. The paper also examines the impact of corporate governance structure and other firm-specific characteristics on the quality of CSR disclosure in European companies. Design/methodology/approach The paper uses a disclosure index adopted from Jizi et al. (2014). Moreover, the paper contributes to the CSR disclosure literature by developing a new index that includes all the aspects introduced by the Global Reporting Initiative version 4.The data of CSR reporting are manually collected from the firms’ reports. The population and sample of this study are related to 350 companies operating in 16 European countries. Tobit regression analysis is used to test the hypotheses. Findings The results reveal that directors’ ownership, the presence of a CSR committee and firm size positively affect the quality of CSR reporting. Further testing of the independent variables on each CSR sub-category is made. The CSR sub-categories used are, namely, community involvement, employees, environment, social product and service quality, supply chain sustainability and business ethics. The presence of a sustainability committee inside the company is the only factor that shows a strong positive effect on the disclosure of every CSR sub-category and the CSR inclusive index. Research limitations/implications The limitations of this research are that it focuses exclusively on the effect of the internal corporate mechanisms on the quality of CSR reporting; disregarding the economic, institutional, political and cultural factors that can play a role in influencing sustainability reporting of the companies. Practical implications Better CSR disclosure leads to the firm having a better image in the society; this, in turn, has implications on firm performance, attracting funds, as well as recruiting and retaining high profile employees. Stakeholders are placing cumulative significance to corporate transparency particularly in the area of CSR. Managers should exert more efforts into not only improving the disclosure of the various facts of CSR but also into using the various media available for disclosure. Companies should take the initiative of establishing a CSR committee to ensure effective formation and implementation of CSR policies and disclosure of CSR activities. Social implications The CRS research itself bears the merit of social implications. Moreover, the findings of this research pave the way for future researches to examine the effect of the adoption of global CSR initiatives and frameworks on the quality of CSR reporting. Originality/value This paper contributes to the CSR disclosure literature by developing a new index that includes all the aspects of CSR and exploring the relation between the rarely explored “presence of sustainability committee” and CSR disclosure, as well as testing a vast number of CSR sub-categories that is not extensively covered in previous studies. Moreover, the paper covers a large sample of companies across 16 European countries, in terms of their stand-alone sustainability reports, dedicated chapters of CSR in annual reports, integrated reports, website CSR information and any attachments/links provided on the websites for further CSR documents, brochures or data sheets.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Belal Fayez Omar ◽  
Hani Alkayed

Purpose This study aims to examine the extent and quality of corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure in Jordan for the time periods of 2005–2006 and 2014–2015, ultimately establishing whether there was a change in the extent and quality of disclosure practices before and after the new regulations for CSR. Furthermore, this study additionally seeks to determine if the regulations are a major factor in changing CSR disclosure practices, or whether there are other factors for such a change. Design/methodology/approach The annual reports of 55 manufacturing companies (11 sub-sectors) on the Amman Stock Exchange for the years 2005–2006 and 2014–2015 were selected, and a CSR checklist was measured via the construction an index covering 36 items in 4 themes: environmental; human resources; community; and products and others. The study measures the quantity of CSR via the number of sentences and the quality of CSR by the weighting approach (on a scale of 0–3); furthermore, the paired sample t-test and Wilcoxon signed rank tests were used to establish whether there was a change in the extent and quality of CSR disclosure practices. Findings The results of the study revealed that there being a significant increase in the extent and quality of CSR for the period 2014–2015 compared to that of 2005–2006, the most optimal performance being in 2015, bragging an average of 61,41 total sentences per annual report and an average quality score of 1.423. Moreover, detailed analysis of CSR extent and quality by theme reveals that the highest percentage of CSR extent and quality was within the environmental theme, with an average score 28.6% of total sentences in 2014 (extent) and 1.743 in 2015 of total sentences (quality). Research limitations/implications The current study has some limitations, which have implications for future studies. First, this study examined the extent and quality of CSR for only two time frames: before and after regulation. However, a longitudinal study would have provided a wider scope of study. Second, the study focussed only on the industrial sector, thus limiting the results to only this area. Indeed, the exploration of the CSR extent and quality for other sectors (e.g. financial and services) would generalise the results further, allowing for the making of comparisons compare among different sectors. Moreover, the study at hand has focussed solely on annual reports, which could lead to subjectivity, thus reducing the reliability of results. Future studies should thus focus on other means of disclosure (e.g. websites; environmental reports). Practical implications The current mandatory requirements would suggest Jordanian regulators have begun specifying CSR disclosure requirements in an easier, more user-friendly and traceable format. Indeed, the increase in CSR extent and quality for the post-regulations period would increase the need to organise mandatory requirements in CSR. For managers, on the other hand, the study provides the CSR as a strategic tool for reflecting the actual environmental activities, comparing it with the society’s expectations. Moreover, when budgets are limited, managers prioritise CSR activities that yield a positive impact on financial performance by allocating the limited resources in a broad manner. Social implications The results additionally highlights the ways in which the Jordanian industrial companies increase their levels within the environmental theme in CSR for the post-regulations. It could be argued that a great number of companies in the past decade have started adopting environmentally friendly practices and strategies to protect the natural environment, such as greenhouses, extracting non-renewable resources and reducing amount of industrial waste. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, there is currently no existing study within Jordan exploring the change of CSR over time – specifically in terms of before and after the regulations. In addition, exploring the quality of CSR using a weighted approach (scale out of 3) is not conducted in Jordanian studies before.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Josua Tarigan ◽  
Amelia Rika Sanchia Susanto ◽  
Saarce Elsye Hatane ◽  
Ferry Jie ◽  
Foedjiawati Foedjiawati

PurposeThis paper aims to examine whether companies in Indonesian controversial industries can rely on their corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices to improve potential employees' job pursuit intention, which lead to a higher quality of work life (QWL) and a better performance from their employees.Design/methodology/approachThe target respondents are interns, staff and supervisors of 42 Indonesian listed companies in controversial industries. The data collection method is performed by distributing questionnaires using a seven-point Likert scale. Collected data using partial least squares (PLS) analysis are conducted and tested.FindingsConsistent with the existing result, the authors find out that potential employees have a higher intention to join and accept a job offer from companies with a higher level of CSR practices. Regarding the corporate social responsibility, it is further proven to have a positive effect on employee's quality of work life. More interestingly, the findings of the current study reveal that CSR also affects employee performance (EP), both directly and indirectly, through QWL.Research limitations/implicationsFindings demonstrate that CSR in Indonesian controversial industry represents an important factor for recruiting top employees that lead to the improvement of the employee's quality of work life and performance.Practical implicationsThe findings indicate that enterprises should be more concerned about CSR engagement in attracting new talents, enhancing the quality of work life and cultivating the employee's performance.Originality/valueThis study enhances previous supports and studies on the concept of CSR and human resource management by analyzing the relationship between CSR and employee performance. Previous researches have concentrated their objectives in finding the link between CSR and the financial performance of a company. However, it must be understood that a company's success actually hinges on the performance of one of their greatest assets, the human resources. Additionally, due to the change in generations that will be the job seekers, recruitment strategy to attract job applicants and improve the job pursuit intention (JPI) is now needed more than ever. One of the strategies that Indonesian companies can use to do so is by practicing CSR. Hence, this is the first study in an attempt to observe the overall relationship of the CSR with the job pursuit intention, QWL and EP, especially in the controversial industries. The study will drive companies to intensify their efforts in maintaining good employee performance.


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.


2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 177-202 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdelkader Sadou ◽  
Fardous Alom ◽  
Hayatullah Laluddin

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine whether there is any improvement in the extent and quality of corporate social responsibility disclosures (CSRD) in Malaysia between 2011 and 2014 and to determine the factors that influence the extent and quality of CSRD in these two years. Also, this study examines the methods of disclosures and the items that largest Malaysian companies addressed. Design/methodology/approach A self-constructed CSR is utilised to measure the extent and quality of CSRD in the annual reports of the top 71 Malaysian companies listed in Bursa Malaysia for the years 2011 and 2014. Multiple regressions along with their associated toolkits for data verification and diagnostic tests are used to assess the improvement in CSRD between 2011 and 2014 and the factors that affect CSRD. Findings Results show a slight increase in the extent and quality of CSRD between 2011 and 2014. With regards to the factors influencing CSRD, only awards are found to be significant in determining the extent and quality of CSRD either in 2011 or in 2014. Board size, ownership concentration, independent non-executives and return on assets influence both the extent and quality of CSRD in 2011. Director ownership and firm size determine the extent and quality of CSRD in 2014. Government ownership only influences the extent of CSRD in 2011. Research limitations/implications Some traditional limitations are found to be considered in future research, such as the use of annual reports as the only source of CSRD information. Results support the legitimacy theory that assumes that Malaysian companies disclose CSR information as a reflection of the incidents that happen in that environment of the firm without ignoring the role of the government in pushing those companies towards being socially responsible by issuing regulations, or in motivating those companies by introducing awards and giving fiscal facilities. Practical implications The results help the policymakers to introduce more awards in some domains that were less addressed by Malaysian companies and also to examine the causes behind the non-influence of the new Malaysian Code on Corporate Governance (MCCG 2012) on CSRD. Originality/value The study can be considered as one of the limited empirical studies that assess the changes in CSRD before and after the issuance of MCCG 2012 in Malaysia.


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.


2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 106-123 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Coffie ◽  
Francis Aboagye-Otchere ◽  
Alhassan Musah

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of corporate governance and degree of multinational activities (DMAs) on corporate social responsibility disclosures (CSRD) within the context of a developing country. Design/methodology/approach Using the annual report of 33 listed firms spanning from 2008 to 2013, the authors employed content analysis based on an adapted index score of CSRD developed by Hackston and Milne (1996) as applied in similar studies (e.g. Deegan et al., 2002; Hassan, 2014). Guided by the authors’ hypotheses, the authors model quantity and quality of CSRD (two separate econometric models) as functions of multinational activity and corporate governance. Findings The results show that the DMA has a positive association with both quality and quality of CSRD. The results also show that certain corporate governance characteristics such as board size (quality and quantity) as well as the presence of a social responsibility sub-committee of the board (quality) have a positive relationship with CSRD. However, increasing the number of non-executive directors (NEDs) may not necessarily improve the quantity or quality of disclosure. Research limitations/implications The study is limited by theory and geography. Theoretically, the study is based on the legitimacy theory and feels compelled to reiterate the importance of considering alternative theoretical perspective in future research. Again the study is limited geographically as the investigation is based on Ghana only and the authors suggest that future research be extended to other countries. Practical implications This study is important as it demonstrates the importance of providing quality of CSRD to stakeholders when the board of a firm has a sub-committee responsible for corporate social responsibility. Originality/value The results of the study extend the literature on CSRD by demonstrating a new evidence on how the degree of firm’s multinational activities together with corporate government mechanism affects both quantity and quality of CSRD in the context of unchartered developing country. The results support the theoretical view that companies engage in CSRD in attempt to legitimize their operations based on the pressure exerted on them and the mechanism put in place to respond to those pressures.


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