Search Results (16)

The purpose of this study was to propose an interactive computer system that utilises the MATLAB Fuzzy Logic Designer to measure the level of implementation of SDG 8, which focuses on sustainable decent work (SDW) and economic growth. This study used policies and laws as parameters to determine the presence or absence of SDW. The fuzzy method was implemented in car windshield manufacturing in the auto parts industry as a case study to define and quantify work conditions and to determine the level of sustainable decent work (SDWL). The study described environmental conditions, such as noise, lighting, and heat stress; ergonomic factors, such as exposure time, the mass of the object manipulated, and lifting frequency; and organisation at work, such as workplace violence, salary, and workday, as linguistic variables. The level of the presence or absence of SDW was defined as their membership functions. The resulting vectors determined the absence of SDW with a score of 1.5 in two linguistic variables: environmental conditions and ergonomic factors. Some features of SDW in the linguistic variable organisation at work had an SDW score of 5. The SDWL vector determined a final score of 1.24, indicating the absence of decent work in production areas. This study found that the workers suffer a lack of long and healthy lives and a bad standard of living without economic growth due to work-related musculoskeletal disorders and work illnesses, increasing their out-of-pocket spending and catastrophic health expenses. As a CSR approach, assessing SDWLs helped managers improve policies and work conditions. Full article

Adopting social responsibility can be a key strategy for firms to mitigate the impact of production on the environment, contributing to a more sustainable business model. Based on the triple bottom line perspective, we analyze the effect of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) on the willingness to allocate resources to eco-innovation among companies in a developing country. Firm-level data from the Fifth Longitudinal Survey of Chilean Firms are used to estimate a binary probit model for the willingness to eco-innovate and a Heckman sample-selection model for total expenditures and investment in eco-innovation. Results confirm that legal regulations and R&D efforts are drivers of eco-innovation among Chilean firms. Larger-sized and export-oriented firms also exhibit a higher willingness to eco-innovate. The main findings show a positive influence of CSR policy on the willingness to eco-innovate and on the resulting resource allocation decision. Interestingly, the evidence reveals that while financial and environmental CSR dimensions only affect the probability of adopting eco-innovation, the social CSR dimension also increases the amount firms spend on eco-innovation. This result suggests that social CSR may act as a complement to other CSR dimensions. These results are robust when controlling for firm-level specific effects under sample-selection models. Full article

Consumer participation plays a more active role in corporate social responsibility (CSR) than ever before. However, a framework describing how participation approaches generate cognitive and behavior responses in consumers is still lacking. The purpose of this study is to investigate the different effects among consumers’ participation approaches (i.e., spending money versus spending time) on inspiring consumers to engage in CSR. Additionally, we explore consumers’ cognitive mechanisms by identifying the key mediating role of perceived value. A total of 429 participants were recruited using an inter-group between-subjects design, and hypotheses were tested by a structural equation model, including path analysis and bootstrapping procedure method. The results show that consumers tend to have a more positive perception of CSR and greater intention to participate when they spend time rather than money to engage in CSR activities. We also confirmed the importance of perceived value in CSR, as the link between consumer participation type and behavioral intention is fully mediated by perceived value. These findings shed a light on the importance of the participation approach in CSR, contributing to CSR and consumer participation research. Our study also provides meaningful implications for companies to encourage consumers to use their time to participate in CSR activities. Full article

