Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability through Institutional Legitimacy in Police Forces

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

See the Review report.

Comments for author File: Comments.pdf

Author Response

Attached is the improved version of the paper and response the review 1. The authors have implemented nearly all the reviewers' suggestions. Thank you for your contributions which we believe improve the initial version of the article. 

 

 

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The paper analyses the effect of institutional legitimacy on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and sustainability in police forces through their methods and procedures (procedural justice) that determine citizens' trust in the police, which theoretically influences organised coexistence in human communities (social effectiveness). For this purpose, the authors carry out a poll among citizens of the areas of Murcia and Alicante that allows them to obtain empirical verification (though the use of structural equations) of the fact that the work of the Spanish policy is valued by interviewees and that legitimacy and trust are perceived as positive factor between them and the community.

The article is well structured, presents a quite complete overview of the literature on the topic and the econometric method of analysis is valid, allowing them to obtain sound conclusions (although more complex methods of analysis might have been used would the data collected have been more complete). I would, however, would like to point out some questions which the authors should address before publishing the final version of the paper:

a)     It might no be the author’s main concern discussing the validity of the Spanish Police’s CSR Plan, but one wonders —and not Spanish readers might do even more so— to which extend they pretend to cope with such aspects as “Industry, innovation and  infrastructure”; or “reducing inequality”; “sustainable cities and communities”, etc.

b)     Section 2.1 could be improved by adding a table summarising the main points of the different authors/contributions reviewed, allowing to show their complementarity.

c)     My main concern, however, refers to the selection of the sample: Why have the authors chosen only people from the regions of Murcia and Alicante (do non-Spaniards have to know their geographical peripherical situation a map would be helpful)? Can, thus, the sample be considered representative of the Spanish population as a whole? How did the authors make sure that no foreigners (i.e. not-residents) answered their questionnaire (especially as the Alicante Province has a high number of non-residents)? As the poll was run through universities and of organisations related to the Police, how was it guaranteed that there is no bias in the selection (for example by overrepresenting the percentage of university students), etc.? It would be very helpful if the authors could add a table with some basic descriptive information of the sample (age, sex/gender/, etcetera). In any case, this information would not alter the paper’s conclusions, but —in my opinion— it would be prudent not to conclude (as the authors do) features and results about “citizens” or “Spanish respondents” but stress that the results refer to a subsample of the Spanish population.

Hence, I consider that by including more information about the sample used and by relativising the extension of their conclusions narrowing them down to their geographical field of analysis, the article could be published. 

Author Response

Attached is the improved version of the paper and response the review 2. The authors have implemented nearly all the reviewers' suggestions. Thank you for your contributions which we believe improve the initial version of the article. 

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The article analyzes a topic of relevance to the success of police forces in crime containment. Citizen trust in the police force is key for reporting incidents that lead to the processes of arrest and solving of crimes.

The study examines the relationship between citizens' perception of police legitimacy and Procedural Justice and police transparency, within a context of Corporate Social Responsibility.

The publication is recommended for contributing to the advancement of understanding and knowledge in a sector that is rarely analyzed from an economic perspective, such as the police forces.

The quality of the article is considered sufficient for publication, but this reviewer also offers recommendations that could improve the article, at the authors' discretion:

1.     A better explanation of the sample used. For example, it would be interesting to see if the age and gender distribution of the responses has any influence on the results.

2.     A study conducted in Spain for the Basque Country is mentioned. It would be interesting to see the differences with this study and to examine, for example, if political aspects could influence police legitimacy.

3.     Mention the issues of generalization, or lack thereof, of the conclusions based on the limitations of the sample, especially considering it is drawn from a specific Spanish region.

Author Response

Attached is the improved version of the paper and response the review 3. The authors have implemented nearly all the reviewers' suggestions. Thank you for your contributions which we believe improve the initial version of the article. 

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf