scholarly journals Social responsibility as a factor in ensuring the competitiveness of a business organization

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 27-34
Author(s):  
Taras Kitsak

The article investigates manifestations, trends and dominants of the concept of social responsibility of business; its impact on balanced social development has been determined. The active role of social responsibility in ensuring the stability and competitiveness of business processes has been substantiated. The aim of the research is to determine the impact of socially responsible practices on the socio-economic development of a business organization in modern conditions. The author determined his own interpretation of corporate social responsibility after having researched its essence and its impact on social and business processes. The list of potential benefits for a business organization from realization of social investments has been specified and supplemented. The content and essence of the construct of a socially responsible organization which focuses on the development and successful functioning in a dynamic market environment have been distinguished. The sphere of interaction of the business organization with the main stakeholders has been analyzed and potential directions of establishing a constructive dialogue that will have a positive impact on the stability and success of business processes have been outlined. Sociological research on the evaluation of the perception of social responsibility by business organizations in Ukraine and awareness of its values, trends and benefits has been analyzed. Conclusions regarding directions of strengthening of forming the environment of facilitating the spreading of the concept of corporate social responsibility have been justified. Keywords: corporate social responsibility, stakeholders, balanced social development, socially responsible practices, social investments, social reporting.

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (15) ◽  
pp. 4128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jintao Lu ◽  
Licheng Ren ◽  
Jiayuan Qiao ◽  
Siqin Yao ◽  
Wadim Strielkowski ◽  
...  

This paper focuses on the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and its relationship with sustainability. The authors investigate the linkages between CSR and sustainability at both enterprise and country levels. The main focus of this study is the energy sector due to its importance in terms of economic, environmental, and social impacts. There are some doubts as to whether a socially responsible business meets public welfare expectations and fosters the country’s social and economic development, as well as the successful achievement of sustainable development objectives. However, it becomes apparent that the development of corporate social responsibility in the energy sector faces a plethora of challenges. Corruption is one of the most important challenges of sustainable energy development. The study analyzes the main areas of CSR policies where energy companies are expected to make a positive contribution to sustainable energy development: mitigation of environmental impact, economic and social development, and good governance. The authors argue that the corruption risks represent a very important issue that is hampering sustainable energy development, and CSR can be applied to mitigate these risks in the energy sector. In addition, government policies might be necessary to create a favorable environment for corruption risk mitigation. The study analyzes the main tools of corporate social responsibility in the energy sector and addresses the impact of CSR on the sustainability of energy sector and corruption risk mitigation. The study analyzes a corruption risk mitigation model in the energy sector and provides recommendations for strengthening corporate social responsibility and mitigating corruption risk. Our results show that CSR can play a vital role in dealing with corruption in the energy sector at the enterprise level. It becomes apparent that anti-corruption standards represent the main supporting means for achieving other CSR goals and principles. Therefore, mitigation of corruption risks should become a priority for socially responsible companies that are operating in the energy sector.


2009 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victoria Smith ◽  
Peter Langford

AbstractThis paper critically reviews and analyses the empirical and theoretical literature relating to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs and their impact on the attitudes and behaviours of consumers. Given the increasingly important and influential role that corporations are playing in society, this review considers the contrasting arguments surrounding the extent to which a well-designed and implemented CSR program will impact consumers. In doing so, this review improves our understanding of the importance of corporate socially responsible action and identifies gaps in the field of CSR research that need to be addressed in order to help organizations more effectively adopt CSR programs.