Corporations are now expected to self-regulate in order to uphold their social obligations to society. This is known as the social responsibility of corporations or corporate social responsibility. CSR helps a business to be mindful of the impacts it has on the economy, society, and environment. The most important CSR component for the automotive industry is unquestionably environmental responsibility. Despite the fact that many businesses still place a strong emphasis on economic responsibility, it is widely acknowledged that all three CSR elements are essential for the success of a firm. This study’s objective is to look into the effects of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on business performance in the automobile sector, with an emphasis on Asian nations. Sample companies were selected from the Thomson Reuters database according to the data availability on corporate social performance and firm performance for more than 10 years. Data analysis was performed using the software STATA. Fixed and random effects panel regression models were used to analyse the relationships. The findings of this study are consistent with the idea that corporate social responsibility considerably improves the performance of automobile companies. The study concludes that companies need to focus more on CSR spending, as it improves the financial performance of the company. The study contributes to the existing literature as it validates the strong relationship between CSR components and firm performance in the automobile sector, which has not been much explored in the extant literature. The results of the panel data regression demonstrated that not only the environmental score is significant in determining the firm performance; other components such as social and governance scores are also equally important in achieving the desired firm performance, which is totally against the common notion that since automobile firms cause much damage to the environment, they need to focus only on environmental aspects through their CSR initiatives. Full article

Since the inauguration of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs), environmental performance and sustainability have become more important to decision makers, scientists and leaders of organizations than before. In response to this, leaders of different organizations spend all endeavors conserving resources and ensuring environmental sustainability. In this context, transformational leaders have the capacity to ensure the green performance of their organization. The purpose of this study is to test the link between green transformational leadership (GTL), green innovation (GI), corporate social responsibility (CSR) and green performance (GP) in the hotel industry in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). The study empirically tests the mediating effect of GI and CSR on the link between GTL and GP. The study used a quantitative research method via a pre-test instrument, self-distributed and collected from employees in large hotels at different regions of the KSA. The findings from 732 valid responses, analyzed with structural equation modeling (SEM) showed that GTL had a significant effect on GI (β = +0.72, t-value = 14.603, p < 0.001), CSR (β = +0.58, t-value = 8.511, p < 0.001) and GP (β = +0.17, t-value = 2.585, p < 0.001). Moreover, GI and CSR had a direct positive effect on GP (β = +0.10, t-value = 2.866, p < 0.01 and β = +0.61, t-value = 4.358, p < 0.001, respectively). GI had a partial mediation effect (p = 0.048 < 0.05) on the link between GTL and GP. On the other hand, CSR had a perfect mediation effect (p = 0.077 > 0.05) on the link between GTL and GP. This reflects the vital part that CSR plays in this relationship, which can be changed based on the status of CSR. In addition, this reflects the value of CSR in achieving GP, which contributes to the achievement of environmental sustainability at a national level (i.e., the Green Saudi Initiative) at a regional level (i.e., the Green Middle East Initiative) and at an international level (i.e., UNSDGs). Full article

The aim of this article was to identify the role and specific mechanisms of the stock exchange in promoting corporate social responsibility (CSR) and CSR communications among companies listed on the Romanian capital market given country membership of the European Union. Taking into account the quality of the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BSE) as a member of the Sustainable Stock Exchanges, as well as BSE’s concerns about promoting CSR, a CSR index was built to capture the specific actions of companies listed on this market. The public companies were considered representative for the promotion of CSR based on their size and other relevant features. The index can be seen by companies that can further develop it, test its validity, and employ it as a tool to reassure investors who will decide to spend their money to buy shares and stocks of organizations ranked in the BSE. Full article

This study aims to: (1) investigate the amount of corporate social and environmental responsibility (CSR) spending, awards, and activities of listed companies in the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) and in the Market for Alternative Investment (MAI); (2) test the impact of CSR spending, awards, and financial performance activities; and (3) examine the amount of CSR spending, awards, and activities between companies with and without a CSR committee. The sample included all the listed companies in the resource industry from the SET and the MAI. The data were collected from the companies’ annual reports from 2015 to 2019. Descriptive analysis, an independent-sample t-test, a correlation matrix, and an unbalanced panel data analysis were used to analyze the data. The average level of spending per activity was 2.2964 million baht. There were, on average, 2.1741 awards and 11.4178 activities during the studied period. Moreover, there was a significant negative impact of CSR spending, and a positive impact of CSR awards and activities, on corporate financial performance. Finally, there was a significantly different amount of CSR spending, awards, and activities between the companies with and without a CSR committee. The findings of this study demonstrate that legitimacy theory can be used to explain the benefit of CSR to Thai-listed companies, although CSR is still a voluntary corporate responsibility in Thailand. Full article

