Corporate Social Performance, Firm Size, and Organizational Visibility: Distinct and Joint Effects on Voluntary Sustainability Reporting

2015 ◽  
Vol 57 (4) ◽  
pp. 742-778 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philipp Schreck ◽  
Sascha Raithel
Keyword(s):  
Firm Size ◽  
Corporate Social Performance ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Social Performance ◽  
Sustainability Reporting ◽  
Environmental Reporting ◽  
Joint Effects ◽  
Marginal Costs ◽  
Sustainability Reports ◽  
Corporate Social

This study investigates the distinct and joint effects of corporate social performance (CSP), firm size, and visibility on a company’s decision to disclose sustainability-related information through sustainability reports. It seeks to provide more nuanced explanations for why certain companies tend to extensively report on their sustainability performance. First, while prior studies have predominantly focused on environmental reporting, the current analysis considers comprehensive sustainability reports that include both environmental and social issues. Second, the article argues that the effects of two important antecedents of legitimacy pressure—firm size and organizational visibility—should be analyzed separately rather than restricting the analysis on the effects of legitimacy pressure per se. Third, it argues that the hypothesized effects are nonlinear because the marginal costs and benefits of sustainability reporting vary with a company’s CSP level, its size, and its visibility in the public. Finally, although there is a strong link between CSP and sustainability reporting, the strength of this link depends on its size and visibility. The study of 280 companies in environmentally and socially sensitive industries provides considerable support for these hypotheses, including evidence that size and visibility independently affect sustainability reporting and that the shape of the CSP/sustainability reporting link is contingent upon firm size and visibility.

A Special-Purpose Taxonomy of Corporate Social Performance Concepts

2001 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 42-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brett A. Stone
Keyword(s):  
Mutual Fund ◽  
Corporate Social Performance ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Social Performance ◽  
Socially Responsible ◽  
Fund Managers ◽  
Responsible Investing ◽  
Research Areas ◽  
Socially Responsible Mutual Funds ◽  
Corporate Social

The first iteration of a nonstatic special-purpose taxonomy of corporate social performance concepts is developed from a mailed, self-administered survey completed by managers of U.S. socially responsible mutual funds. The study combines the traditionally disparate research areas of Corporate Social Performance and Socially Responsible Investing. As a partial update of Rockness and Williams (1988), a descriptive account is presented of what mutual fund managers regard as the social issues that constitute corporate social performance. The resulting taxonomy represents an empirically derived framework useful in considering social accounting in general and accounting standard setting in particular.

scholarly journals The Effect of Corporate Visibility on Corporate Social Responsibility

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (13) ◽  
pp. 3698 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank Li ◽  
Taylor Morris ◽  
Brian Young
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Firm Size ◽  
Positive Relationship ◽  
Corporate Social Performance ◽  
Social Performance ◽  
Mediating Effect ◽  
The Public ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
The Relationship

Outside of direct ownership, the general public may feel it is an implicit stakeholder of a firm. As the public becomes more vested in a firm’s actions, the firm may be more likely to engage in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities. We proxy for the public’s stake in a firm with public visibility. Based on 3400 unique newspaper publications from 1994–2008, we measure visibility for the S&P 500 firms with the frequency of print articles per year concerning the firm. We find that visibility has a signficant, positive relationship with the CSR rating. Evidence also suggests this relationship may be causal and working in one direction, from visibility to CSR. While the existing literature provides other factors that influence CSR, visibility proves to have the most significant impact when tested alongside those other factors. Visibility also has a mediating effect on the relationship between CSR rating and firm size. CSR rating and firm size relate negatively for the lowest visibility firms and positively for the highest. This paper provides strong evidence that visibility is an important factor to consider for studies on corporate social performance.

Firm Size and Corporate Social Performance

2012 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 486-500 ◽  
Author(s):  
Young K. Chang ◽  
Won-Yong Oh ◽  
Jae C. Jung ◽  
Jeong-Yeon Lee
Keyword(s):  
Firm Size ◽  
Corporate Social Performance ◽  
Social Performance ◽  
Corporate Social

Webs of Influence: Secondary Stakeholder Actions and Cross-National Corporate Social Performance

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kate Odziemkowska ◽  
Witold J. Henisz
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Social Performance ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Social Performance ◽  
Issue Salience ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Stakeholder Groups ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Cross National

We analyze the relationship between the actions and interactions of secondary stakeholders with an interest in corporate social performance (CSP) and variation in firm-level CSP across countries. Our work represents a significant theoretical shift in research exploring comparative CSP, which, to date, has focused on cross-national variation in institutions. We propose that stakeholders can also drive cross-country heterogeneity in CSP by influencing the salience of the issues for which they advocate. Stakeholders raise salience of CSP issues through their interactions with important sociopolitical actors within a country, signaling their collective ability to change expectations on CSP. CSP issue salience is also heightened where heterogeneous stakeholder groups advocate for CSP issues, signaling that issues have garnered widespread acceptance or legitimacy. Managers are also more attuned to the urgency of issues through the direct actions that stakeholders take against firms in the country. We also argue and find that these effects are moderated by interstakeholder interactions, which signal the degree of consensus among stakeholders on issues and their ability to mobilize repeatedly against firms. We draw on a novel data set of 250 million media-reported events to identify secondary stakeholders with interests in the environmental and social issues that constitute CSP, their direct actions against firms, and their interactions with important sociopolitical actors and each other. We show empirically that variation in secondary stakeholder actions and interactions between countries, and within countries over time, is associated with differences in firm-level CSP among a sample of 2,852 firms spanning 36 countries from 2004 to 2013.

