Corporate social responsibility in the era of globalization: Balancing profitability and sustainable practices
Keywords:
Corporate social responsibility; CSR’s pyramid; content analysis; Pakistan.Abstract
The main purpose of this study is to observe the order and urgency of various dimensions & indicators used for expression of corporate social responsibility (CSR), specific to Carroll’s pyramid. Quantitative technique was applied through content analysis to measure the variables of the study within corporations operating in Pakistan. It was observed that enterprises in Pakistan prioritize the economic and legal activities (as expected), however, unlikely, the ethical dimension was least disclosed as compared to philanthropic. CSR’s indicators relevant to financials, customers/products, human resource and environment were disclosed more; however, sport was almost ignored by all the enterprises. In addition, a minute but gradual increase in the level of CSR was noticed in the sample period. Due to irregular patterns, this study signals =that CSR is not a universal phenomenon which was judged by applying Carroll CSR’s pyramid. Local institutions (formal and informal) should set together, develop mutual consensus about the concept of CSR and establish a win-win situation, which is acceptable to stakeholders and corporations simultaneously.
References
Acs, Z.J. (2013). Why philanthropy matters: How the wealthy give, and what It means for our economic well-being, Princeton University Press, NJ.
Aguilera, R.V., Rupp, D., Williams, C.A., & Ganapathi, J. (2007). Putting the S Back in corporate social responsibility: A multi-level theory of social change in organizations. Academy of Management Review, 32, 836-863.
Antonetti, P., & Maklan, S. (2016a). An extended moral of moral outrage at corporate social irresponsibility. Journal of Business Ethics, 135(3), 429-444.
Aupperle, K.E., Hatfield, J.D., & Carroll, A.B. (1983). Instrument development and application in corporate social responsibility. Academy of Management Proceedings, 1(2), 369-373.
Babalola, Y.A. (2012). The impact of corporate social responsibility on firms’ profitability in Nigeria. European Journal of Economics, Finance and Administrative Sciences, 45, 39-50.
Barker, B, Ingersoll, L., & Teal, G. (2014). Understanding CSR culture and subcultures: Consensual and conflicting narratives. International Journal of Employment Studies, 22(2), 25-48.
Bowen, G.A. (2009). Document analysis as a qualitative research method. Qualitative Research Journal, 9(2), 27-40.
Brammer, S., Jackson, G., & Matten, D. (2012). Corporate social responsibility and institutional theory: new perspectives on private governance. Socio-Economic Review, 10(1), 3-28.
Burton, B.K., & Goldsby, M. (2009). Corporate social responsibility orientation, goals, and behavior: a study of small business owners. Bus. Soc. 48(1), 88-104.
C. Gimenez, V. Sierra., & J. Rodon. (2012). Sustainable operations: Their impact on the triple bottom line. International Journal of Production and Economy, 140(1), 149-159.
Carroll, A.B. (1979). A three-dimensional conceptual model of corporate performance. Academy of Management Review, 4(4), 497-505.
Carroll, A.B. (1991). The pyramid of corporate social responsibility: Toward the moral management of organisational stakeholders. Business Horizons, 34, 39-48.
Carroll, AB. (1999). Corporate social responsibility: Evolution of a definitional construct. Business and Society, 38(3).
Cavanagh, G. (2004). Global business ethics: Regulation, code, or self-restraint. Business Ethics Quarterly, 14(4), 625-642.
Cochran, P. L. (2007). The evolution of firm social responsibility. Business Horizons, 50(6), 449-454.
Cooke, F.L., & He, Q. (2010). Corporate social responsibility and HRM in China: A study of textile and apparel enterprises. Asia Pacific Business Review, 16(3), 355-376.
Corvino, A., Caputo, F., Pironti, M., Doni, F. & Bianchi Martini, S. (2019). The moderating effect of firm size on relational capital and firm performance: evidence from Europe. Journal of Intellectual Capital, 20(4), 510-532.
Craig, R., & Amernic, J. (2002). Accountability of accounting educators and the rhythm of the university: resistance strategies for postmodern blues. Accounting Education, 11(2), 121-171.
Deephouse, D. L., Newburry, W., & Soleimani, A. (2016). The effects of institutional development and national culture on cross-national differences in corporate reputation. Journal of World Business, 51(3), 463-473.
D'heur, M. (2015). Sustainable value chain management: Delivering sustainability through the core business, Springer International Publishing, Cham.