The contemporary literature has largely addressed corporate social responsibility (CSR) at the macro or institutional level, whereas its effect at the micro-level is largely ignored. In addition, contemporary researchers have also ignored the importance of employee pro-environmental behavior to reduce the environmental footprint of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). With this background, the present study attempts to decrease the environmental footprint of the SME sector of China by implementing CSR at the micro-level through the involvement of employees because employees spend a significant amount of their time at workplaces, and hence their environment-related behavior may significantly contribute to improve the natural environment. In this regard, here we examined the impact of the micro-foundation of CSR on SMEs’ environmental performance with mediating effect of employees’ pro-environmental behavior. The data were collected from the different organizations in China. Our sample constitutes a supervisor–subordinate dyad from which we collected 562 filled questionnaires (281 from each). We used the structural equation modeling technique using AMOS software for data analysis, the results show that CSR, directly and indirectly, through employee’s pro-environmental behavior affects the environmental performance of SMEs, and employee pro-environmental behavior partially mediates this relationship. The findings of the present study are helpful for policymakers of the SME sector of China to address widespread environmental issues caused by their business operations. Full article

Although the short-term effects of marketing efforts that promote immediate consumer responses have been extensively investigated, the long-term impacts of marketing activities have received little attention. Marketing effects can be carried over time as consumers experience an emotional attachment to products and build trust and affection. In addition, a firm’s advertising spending not only improves customer awareness of the firm’s products and services but also serves to promote other company information, such as the firm’s corporate social responsibility (CSR), a long-term strategic commitment to improving the welfare of customers and society. This paper focuses on the long-term effects of marketing investments by examining the relation between advertising expenditures and a firm’s commitment to CSR, finding that firms with a higher advertising expenditure are more likely to have a higher CSR performance. The findings of this study demonstrate that marketing investments are related to a firm’s long-term sustainable activities. Additionally, the finding may indicate that a firm’s CSR initiatives are influenced by the extent to which the firm commits to advertising that promotes customer awareness of the firm’s products and services. Full article

Despite the significance of corporate social responsibility (CSR), there remains an extensive debate regarding its implications for firm value. This study examines the moderating effects of financial flexibility and R&D investment on CSR and firm value. Using multiple archival data of 2311 companies from 2010 to 2016, our study finds that CSR is a “double-edged sword” for firm value; specifically, CSR significantly increases systematic risk but reduces firms’ idiosyncratic risk as well as the Tobin’s q. Besides, the results indicate that financial flexibility and R&D investment significantly reduce the negative correlation between CSR and Tobin’s q, the difference between the two being that financial flexibility can reduce the positive relationship between CSR and system risk, while R&D spending can reduce the negative relationship between CSR and idiosyncratic risk. By adding new aspects to the discussion about how CSR affects firm value, the results speak to both theorists and practitioners. Full article

In contemporary society, customers tend to spend money on goods and services they trust not only in terms of their quality but also because of their ethical production standards; therefore, thanks to integrating corporate social responsibility (CSR) into business activities, a company can ensure that their business success is in line with high moral principles and social expectations. Considering the paint business in the Vietnamese context, this study aims to investigate the effects of CSR related to the environmental management practices of companies in the paint industry. By analyzing data collected from 269 project managers and the purchasing managers of construction companies located in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, the findings show that CSR programs generally have a positive relationship with perceived reputation, organizational customer satisfaction, and environmental management practices (EMPs). Furthermore, the results also indicate that EMPs have no significant impact on organizational customer satisfaction, and perceived reputation is not associated with either customer satisfaction or commitment in the business-to-business (B2B) context. It is worth noting that the results provide some managerial recommendations for paint companies. Full article

