Corporate governance and extent of corporate sustainability practice: the role of investor activism

Purpose Following the unceasing pressure on companies to adopt sustainable business practices to mitigate climate effect, this study aims to examine corporate governance (CG) attributes and role of activist investors in influencing extensive sustainability practice for firms in the developed and emerging climes. Design/methodology/approach Using a panel ordered probit regression analysis for 368 companies over 2016 to 2019, the study examined CG attributes that drive extensive corporate sustainability practice. The study addressed endogeneity bias using STATA Extended panel ordered probit regression model with endogenous covariates. Findings The result showed CG attributes is critical for firms, and activist investors play a critical role in driving extensive sustainability practice. Findings further reveal the extent of adoption is relatively low in the emerging climes but showed sign of improvement over the years examined. Research limitations/implications The study focused mainly on larger firms operating in different sectors globally. Hence, findings cannot be generalized for small sized entities. Practical implications The study provides an insightful explanation regarding the extensive sustainability practices and the vital role assumed by activist investors. Social implications The increasing number of companies responding to Carbon Disclosure Project and consequent improvement in scores indicates a corporate commitment to ensuring a sustainable future. Originality/value This research offers significant insights to the extent discussion on attributes of CG critical for sustainability practice. The findings ascertain useful tools to aid the continued adoption of sound sustainability practices around the globe.

CSR and shared value in multi-stakeholder relationships in South African mining context

Purpose Mining is surrounded by controversy, in spite of corporate social responsibility (CSR) projects. This study aims to explore the theory on CSR and shared value (SV) and identified a gap in an approach to implementing CSR and SV. Perceptions of multi-stakeholder relationships in the South African mining context were elicited. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative research design included 17 semi-structured interviews with 3 stakeholder groups, including members of the community, government representatives and mining management and secondary data of company documents on CSR. Findings The qualitative research revealed important gaps between CSR and SV theoretical frameworks, normative ethical approaches and operationalizing of these at the mine to the detriment of effective multi-stakeholder relationships. Practical implications Mines have to engage with the community and government stakeholders proactively and build relationships. Social implications Ethical normative approaches have to be considered. Government has to take note of this study’s findings with regards to negative consequences of institutionalized CSR for trust between mines and communities. Originality/value The literature review differentiates theoretically between normative and instrumental stakeholder theory, philanthropic and business case CSR, SV and their implicit normative ethical approaches. The semi-structured interviews revealed legacy issues and lack of engagement between mine and community as main barriers to multi-stakeholder relationships and raised important questions on normative ethical approaches to CSR and SV. The direct and indirect barriers by government, community and mine management are identified and differentiated.

A paradigm shift in corporate social responsibility: India’s transition from mandatory regime to the COVID-19 era

Purpose This study aims to examine the pattern of corporate social responsibility expenditure (CSRE) incurred by Indian companies after the inception of Companies Act 2013. It also highlights the resultant change brought in the corporate social responsibility (CSR) spends of the companies because of COVID-19 pandemic. Design/methodology/approach The CSR index provided by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs under Companies (CSR Policy) Rules 2014, is adopted to measure the extent of CSRE made by top 30 Indian companies listed on Bombay Stock Exchange. To study the pattern of CSRE in various domains mentioned in the CSR index, the study is conducted over four points of time. Three alternative years since the commencement of the Companies Act 2013 i.e. 2014–2015, 2016–2017 and 2018–2019 have been taken up. Additionally, the financial year 2019–2020 is included as it marks the inception of the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings The findings show that the CSRE made by companies is increasing every year over all points of time taken in the study. In addition to this, Indian companies have voluntarily contributed a substantial amount towards COVID-19 relief over and above the required mandatory limits. Practical implications The gradual increase in CSR contributions even above the mandated amount and voluntary contribution towards COVID-19 relief by Indian companies implies that the nature of CSR in India is still philanthropic. Originality/value The study contributes to the CSR literature after the implementation of the mandatory CSR provisions in India and in the wake of the global pandemic caused by COVID-19 as so far there is no such study available in the extant literature.