Dusuki, A.W., & Tengku Mohd Yusof, T.F.M. (2008). The pyramid of corporate social responsibility model: Empirical evidence from Malaysian stakeholder perspectives. Malaysian Accounting Review, 7(2), 29-54.
Elhajjar, S., & Ouaida, F. (2020). Identifying the drivers of resistance to corporate social responsibility: the case of Lebanese SMEs. Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management: An International Journal, 15(4), 543-560.
Fatma, M., Rahman, Z., & Khan, I. (2015). The role of CSR as a determinant of consumer responses in financial sector. Decision, 42(4), 393-401.
Fernando, S., & Lawrence, S. (2014). A theoretical framework for CSR practices: integrating legitimacy theory, stakeholder theory and institutional theory. The Journal of Theoretical Accounting, 10(1), 149-178.
Frederick, W.C. (1960). The growing concern over business responsibility. California Management Review, 2(4), 54-61.
Freeman, R.E. (1984). Strategic planning: A stakeholder approach, Pitman, Boston.
Friedman, M. (1970). The social responsibility of business is to increase its profits. The New York Times Magazine, 211-227.
García, M.P., Herrero, A., & Rodríguez, I. (2005). Influence of corporate social responsibility on loyalty and valuation of services. Journal of Business Ethics, 61(4), 369-385.
Godfrey, P.C. (2005). The relationship between corporate philanthropy and shareholder wealth: a risk management perspective. The Academy of Management Review, 30(4), 777-798.
Gray, R., R. Kouhy., & S. Lavers. (1995). Constructing a research database of social and environmental reporting by UK companies. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, 8(2), 78-101.
Heinrich, E. (2017). Overcoming regional retention issues: How some Michigan organisations use CSR to attract and engage top talent. Corporate Social Responsibility, Sustainability, and Ethical Public Relations: Strengthening Synergies with Human Resources, Emerald Publishing, 89-122.
Homburg, C., Stierl, M., & Bornemann, T. (2013). Corporate Social Responsibility in Business-to-Business Markets: How Organizational Customer Account for Supplier Corporate Social Responsibility Engagement. Journal of Marketing, 7(5), 54-72.
Inoue, Y., & Lee, S. (2011). Effects of different dimensions of corporate social responsibility on corporate financial performance in tourism-related industries. Tourism Management, 32, 790-804.
Jaiyeoba, H.B., Adewale, A.A., & Quadry, M.O. (2018). Are Malaysian Islamic banks¡ corporate social responsibilities effective? A stakeholders’ view. International Journal of Bank Marketing, 36(1), 111-125.
Jamali, D. (2010). The CSR of MNC subsidiaries in developing countries: global, local, substantive or diluted?. Journal of Business Ethics, 93(2), 181-200.
Jenkins, H. (2006). Small business champions for corporate social responsibility. Journal of Business Ethics, 67(3), 241-256.
Jensen, H.J. (2018). Complexity science research philosophy, In Mitleton-Kelly E., Paraskevas A. and Day C. (Eds.), Handbook of Research Methods in Complexity Science: Theory and Applications, Edward Elgar Publishing, London, 2-3.
Khondkar, E.K., Suh, S., & Tang, J. (2016). Do ethical firms create value?. Social Responsibility Journal, 12(1), 54-68.
Krippendorff, K. (1980). Validity in content analysis, in Mochmann, E. (Ed.), Computerstrategienfur€ die kommunikations analyse, Campus Frankfurt, 69-112.
Layzer Sherwood, E. (2006). Corporate social responsibility reports are on the rise’, Ethikos (Jan/Feb), 13-16.
Lilian, J., K. (2016). Corporate social responsibility in developing economies: Organisation, communication and activity dimensions of local large firms in Kenya and Tanzania, East Africa. The University of Manchester (Faculty of Humanities).
Malcolm, Borthwick. (2006). Pakistan steels itself for sell-offs. Retrieved from BBC News.
Maqbool, S., & Zameer, M.N. (2018). Corporate social responsibility and financial performance: an empirical analysis of Indian banks. Future Business Journal, 4(1), 84-93.
Ministry of finance Pakistan. (2016). http://www.finance.gov.pk/survey/chapters_17/Economic_Indicators.pdf.
Munaza Kanwal, Farida Khanam, Shagufta Nasreen, & Shahid Hameed. (2013). Impact of corporate social responsibility on the firm’s financial performance. Journal of Business and Management, 14(5), 67-74.