A CEO who has an opportunity to pursue his interest may sacrifice investors with inefficient investments such as overinvestment in corporate social responsibility (CSR). As prior researchers have suggested a possibility to detect the perk portion of CSR investment using the dividend tax cut event, we tested whether managers decreased CSR spending while accelerating dividend payouts during the Korean dividend tax cut of 2015. Consistent with the prior studies on the dividend tax cut, we discovered a pattern of incremental dividend increase for the companies of agency conflict measured by extreme CEO ownership. However, we failed to find any statistically significant simultaneous reduction in donations after 2015. This study does not provide evidence that investments in CSR of Korean firms are not due to CEOs’ personal interest-seeking. Instead, we showed that the dividend tax cut event may not work as a universally applicable quasi-experimental setting to detect management overinvestments in CSR. Full article

Foreign direct investment (FDI) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) spending are one of the major factors in improving sustainable economic development of a country. Therefore, this study focuses on the multi criteria application of FDI and sustainability factors (CSR spending) in various developing countries to explore its impact and decision making for sustainable economic growth. The study uses a case study methodology whereby FDI, exchange rate, and CSR expenditure data from 20 countries were used to assess the efficiency in sustainable economic growth. Data were collected from the World Bank for 20 Asian and African developing countries during 2012–2017 and analyzed using GM (1,1), mean absolute percentage error (MAPE), Malmquist productivity index (MPI)-data envelopment analysis (DEA), and the slacks-based measure of efficiency (SBM) model. Correlation analysis is used to find the relationship for FDI, CSR, exchange rate, gross domestic product (GDP), and GDP per capita (GDPPC). The results of the Malmquist productivity index and the frontier effect clearly highlight that a few countries have witnessed a great improvement in terms of productivity and technological progression. Therefore, the decision makers must adopt the model of those countries with respect to sustainable development of the nation. This study helps developing nations as well as researchers to benchmark efficient countries and follow their strategies to develop a new one for utilizing FDI and CSR spending in sustainable economic development. The study also helps policy makers in multi criterion application of FDI and CSR for decision making in economic development. Full article

As corporate social responsibility (CSR) gains momentum in the business world, it is imperative to comprehend the relationship between CSR and corporate financial performance (CFP). While there is prior research looking at this relationship, scholars have proposed a contingency view that is meant to determine the situational contexts in which critical associations between CFP and CSR activities will arise. This study provides further insight into the moderating effects of corporate political activity, specifying the ways in which different arrangements of corporate CSR and CPA might align or otherwise, thus influencing CFP beyond associated dissimilar effects on corporate performance. The data for this study was obtained for the periods 2007–2016 from the samples selected from the list of Fortune’s World’s Most Admired Companies. The dynamic panel data was analyzed using the System Generalized Method of Moment estimation. The main findings are that CSR does not significantly influence CFP. However, CPA does negatively moderate the relationship between CSR and CFP. This indicates that high political expenditures worsen a firm’s financial position compared to the financial position of firms with less spending on CPA. Full article

Disclosures on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) practices of business organizations have heightened over the past few decades due to increased awareness. Major contributions in the literature on CSR practices and their disclosures come from the studies conducted in the developed world, while many developing economies like Pakistan remain under-researched and fewer revelations have been made about their CSR practices. Therefore, the present study aims to explore various aspects of CSR practices of Pakistani firms and their reporting trends. A multimethod approach has been adopted to measure CSR practices with respect to both approaches, quantitative and qualitative, for 170 listed firms from 2008 to 2015. First, content analysis is employed to develop a CSR Disclosure Index (CSRD Index) as well as five sub indices, i.e., community welfare, health and education, environment and energy, product, and customer and workforce. Second, a multidimensional financial approach is used to calculate firm’s CSR monetary spending ratio (CSR-MSR) using the monetary data of CSR activities. Results suggested that most Pakistani firms disclose more information about their product-, customer-, and stakeholder-related CSR activities and put less emphasis on health and education responsibilities. Moreover, there is a strong impact of government reforms on both the firm’s CSR disclosures and monetary giving. Full article