scholarly journals Corporate social responsibility in the Canadian context: the new role of corporations in community involvement and social issues

Author(s):  
Mary K. Foster ◽  
Agnes B. Meinhard

[First paragraph of Introduction]: The rapidly growing literature investigating corporate social responsibility (CSR) attests to the world-wide interest in this trend, both from an academic perspective and as a legitimate component of commercial success (Burson-Marsteller, 2000; Waddock & Graves, 1997). To date, most of the research has been conducted in the US, and indeed research interest in this topic dates back to the 1930s and 1940s (Carroll, 1999). The body of knowledge about CSR in Canada is more modest and has mostly focused on investigating social disclosure from an accounting perspective (Levin, 1982; Zeghal & Ahmed, 1990). One reason for this narrow focus has been historical. Unlike in the US, the Canadian government has been the primary architect, builder and funder of the social safety net. Until very recently, this dominant role of government has preempted the need for widespread corporate participation in the provision of social services. Thus tracking the nature and scope of CSR activities in the private sector has not been a major area of interest for Canadian researchers. Indeed, as recently as the 1980s, much of the CSR focus in Annual Reports of Canadian companies was on internal human resource issues such as employee health, safety and training, and not on community and social service issues (Zeghal & Ahmed, 1990). Keywords: CVSS, Centre for Voluntary Sector Studies, Working Paper Series,TRSM, Ted Rogers School of Management Citation:

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary K. Foster ◽  
Agnes B. Meinhard

[First paragraph of Introduction]: The rapidly growing literature investigating corporate social responsibility (CSR) attests to the world-wide interest in this trend, both from an academic perspective and as a legitimate component of commercial success (Burson-Marsteller, 2000; Waddock & Graves, 1997). To date, most of the research has been conducted in the US, and indeed research interest in this topic dates back to the 1930s and 1940s (Carroll, 1999). The body of knowledge about CSR in Canada is more modest and has mostly focused on investigating social disclosure from an accounting perspective (Levin, 1982; Zeghal & Ahmed, 1990). One reason for this narrow focus has been historical. Unlike in the US, the Canadian government has been the primary architect, builder and funder of the social safety net. Until very recently, this dominant role of government has preempted the need for widespread corporate participation in the provision of social services. Thus tracking the nature and scope of CSR activities in the private sector has not been a major area of interest for Canadian researchers. Indeed, as recently as the 1980s, much of the CSR focus in Annual Reports of Canadian companies was on internal human resource issues such as employee health, safety and training, and not on community and social service issues (Zeghal & Ahmed, 1990). Keywords: CVSS, Centre for Voluntary Sector Studies, Working Paper Series,TRSM, Ted Rogers School of Management Citation:


2009 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 433-451 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefanie Hiss

ABSTRACTThe focus of this paper is institutional change and the changing role of business in Germany. Back in the 1980s, the German institutional framework was characterized by implicit mandatory and obligatory regulations that set a clear context for responsible corporate behavior. Today, this framework has eroded and given way to a situation in which corporations explicitly and voluntarily take responsibility for social issues. This shift from implicit to explicit corporate social responsibility is an indication of a major institutional change epitomized by the deconstruction of ‘old’ and the reconstruction of ‘new’ institutions. In the course of this change, corporations, state actors, and civil society organizations compete for their ideas and interests in what we call a fight for myths. The paper traces this fight for myths and the changing understanding of corporate responsibility in Germany.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mashiyat Tasnia ◽  
Syed Musa Syed Jaafar AlHabshi ◽  
Romzie Rosman

Purpose Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is considered one of the crucial branding and promotional tools for banks to legitimise their role in society to become socially and environmentally responsible corporate citizen. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of CSR on stock price volatility of the US banks. This study further examined the moderating role of tax on the relationship between CSR and stock price volatility. Design/methodology/approach This study uses the random-effects panel regression estimation technique to test the hypotheses. The authors include a sample of 37 US banks from 2013 to 2017 with 144 bank-years observation. The authors consider the environmental, social and governance (ESG) scores from Refinitiv as a proxy for CSR. The financial data are also collected from the Refinitiv Datastream database. Findings This study finds a significant and positive relationship between CSR and stock price volatility, which indicates that shareholders of the US banks may not prefer excess concentration on CSR because of the additional cost of investment associated with implementing CSR. Also, tax payments and stock price volatility show a significant positive association, which implies that there is a higher possibility of an increase in stock price volatility if the tax rate increases. Generally, shareholders are not interested in paying more taxes, so they may swap the market instead of paying more tax. On the other hand, the authors find a non-significant moderating effect of tax payment on CSR-volatility nexus. Originality/value Previous studies mainly focussed on CSR and financial performance of banks. Conversely, studies focussing on CSR and stock volatility are limited. This study will fill the gap in the literature by considering the effect of CSR on the stock price volatility of the US banks.


2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 56-66
Author(s):  
Anupam Singh ◽  
Dr. Priyanka Verma

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) earlier applied as corporate philanthropy and has been in practice in India since ages. However, philanthropy in globalised and modern India does not solve the purpose in quantity and quality. Clause 135 of Company Act 2013 created huge hue and cry among the business community in India. As per clause 135 of the Companies Act, 2013, Every company with an annual turnover of 1,000 crore INR ($161 million) and more, or a net worth of 500 crore INR ($80 million) and more, or a net profit as low as five crore INR ($800,000) and more have to spend at least 2% of their average net profit over the previous three years on CSR activities. With the introduction of new Company act 2013 India became the first country in the world to have legislation for compulsory CSR spending. The paper aims at analyzing the motive of making CSR spending mandatory and it also attempts to explain the concept of CSR in the present Indian scenario, the social issues addressed by the Indian corporations, and methodologies adopted by them to address those issues.


Author(s):  
Jonathon W. Moses ◽  
Bjørn Letnes

This chapter considers the role of international oil companies (IOCs) as global political actors with significant economic and political power. In doing so, we weigh the ethical costs and benefits for individuals, companies, and states alike. Using the concepts of “corporate social responsibility” (CSR) and “corporate citizenship” as points of departure, we consider the extent to which international oil companies have social and political responsibilities in the countries where they operate and what the host country can do to encourage this sort of behavior. We examine the nature of anticorruption legislation in several of the sending countries (including Norway), and look closely at how the Norwegian national oil company (NOC), Statoil, has navigated these ethical waters.


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