Can strategic corporate social responsibility drive corporate innovation?

Purpose: In practice, an increasing number of economic entities have begun to consider strategic corporate social responsibility (CSR) as an opportunity to create a win-win situation for the organisation and the society. The existing literature has yet to soundly corroborate the role of strategic CSR in corporate innovation. This study examines the relationship between strategic CSR and innovation.Design/methodology/approach: The empirical regression models are estimated to analyse the data collected from 2817 firms yielding 18 845 firm–year observations from 2001 to 2014 in the United States.Findings/results: The findings indicate that firms with strategic CSR generate more and better innovation outputs. The positive effect is more pronounced when institutional ownership is lower, when firm size is larger, and when product market competition is more intense. In terms of economic consequences, firms with strategic CSR actually have higher commercial value and are less likely to suffer loss from failed innovation.Practical implications: To establish a sustainable relationship with stakeholders and realise the long-term development of business and society, enterprises should engage in strategic CSR in a planned manner based on their own resources and professional expertise.Originality/value: The study sheds light on a growing body of literature that investigates the real consequences of firms’ strategic CSR, and explains the growing recognition of the importance of strategic CSR.

Explore the Approaches to Corporate Social Responsibility Implemented by E-commerce Platforms in China during the Early Stage of COVID-19: A Mixed-methods Content Analysis

Objectives: To explore (a) the approaches to corporate social responsibility (CSR) implemented by e-commerce platforms in China during the early stage of COVID-19 (ESCOVID-19) and; (b) the factors associated with the platforms’ choice of these approaches. Methods: We collected the CSR data from the Internet during ESCOVID-19. Conventional content analysis was used to develop the targeted approaches. Finally, based on the frequency analysis of each approach, rank-based nonparametric testing was conducted to answer objective (b). Results: Three main approaches (i.e., donative CSR actions, responsive CSR actions, and strategic CSR actions) and eight sub approaches were implemented. The strategic approach was the most frequently used approach. The platforms with higher market size implemented more donative and strategic CSR actions than the platforms with lower market size did. Donative CSR actions were significantly implemented in the earlier period, while strategic CSR actions were significantly implemented in the later period. Conclusions: Our research highlights the importance of e-commerce platforms to help the public survive and identifies that market size and time were associated with the platforms’ CSR choice. The design of prevention and control policies should incorporate and support e-commerce platforms and evaluate the factors when confronting future public health crises.

Strategic CSR practices, strategic orientation and business value creation among multinational subsidiaries in Ghana

Purpose This study aims to examine the direct influence of strategic corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices on business value creation while accounting for the moderating and mediating roles of strategic orientation. Design/methodology/approach It used data from 118 CSR-intensive multinational subsidiaries operating in five major different industries in Ghana and applied hierarchical regression and bootstrapping via Hayes’ PROCESS Macro for the analyses. Findings The results showed that strategic CSR practices comprising of strategic CSR planning, strategic CSR implementation and strategic CSR positioning contribute positively and significantly to business value creation of multinational subsidiaries. Moreover, it found that strategic orientation has directly predicted business value creation significantly and further mediated the nexus between business value creation and the three strategic CSR practices. However, it did not moderate the influence of strategic CSR practices on business value creation. Originality/value The study validates and adds to the knowledge on strategic CSR and business value creation theory by demonstrating that strategic CSR practices of multinational corporation (MNCs) are parallel to their subsidiaries’ commitment to shared growth in host countries. Similarly, it provides a better understanding of the dual roles of MNCs’ strategic orientation on strategic CSR practices and business value creation, thereby offering valuable information about the underlying economic process and context that can affect the strategic business value of firms’ strategic CSR practices.

Conceptualizing corporate social responsibility practice: an integration of obligation and opportunity

Purpose This paper aims to develop an integrated model to analyse the corporate social responsibility (CSR) perception of organizations in a regulated environment. The developed model is used as a basis to analyse practice and perception of CSR using the obligation-opportunity concepts. Design/methodology/approach The paper critically reviews the seminal literature and identifies inherent shortcomings in CSR’s existing conceptualizations. The concepts of implicit and explicit CSR are used to build a case for the integrated obligation-opportunity conceptual model. To analyse the CSR perception of select Indian organizations, a set of propositions are developed. The propositions are evaluated using the interpretive qualitative approach to analyse interviews from 12 CSR heads across 10 organizations. Findings The paper develops an obligation-opportunity conceptual model as an analytical tool to visually map existing CSR models and analyse organizations’ CSR perceptions. The results of the analysis of interviews suggest: the organizations in India are contributing towards CSR to abide by the law that is as an obligation; organizations can contribute towards strategic CSR by incorporating economic, social and environmental responsibilities simultaneously with the help of the developed model; CSR environment in India is implicitly-explicit in nature. Originality/value The proposed obligation-opportunity model enables mapping different theories along the dimensions of obligation-opportunity conceptualizations. It can be a powerful tool for researchers and practitioners to understand, research and strategically implement CSR in the given institutional environment.

Business strategies responding to COVID-19: experience of Chinese corporations

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives adopted by Chinese firms during the outbreak of COVID-19. Facing this unknown, unexpected and devastating disease, Chinese corporations demonstrated their CSR in different approaches. The purpose of this paper is to explore how CSR influences the decisions of the corporations that respond to a severe incident and how corporations can achieve their mission or strategic objectives by responding to a serious incident. Design/methodology/approach Based on secondary data and thematic analysis, this paper examines six Chinese corporations which are the leading firms in their respective industries. Findings This paper finds that firms adopted a mixed approach to conducting their CSR initiatives, including altruistic, strategic and citizenship CSR initiatives. This paper also confirms that strategic CSR initiatives were in line with the five dimensions of strategic CSR including centrality, specificity, proactivity, visibility and voluntarism. In addition, this paper also shows that a company could create its competitive advantage by carrying out CSR initiatives that are able to strengthen its value chain activities or the competitive context. This is based on the partnership built by the firms with their stakeholders to recognize the shared value. Practical implications This paper shows the implication that business leaders should understood the role of a business in society and the importance of stakeholders’ expectations. The underlying philosophy is that CSR could strengthen the resilience of society; business organizations need to operate in a healthy society. Originality/value This paper provides insights of Chinese corporations responding to a severe social incident. It highlights the strategic perspective of CSR initiatives and the linkage between CSR activities and a firm’s competitive advantage.

Investing In Corporate Social Responsibility, Banking Disclosure And Finance In Uzbekistan

Using panel data set from banks in Uzbekistan, a developing country, this paper examines the effects of corporate social responsibility (CSR) investment and disclosure on corporate financial performance. The results from the Wallace and Hussain estimator of component variances (a two- way random and fixed effects panel) suggest that CSR investment without due disclosure would have little or no contribution to corporate financial performance. This paper supports the argument that firms could benefit both financially and non-financially from a strategic CSR agenda.