Nature and relationship between corporate social performance and firm size: a cross-national study

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 258-274 ◽  
Author(s):  
Foo Nin Ho ◽  
Hui-Ming Deanna Wang ◽  
Nga Ho-Dac ◽  
Scott J. Vitell
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Research ◽  
Firm Size ◽  
Economies Of Scale ◽  
Corporate Social Performance ◽  
Social Performance ◽  
The Body ◽  
National Study ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose Firm size has been identified as one of the most important correlates with corporate social performance (CSP). Both conceptual and empirical research has been done to try to explicate and determine this relationship; however, the results from both theoretical and empirical research have indicated a mixed and sometimes inconsistent relationship because of endogeneity between firm size and CSP. This paper aims to add to the body of knowledge by identifying and addressing some of the limitations in determining the relationship between firm size and CSP. Design/methodology/approach Using the Arellano–Bond method to control for the endogeneity, this study tests the relationship between CSP and firm size using a panel of 380 public companies of various sizes; in various industry types; and across 19 countries in North America, Europe and Asia over a six-year period. Findings The results of the study show that firm size positively influences CSP and its subcomponents when endogeneity has been controlled for. Research limitations/implications This study lends support for the theory of the firm framework that CSP attributes are embedded in the production process that leads to higher economies of scale, and the resource-based view of firms where firms that possess valuable and inimitable resources in CSR can lead to a sustainable competitive advantage over competitors. This suggests that as firms grow in size, they can leverage their resources to achieve greater economies of scale that will lead to better CSP over time. Originality/value This study addresses the potential endogeneity problem between firm size and CSP and offers a broader testing context.

Why Chinese entrepreneurial firms selectively perform corporate social responsibility issues?

2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 272-290 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lihong Song ◽  
Qiang Liang ◽  
Yuan Lu ◽  
Xinchun Li
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Stakeholder Theory ◽  
Corporate Social Performance ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Social Performance ◽  
Entrepreneurial Firms ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Contingency Model ◽  
Corporate Social

Purpose Based on the stakeholder theory, this study aims to investigate Chinese entrepreneurial firms’ selective satisfaction of Stakeholder demands on corporate social performance (CSP). Design/methodology/approach This study uses the survey data from privately owned companies in China, which is collected by the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce in three years of 2006, 2008 and 2010. Findings This paper suggests a contingency model of CSP: entrepreneurial firms selectively perform corporate social responsibility (CSR) issues rather than all CSP dimensions. Furthermore, this study illustrates that international operations, such as overseas exports, would strengthen the above positive relationships between foreign ownership and selected CSR issues. Originality/value This study contributes to the understanding of CSR activities in Chinese entrepreneurial firms, which are more selective when performing social issues. In addition to the theoretical contribution, this work suggests a contingency model to the stakeholder theory, indicating the moderating factors to the entrepreneurial firms’ motivation to perform specific social responsibilities.

scholarly journals Does Board of Directors Independence Behave Opportunistically or Ethically? Study Corporation Social Responsibility and Earning Management in Indonesia

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (02) ◽  
pp. 75-85
Author(s):  
Muhammad Taufik ◽  
Gideon Benhans
Keyword(s):  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Corporate Social Performance ◽  
Social Performance ◽  
Sustainability Reporting ◽  
Ethical Values ◽  
The One ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
A Company

ABSTRACT This paper explores the opportunistic issues of EM and ethical issues of CSR where we aim to examine the relationship between CSR and EM and involve the role of BOD independence. Investigation of the relationship using corporate social performance theory where the research sample is a company that publishes sustainability reporting - GRI index for the period 2016 to 2019 in Indonesia. CSR does not affect EM, on the contrary, BOD independence has a positive and significant effect on EM. That is, BOD independence behaves opportunistically. Another finding is that BOD independence does not strengthen or weaken the relationship between CSR and EM. Therefore, despite being opportunistic, BOD independence does not use CSR as a reflection of ethical values to cover EM practices. This paper contributes to showing that BOD independence has 2 characters, namely opportunist on the one hand and ethical on the other.

Elderly consumers’ sensitivity to corporate social performance

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 786-805 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chamila Roshani Perera ◽  
Chandana Hewege
Keyword(s):  
Focus Groups ◽  
Corporate Social Performance ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Social Performance ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Employment Opportunities ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Japanese Elderly ◽  
Elderly Consumers ◽  
Corporate Social

Purpose This paper aims to examine the Japanese elderly consumer sensitivity to corporate social performance (CSP) and how this sensitivity influences their everyday consumption. Design/methodology/approach The authors used a mixed method research approach, which was organised into two sequential stages: a survey (N = 199) and two focus group investigations (N = 16). Findings The study found that married, aged and high-income-earning consumers who have a higher media exposure to CSP information show high sensitivity towards CSP. The focus groups revealed that the elderly consumers have a myopic view of CSP which is subjected to context-specific factors relating to CSP of Japanese firms. Showing a high level of tolerance towards the firms with adverse CSP records, the elderly consumers tend to make their consumption decisions based on personal benefits, as opposed to CSP records of the firms. The focus groups’ findings are organised into four thematic categories. Practical implications The study highlights the predictability of consumer sensitivity to CSP using demographic factors. The practitioners targeting elderly consumers using CSP programmes should design them with a focus on social issues, including gender equality, employment opportunities for the disabled and new employment opportunities, as they constitute CSP sensitivities among elderly consumers. Originality/value Studies on consumers’ perceptions towards CSP in Japan are scarce. Specifically, studies aimed at the elderly consumer segment of the Japanese society are limited. Therefore, this study endeavours to bridge this gap by exploring the Japanese elderly consumer sensitivity to CSP and its role in everyday consumption practices.

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