Author(s):  
Bartosz ORZEŁ ◽  
◽  
Radosław WOLNIAK ◽  

Purpose: The involvement of enterprises in corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting is one of the most important aspects of contemporary business ethics. The purpose of the study is to examine the perception and knowledge of employees who work in enterprises declaring and to record their observations in case of CSR, its reporting and greenwashing phenomenon. Design/methodology/approach: The article presents a pilot study. A partially categorized interview method was used. The interview was divided into three parts: Part I – Employee satisfaction with work in an organization that declares to act socially responsible. Part II is connected to an employee's view of the corporate social responsibility of the organization in which he works. Part III – the concept of corporate social responsibility and greenwashing. Additionally the survey was conducted. All data was collected and conclusions were drawn. The research sample consisted of 10 people who were interviewed and among whom a survey was conducted. All respondents work in enterprises that declare and report corporate social responsibility. Findings: The vast majority of employees of enterprises are aware of issues related to CSR reporting. They also know the concept of greenwashing. However, the soft aspects related to informing employees about CSR and reporting are problematic. Research limitations/implications: The main limitation of this paper is research sample, which was 10 respondents/participants of survey/interviews. However, it should be remembered that this is a pilot study that is to initiate research on a larger scale. Practical implications: The results of the study proposed in the article, which would be conducted on a larger scale, may provide a picture of the insights of employees directly involved in the business process declared as socially responsible. This may allow determining the most important factors for the organization, which determine the satisfaction and commitment to work of people employed in socially responsible enterprises. Also their work efficiency, commitment to building organizational culture and conviction to the values well-established in the company can be improved Originality/value: On the basis of the literature analysis, it can be noticed that research on the perception of CSR mainly relates to building the non-financial value of enterprises or consumer perceptions/attitudes. On this basis, a research gap was identified in the field of knowledge and CSR perception and job satisfaction of employees actively participating in socially responsible business processes or CSR reporting


2015 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 262-284 ◽  
Author(s):  
Li Sun ◽  
T. Robert Yu

Purpose – The purpose of our paper is to empirically examine the conjectures, which prior literature suggests, that employees work more productively in socially responsible companies and employees are willing to work for less when they work for these companies. Design/methodology/approach – This study uses ordinary least squares regression to examine the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and employee performance and between CSR and employee cost. Further, 2SLS is used to address the endogeneity issue. Findings – The results indicate a positive relation between CSR and employee performance, suggesting that employees in socially responsible companies generate better operating performance than their peers in less socially responsible companies. Findings also reveal that socially responsible companies incur higher labor cost. Research limitations/implications – First, the CSR ratings constructed by KLD Inc. are an approximate measure of CSR performance. Better CSR measures may yield stronger results. Additionally, the sample firms in our study are relatively large firms. Caution needs be exercised when readers generalize these conclusions. Finally, this sample only consists of public firms. Whether these conclusions hold in private firms remains unknown. The above issues can be investigated in future studies. Practical implications – The findings of our study should interest managers who contemplate engaging in socially responsible activities, investors and financial analysts who assess firm performance and policymakers who design and implement guidelines on CSR programs. Originality/value – This is the first paper that directly tests the association between CSR and employee performance and cost. Thus, this study contributes to the CSR literature by offering evidence to show a positive effect of CSR on employee performance. It also contributes to the management accounting literature.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline C. Hartmann ◽  
Jimmy Carmenate

Purpose Board diversity positively impacts corporate social responsibility (CSR); however, there is limited evidence on how board diversity affects the reputation of organizations that are involved in CSR. The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect board diversity has on socially responsible firms’ corporate social responsibility reputation (CSRR). The authors specifically examine this relationship because an organization’s corporate reputation may be very different to its CSRR gained through engagement in socially responsible activities. Design/methodology/approach The authors use the CSR reputation scores for the top 100 most socially responsible global companies provided by the RepTrak Database as a measure of CSRR. Board diversity measures are calculated for gender, ethnicity and education to measure their impact on social reputation. The sample for this study consists of 146 observations for the period 2013–2017. Findings The authors find a significant and positive relation between having a combination of women and ethnically diverse members on the board and firms’ CSRR. The authors also find a significant positive effect on CSRR when the board is composed of women and educationally diverse members. Research limitations/implications Board diversity characteristics continue to impact organizations’ decision-making processes and their involvement in CSR activities as public stakeholders demand greater representation of females and minorities on the board. Because research on board diversity is in its infancy, the authors urge scholars to continue to investigate the impact board diversity has on an organization’s motivation to be socially responsible as well as how it affects their CSRR. Practical implications The findings of this study highlight the importance stakeholders place on an organization’s social responsibility reputation and the positive effects of board diversity in managing their CSRR. Social implications The findings provide evidence that the composition of the board can influence a company’s engagement in CSR activities and their CSRR as perceived by its stakeholders. Originality/value This study contributes to the CSR literature by introducing the concept of CSRR. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study also extends research in the diversity literature by examining the relationship between board diversity variables and an organization’s CSRR. The findings highlight the importance of having a diverse board composed of ethnically and educationally varied individuals and provide evidence of a link between organizations’ involvement in socially responsible activities and their CSRR.