Murillo, D., & Lozano, J.M. (2009). Pushing forward SME CSR through a network: an account from the Catalan model. Business Ethics: A European Review, 18(1), 7-20.
North, D. C. (1990). Institutions, institutional change and economic performance. Cambridge University.
Pienaar, M. (2010). Factors affecting the attraction and retention of generation Y at a petroleum company–what role does corporate social responsibility play?. University of Cape Town.
Porter, M.E., & Kramer, M.R. (2002). The competitive advantage of corporate philanthropy. Harvard Business Review, 80(12), 56-68.
Porter, M.E., & Kramer, M.R. (2011). Creating shared value. Harvard Business Review, 89(1-2), 62-77.
Pratihari, S.K., & Uzma, S.H. (2018). Corporate social identity: an analysis of the Indian banking sector. International Journal of Bank Marketing, 36(7), 1248-1284.
Puente, E., J. Sabate., & J. Garcia. (2007). Firm social performance (CSP) and firm reputation: Two interwoven perspectives. Firm Reputation Review, 10(1), 60-72.
Puukka, J. (2008). Mobilising higher education for sustainable development – lessons learnt from the OECD study. 4th International Barcelona Conference on Higher Education, Global University Network for Innovation (GUNI), Barcelona.
Reverte, G-M., & Cegarra-Navarro. (2016). The influence of corporate social responsibility practices on organizational performance: Evidence from eco-responsible Spanish firms. Journal of Cleaner Production, 112, 2870-2884.
Santos, M. (2011). CSR in SMEs: strategies, practices, motivations and obstacles. Social Responsibility Journal, 7(3), 490-508.
Schmidt, M.A., Cracau, D. (2018). A cross-country comparison of the corporate social responsibility orientation in Germany and Qatar: an empirical study among business students. Bus. Prof. Ethics J. 37(1), 67-104.
Setó-Pamies, D.; & Papaoikonomou, E. (2020). Sustainable development goals: A powerful framework for embedding ethics, CSR, and sustainability in management education. Sustainability, 12, 1762.
Shanmugam, K. (2013). Environment CSR initiatives of manufacturing units in India–an empirical study. African Journal of Business Management, 7(16), 1560-1570.
Slack, R., 7 Munz, M. (2016). Intellectual capital reporting, leadership and strategic change. Journal of applied accounting research, 17(1), 61-83.
Soundararajan, V., Jamali, D., & Spence, L.J. (2017). Small business social responsibility: a critical multilevel review. Synthesis and Research Agenda, International Journal of Management Reviews, 20(4), 934-956.
Steiner, G.A. (1971). Business and Soceity. New York: Random House.
UNECA. (2011). Corporate Social responsibility initiatives. Minerals and Africa’s Development the International Study Group Report on Africa’s Mineral Regimes, Addis Ababa, 81-89.
Vilanova, M., Lozano, J.M., & Arenas, D. (2009). Exploring the nature of the relationship between CSR and competitiveness. Journal of Business Ethics, 87(1), 57-69.
Visser, W. (2009). Corporate social responsibility in developing countries. In book the Oxford handbook of corporate social responsibility, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Wang, H., & Qian, C. (2011). Corporate philanthropy and corporate financial performance: the roles of stakeholder response and political access. Academy of Management Journal, 54(6), 1159-1181.
Wang, H., Choi, J., & Li, J. (2008). Too little or too much? Untangling relationship between corporate philanthropy and firm financial performance. Organization Science, 19(1), 143-159.
Wang, Y., & Berens, G. (2015). The impact of four types of corporate social performance on reputation and financial performance. Journal of Business Ethics, 131(2), 337-359.
Welbeck, E.E.S., Owusu, G.M.Y., Simpson, S.N.Y., & Bekoe, R.A. (2020). CSR in the telecom industry of a developing country: employees’ perspective. Journal of Accounting in Emerging Economies, 10(3).
Williams, O. (2004). The UN Global Compact: The challenge and the promise. Business Ethics Quarterly, 14(4), 755-774.
Young, M.N., Peng, M.W., Ahlstrom, D., Bruton, G.D., & Jiang, Y. (2008). Corporate governance in emerging economies: a review of the principal–principal perspective. Journal of Management Studies. 45(1), 196-220.
Zheng, Q., Luo, Y., & Maksimov, V. (2014). Achieving legitimacy through corporate social responsibility: the case of emerging economy firms. Journal of World Business, 687, 1-15.