The Impact of Adopting CSR on the Firm's Overall Performance

The purpose of the chapter is to study what effect CSR has on firms' overall performance in a developing country context. While most of the previous empirical researches focused on the relationship between CSR and financial performance, the present study suggests exploring the impact of CSR on overall performance which encompasses economic, environmental, and social dimensions as well as stakeholders. The empirical study aims to analyze and measure the social and environmental involvement of large Moroccan firms operating in the main sectors of activity and located in different geographical areas. Using multiple linear regression analysis, the authors empirically test the impact of CSR on overall performance on a sample of 44 companies. The main findings reveal that CSR is a driver for improving image and reputation, enabling the firm to achieve overall corporate performance. On the basis of the main results, they set out some managerial implications and further directions for CSR research in developing countries.

Public Policies and the Role of State vs. Sustainable Business Models and Corporate Sustainability

The chapter examines the scope of public administration participation in ensuring that entrepreneurs comply with the principles of sustainable development. It was found that the activities of the state administration in this regard may consist in providing entrepreneurs with the status of applying ESG and CSR principles in their activities, then checking compliance with these principles, informing consumers about the consequences of using products and services produced by the entrepreneurs using the ESG and CSR principles. It was determined that the expectation for the application of ESG and CSR principles can also apply to public administration, which in its activity can contribute to environmental protection by reducing energy consumption in various forms, as well as improving social relations by eliminating corruption.

Corporate Sustainability

This research provides a comprehensive review of corporate sustainability literature in various application areas. The chapter also highlights the gaps in clearly explaining the scope for it extending and incorporating the term of corporate sustainability into other research areas. The main advantage of this study is that it provides an insight into the state of the art of corporate sustainability in various application areas and future development and research directions. In addition to the literature review in this area, the chapter also presents numerous examples of the understanding of corporate sustainability by various business organizations. The chapter analyses nearly 200 different publications in this field available in the Web of Science database. In addition to quantitative analyses, in-depth qualitative research was also carried out.

Circular Economy and Climate Change in Developing Economies

The CE represents a new model for resilient growth in both developed and developing economies that would help to tackle the causes and devastating effects of climate change and climate change risks, meet the 1.5 degree target of the Paris Agreement, and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The CE practices can help to reduce greenhouse gases (CO2, methane, and nitro-oxide) to net zero emissions by 2050 through efficient resources use, elongation of product lifetime, recycling, recovery, reuse, materials substitution, efficient waste reduction and management, sharing service, among others. Given the numerous economic opportunities, innovation, and policy progresses, developing countries should transit to the CE pathway by aligning the CE strategies with the mitigation of climate change and the achievement of SDGs, synergize the CE practices with the existing national policies, and mainstream across sectoral strategy and policy development.

COVID-19 Pandemic Shock

The COVID-19 global pandemic had a shock effect on all spheres of the socio-economic system. It objectively predetermines the urgent necessity to rethink the following phenomena: fundamental foundations of the functioning of modern socio-economic systems and business with capital-centrist principles of their organization, how the shock due to the coronavirus pandemic revealed the marginal possibilities of the existing system of organizing economic activity, patterns of structuring the post-COVID-19 reality and the formation of business principles in the new human-centric socio-economic system. The uncertainty as the fundamental feature of the business environment caused by COVID-19 could become a major challenge for any business in shaping its growth strategy. In this situation, the success of the company depends on managers' understandings of the quality of this uncertainty and the development of an effective strategy for its growth, taking into account the main factors of the formation of the qualitatively new human-centric socio-economic system.

Sustainable Business Models of Companies

In a quest for sources of competitive advantage, an insightful tracking and tracing of the changes that take place in their micro and macro environment is a core competence for enterprises to catch up with market trends. Social and economic changes as well as the growing awareness of the negative anthropogenic impact on the climate and the environment increasingly make today's business models evolve towards sustainability. The aim of this chapter is to analyze the concept of a sustainable business model based on the literature review and then to distinguish the driving and limiting factors behind its implementation in enterprises. Based on an empirical study carried out, a diagnosis will be put forward for the awareness of enterprises as regards the business model pursued and the willingness to integrate social, environmental, and governance aspects. The research methods used in this study relied on critical literature review; descriptive, analytic, and synthetic methods; along with in-depth interviews.

Public-Private Partnership in the Post-Coronavirus Reality

The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the failure of the state to withstand emergencies, threatening the lives of millions of citizens. By introducing regimes of social and economic lockdowns in fighting coronavirus, the state faced a societal crisis. Its consequences can't be overestimated, especially due to economic recovery. The growing distrust of households in the state was caused by the disruption of their usual way of living, the growth of unemployment, and the deterioration in their well-being. So people began to distinguish significant differences between their individual values and preferences institutionalized by the state. Hence, the priority for the state should be to restore citizens' confidence by creating a more inclusive societal environment, minimizing the negative consequences of the societal crisis. Infrastructure PPP projects can demonstrate the social preferences' public priority. The “institutional matrix” of PPP organizational forms makes it possible to choose conditions for public projects' implementation with the absolute priority of the healthcare system.

The Concept of the Triple Bottom Line as a Link Between Sustainability and CSR

The purpose of the chapter is to present the definition, historical background, and core elements of the concept related to sustainability, corporate social responsibility, and the triple bottom line. Common relationships and the differences between these concepts were indicated on the basis of the gathered information scattered in the scientific literature. The empirical part of the chapter allows the assessment of whether the enterprises really refer to the concepts known in the literature. It also presents an assessment of the stage of business today, referring to the business sustainability typology by using research methods such as case survey and TOPSIS.

The Impact of the Pandemic (COVID-19) on the Change of Business Models on the Example of the Banking Industry

Due to the fundamental digitization of social/economic life, it takes on an “on” and “offline” scale image of the world. While analyzing the impact of the ongoing pandemic on the segmentation of world markets, the disruptions in the functioning of some industries, sectors, and entire economies are becoming deeper. The spread of COVID-19 has led to the dysfunction of a known ecosystem, and the destructive force of human isolation and the lockdown of economies have significantly influenced the behavior of societies and governments. Many customer-centric companies have reactively redefined their strategies, and the financial sector, especially banks, was to play an important role in absorbing the shock by providing the necessary credit to businesses and households. Meanwhile, the same institutions have experienced capital and liquidity destabilization due to increased risk reserves created and an operating in conditions of historically low interest rates. Unexpectedly, the pandemic has become another determinant of the new quality of processes, phenomena, and business models.

The Integration of CSR Practices in the Investment Decision

The purpose of the chapter is to understand the practices of decision makers in relation to financial, societal, and environmental concerns and apprehend the appropriateness of integrating CSR practices in the investment decision. The chapter purports to highlight the link between a business strategy based on development investments and the normative or moral obligations of its stakeholders as well as progress in terms of the impact of the proactive integration of societal concerns alongside concerns about value creation for stakeholders. The exploratory study examines the operationalization of CSR practices in the Moroccan mining industry with a focus on the integration of the criteria of four dimensions related to local development, reputation and environmental improvement, water conservation, as well as governance and ethics and their impact on value creation. The chapter sets out some practical implications and further research directions.