Biodiversity reporting practices of the South African national parks

Purpose This paper aims to explore the biodiversity reporting by a state-owned entity responsible for conserving and protecting biodiversity assets in South Africa, the South African National Parks (SANParks) (SOC) Limited. Design/methodology/approach This study uses content analysis to explore and investigate the disclosure themes in the SANParks reports for the period 2013–2017. The frequency of substantive disclosures is also evaluated over a five-year period. The data are presented graphically in frequency charts and supported by descriptive statistics and univariate correlations for non-normal data. This provides insights into the amount of information being disclosed and the interconnections among biodiversity reporting themes. Findings SANParks has increased its reporting on biodiversity over time. Disclosures are interconnected and deal with a range of issues, including species at risk of extinction, operational considerations, risk management practices and how SANParks evaluates its environmental performance. The information is detailed and included in different parts of the organisation’s annual reports suggesting a genuine commitment to protecting biodiversity. There are areas for improvement but SANParks frames biodiversity as a central part of its strategy, operations and assurance processes something which would not occur if the disclosures were only about managing impressions. Originality/value The study is among the first to explore biodiversity disclosure themes in a state-owned entity in Africa, responsible for the conservation. While the study deals with a specific case entity, the findings are broadly applicable for other organisations keen on constructing a biodiversity account.

Employee-level consequences of perceived internal and external CSR: decoding the moderation and mediation paths

Purpose This paper aims to examine whether and how internal and external typologies of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and employees’ CSR participation (CSRP) differentially impact organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) and turnover intentions (TI), mediated by meaningful work (MW) and affective commitment (AC) and moderated by CSR motive attributions. Design/methodology/approach Bootstrapped structural equation modeling using AMOS and mediation and moderation analysis using Hayes’ Process macro in SPSS are performed on a sample of 193 employees from diverse industries in India. Findings The CSR-work outcomes relationship is rather multifaceted. Internal CSR (ICSR) and CSRP directly promote the meaningfulness of work and AC. Further, all three kinds of CSR (ICSR, external CSR (ECSR) and CSRP) influence work behaviors (OCB and TI) sequentially via MW and AC. Intrinsic (extrinsic) CSR attributions strengthen (weaken) the positive effect of ECSR on MW. Nevertheless, the conditional indirect effects could not be established, warranting further investigation. Practical implications The management must elevate employees’ CSR awareness allowing them to partake in the planning and execution of CSR programs that are authentic, righteous and seamlessly unified with core business activities to nurture work meaningfulness and positive employee attitudes and behaviors. Originality/value This is the foremost study that involves a bibliometric analysis of employee-based CSR research and a systematic meta-analytic review of the relationship between CSR and meaningfulness from employees’ perspectives. The present study is novel as it divulges an integrative framework about how employees’ CSR perceptions, participation/volunteering and attributions collectively influence the work outcomes at three levels (namely, cognitive, attitudinal and behavioral), drawing on sensemaking, needs and justice-based views, social identity, social exchange and attribution theories. Thus, new nuances are added to extant micro-CSR literature.

Co-opetition, corporate responsibility and sustainability: why multi-dimensional constructs matter

Purpose This study aims to set out to develop and validate a new instrument to measure the multi-dimensional nature of co-opetition in corporate responsibility and sustainability (CRS). It is anticipated that this instrument will prove useful to firms wanting to adopt measures that support relevant sustainability strategies. Design/methodology/approach The scale development concerns three separate components, namely, item generation through expert interviews; a pilot study conducted for scale purification; and a final study for scale confirmation and validation, respectively. The final study comprises 215 firms across 11 sectors in Australia that engage in co-opetitive alliances for CRS activities. Findings This study empirically validates the distinctiveness of three dimensions (commonality-driven, competition-driven and collaboration-driven) of co-opetition in relation to CRS resulting in a 15-item multi-dimensional scale. The three dimensions were found to be important aspects both in terms of scale validity and organisational consideration. Research limitations/implications This study proposes a new research area regarding the proposed framework, as well as practical strategies for practitioners when considering co-opetition and their firm’s engagement in CRS activities. Originality/value Prior studies in similar areas have mainly comprised conceptual or qualitative approaches and do not tend to focus on all three aspects of co-opetition, corporate social responsibility and sustainability.

Exploring the influence of lean manufacturing practices on employee social sustainability

Purpose The benefits of adopting lean manufacturing for leveraging corporate sustainability have been highlighted in the literature. However, these studies have neglected the social side of sustainability compared with the attention given to the environmental aspects. Addressing this gap, this paper aims to investigate the influence of lean practices on the dimensions of employee social sustainability (ESS), which enabled the identification of the most critical practices. Design/methodology/approach This paper conducted an exploratory study in two phases: first, seeking evidence in the literature, and second, applying the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to connect ESS to lean practices based on expert opinion. Findings From the literature review, this paper found linkages between eight lean manufacturing practices and four dimensions of ESS. Based on evidence from the literature, the authors designed and applied an AHP model to set priorities among lean practices and social dimensions. Therefore, “health and safety” was evaluated as the most critical social dimension, and 5S was considered the most influential lean practice on ESS. Originality/value This study contributed to introducing the perspective of lean manufacturing practices as enablers of ESS. Notably, it pointed out which specific practices should be prioritized in the lean implementation process with social sustainability purposes. In addition, it identified relationships not reported in the literature, raising questions for further investigation.