Author(s):  
Nur Hanisah Razali ◽  
Nizam Jaafar ◽  
Ismail Ahmad

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities can lead the company to gain better recognition from citizens and investors. CSR has become one of the added values for a company in increasing competition from global and domestic. However, there are some critics who contend that the CSR benefits surpass the actual cost and some also claim that for the company to be socially responsible is too expensive. Therefore, the objective of this study is to determine the relationship between Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) impacts on the Islamic Banks' financial performance, specifically in Malaysia. This study used Fixed Effect Regression Model to achieve the objectives of this study. The independent variables used to determine CSR comprise of environment, community, and workplace and marketplace expenditure ratio. Meanwhile, to measure the financial bank performance that is the dependent variable, Return on Asset (ROA) is used in this study. Based on this model, the researcher concluded that CSR’s elements which are environment, community, and marketplace have significant impacts on banks financial performance. This is consistent with Stakeholder Theory which states that the firm financial performance is determined by external stakeholders. In order to enhance the study future research may segregate the focus of the study specifically on Islamic Bank or conventional banking. Future research may also conduct research on the different industries.


2017 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 23-61
Author(s):  
Kim Dong Soon ◽  
Yeo Eunjung ◽  
Zhang Ying-ai

We investigate whether the corporate social responsibility (CSR) of Chinese companies has a certain impact on firm value, and further, depending on the level of corporate governance, how the impact of CSR on firm value changes. First, CSR activities generate a positive effect on firm value suggesting that companies may have an incentive to be willing and to continue to perform their CSR activities. Second, if the ratio of the largest shareholder`s stake is low (high) or the gap between the largest and the second-largest shareholder`s stakes is small (large), CSR activities lead to a significant positive (negative) impact on firm value. Third, we find a positive impact for firms with high management or auditor ownership and for firms whose CEO and chairman of the board are not the same person. Interestingly, due to the fact that significant numbers of outside directors of Chinese companies are appointed by the largest shareholders in China, CSR activity may be used to better align the company with the private interests of the largest shareholders than with the interests of other shareholders, thus lowering firm value. Lastly, if the company`s largest shareholder is the country government, CSR has a positive impact on firm value. In this case, the largest shareholder―the country government―carries out CSR activities for social benefit because such a benefit is naturally aligned with the country`s interests in the company. This paper also sheds light on Chinese companies` corporate governance structure that enhances socially responsible activities and firm value. Our results suggest that good governance provides incentives to voluntarily and continuously perform socially responsible activities.


2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 171-182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grigoris Giannarakis ◽  
George Konteos ◽  
Eleni Zafeiriou ◽  
Xanthi Partalidou

This study investigates whether corporate social responsibility (CSR) affects the financial performance of the United States (US) companies. In particular, the impact of CSR on financial performance is investigated in terms of involvement in socially responsible initiatives instead of outcome. The Environmental, Social and Governance disclosure score as calculated by Bloomberg is used as a proxy for corporate involvement in socially responsible initiatives. Fixed effects regression is employed to estimate the relationship between the extent of corporate social disclosure (CSD) and financial performance using the data of listed companies on the Standard & Poor’s 500 during the period 2009-2013. The results suggest that the involvement in socially responsible initiatives has a significantly positive effect on financial performance. In addition, the control variables, such as total compensation to directors, CEO duality and women presence on board are statistically significant to financial performance. It is important to incorporate a longer period in order to validate the positive relationship between CSR and financial performance, whilst the sample is focused on large in size US companies. This study chose to approach the topic from a different angle in order to provide an alternate perspective on this issue taking into account the involvement of socially responsible initiatives via CSD. Keywords: corporate social responsibility, disclosure, financial performance. JEL Classification: M140, M410, Q00


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