Rationality, experiences or identity work? Sensemaking of emotionally tense experiences of organizational sustainability

Purpose Although emotional tensions related to organizational sustainability have been identified, little is known about how employees aim to resolve such situations. This study aims to explore how employees use sensemaking to resolve emotionally tense situations concerning organizational sustainability. Design/methodology/approach The authors studied a case in which, while employees attached positive emotions to organizational sustainability, external stakeholders viewed it negatively. Specifically, the study analyzed how employees used sensemaking to resolve such tense experiences and how this sensemaking eventually influenced their actions. To this end, the authors interviewed 25 employees at an energy company who had experience participating in its sustainability work. Findings The analysis revealed three sensemaking mechanisms for resolving emotional tensions related to organizational sustainability caused by discrepancies between external reputation and internal personal experience: rational sensemaking, experiential sensemaking and identity work. The complexity of sensemaking was reflected in the mixed-use of these three mechanisms, as employees constantly moved from one to another. Originality/value This study demonstrates employees’ tendency to defend their positive emotions about their organization’s sustainability in tense situations. It further provides insights into related sensemaking processes and shows how they can result in different levels of action.

Determinants of recycling behavior in higher education institution

Purpose This study aims to investigate the impact of theory of planned behavior (namely, attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control) on recycling intention, as well as the relationship between recycling intention and behavior in one of the top five universities in Malaysia. In addition, the mediation effect of recycling intention on the relationships is investigated. Design/methodology/approach A total of 180 responses were collected using online survey that distributed via Google Form. SmartPLS was used for data analysis via outer and inner model assessment. The assessments include construct reliability, validity and hypotheses testing. Findings The findings indicated that attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control have a positive and significant relationship with students’ recycling intention. Besides, students’ recycling intention is positively related to actual recycling behavior. Additionally, this study also discovered that recycling intention mediates the relationship between attitude and recycling behavior, between subjective norm and recycling behavior, as well as between perceived behavioral control and recycling behavior. Practical implications The result of the study may serve as a guide for universities or higher education institutions to design effective recycling campaigns to promote the campus sustainability. Originality/value Universities are in a crucial position to make a huge impact when they recycle. In Malaysia, there is still a lack of high concern of universities toward green and sustainability concept. This paper fulfils the gap to study how recycling behavior can be enabled.

Investigating determinants of localised corporate social responsibility: evidence from Pakistan

Purpose This study aims to investigate the determinants of localised corporate social responsibility (LCSR) activities in Pakistan. The present study explores factors influencing the corporate sector to promote the welfare of local areas where the company has located its manufacturing plants. Design/methodology/approach The authors selected 100 companies listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange. Data were collected from the companies’ financial reports issued from 2012 to 2017 (N = 700). The authors analysed the data using fixed- and random-effects regression models to test the factors influencing LCSR activities. Findings The findings indicate that directors’ ancestry significantly enhances LCSR. This implies that boards with a greater number of directors whose names indicate their relevant ancestry are more likely to engage in LCSR. Moreover, environmental-protection activity by the corporate sector promotes LCSR initiatives. However, Pakistan’s corporate sectors are not promoting the essential aspects of their workers’ welfare, e.g. health and education. Research limitations/implications The present study was limited to the directors’ ancestry, environmental corporate social responsibility (CSR), CSR for factory workers and donation. Other factors, such as culture and language, may play an important role in determining LCSR. Practical implications The results suggest that the Security and Exchange Commission of Pakistan should emphasise the importance of LCSR to develop rural areas and devise meaningful policy for CSR. These findings provide substantial evidence that regulators and policymakers should encourage the inclusion of LCSR by firms listed on the stock exchange to increase environmental protection through CSR policy. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to explore the determinants of LCSR. Moreover, the present study investigates for the first time the influence of directors’ ancestry on rural development in any of Asia’s developing countries, including Pakistan. The findings of this study contribute theoretically and empirically to the literature.