Narrow Results

Using a unique panel dataset consisting of 2997 Chinese manufacturing firms publicly listed in the A-share market between 2003 and 2020, we examine whether and to what extent a firm’s perception of uncertainty affects green innovation. After integrating textual analysis with a machine learning approach to measure perception of uncertainty, we find that a firm’s perception of environmental uncertainty negatively affects the number of green patents submitted or approved. The negative effect is weaker for firms followed by more professional analysts, operating in more competitive markets, or located in regions with better institutional settings. In addition, there is significant heterogeneity in the negative effect between non-state-owned versus state-owned firms as well as polluting versus non-polluting firms. The results are robust to different measures of green innovation and perception of uncertainty, and after addressing for potential endogeneity problem. Our study contributes to the literature on behavioral environmental economics by demonstrating that it is not only the environment uncertainty but also how firms perceive the uncertainty matters for green innovation and corporate social responsibility.

This study examines the dynamics of sustainable economic growth in 15 developing Asian economies spanning from 2005 to 2020, utilizing the Cross-Sectional Augmented Autoregressive Distributed Lag technique. It highlights the significant role played by Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in promoting green growth and emphasizes their crucial contribution to fostering environmentally conscious development. The findings indicate a positive relationship between SMEs’ numbers, revenues and green growth, underscoring their essential role in advancing environmental sustainability. The study also notes the limited impact of government-provided SME loans on green growth, suggesting a reassessment of loan programs. In contrast, the effects of Foreign Direct Investment absorption, electricity consumption and digital transformation on green growth vary, providing valuable policy insights. Particularly noteworthy is the significant influence of SMEs’ revenues, highlighting the importance of their financial success in promoting sustainable development. Recommendations include incentivizing Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives to strengthen SMEs’ commitment to sustainability and formulating policies that incorporate emerging technologies such as cryptocurrency to enhance environmental responsibility.

Accelerating the achievement of sustainable development goals (SDGs) can start from the village. This study aims to map the distribution of village-owned enterprises (BUM Desa) and companies as well as analyze the potential of CSR programs to support the development of village economics in Bogor Regency, Indonesia. We used the quantitative approaches, including spatial analysis, descriptive statistical tests, and Kendall’s $\tau$. The results showed that BUM Desa are often found in several sub-districts with companies in the area. In contrast, companies with CSR programs are predominantly in sub-districts near the Bogor Regency Chief’s office and the Bekasi area border. The CSR programs have a strong relationship with the development of BUM Desa, which is proven by the distribution of BUM Desa and its developing status in areas with companies with active CSR programs. This study is expected to assist in policy planning related to local economic development in the village.

The environmental policy and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) are two notions of high importance for enterprises and nations. Numerous pages have been written about the environmental policy of companies in their CSR reports. Whether it concerns to raise environmental awareness among their employees or local communities or to give in detail their environmental footprint at the end of the story it is about giving proofs of their environmental policy. Climate change is among the topics of CSR reports and is under examination in this paper. A case study analysis will be applied in order to present how climate change is interpreted in the CSR reports of Greek companies from the petroleum refining industry.

Synopsis

The research problem

This study investigated how firms employ corporate social responsibility (CSR) as a precautionary strategy in response to heightened concerns about cybersecurity following the adoption of data breach disclosure laws in the United States.

Motivation

CSR has garnered substantial attention in contemporary society. Simultaneously, the last few decades have witnessed a rapid surge of the digital economy. However, it remains unclear how CSR is adapting to digitalization. In this study, I focused on cybersecurity, a pivotal challenge in the digital age.

Theoretical reasoning

The enactment of data breach disclosure laws enhances the reporting of cybersecurity incidents and intensifies concerns about cybersecurity, promoting firms to take measures to mitigate the adverse impacts of data breaches. Building on the theory that CSR functions like an insurance policy, I hypothesized that firms increase their engagement in CSR to fortify their reputation after the enactment of data breach disclosure laws, helping cushion the potential impact of future breaches.

Analyses

The main analysis employed a difference-in-differences research design to compare the changes in CSR engagement between firms with high and low levels of cybersecurity risk following the enactment of data breach disclosure laws in the United States. Cross-sectional analyses delved into the underlying mechanisms. Additional analyses first explored the role of CSR in mitigating stock price decline and then illustrated reputational concerns after data breaches.

Findings

The main analysis showed that firms with high cybersecurity risk increase their CSR engagement to a greater extent following the adoption of data breach disclosure laws. CSR initiatives are particularly pronounced for firms likely to incur significant losses from data breaches, aligning with the theoretical framework and offering insight into the underlying mechanisms. I also found that firms with fewer financial constraints exhibit stronger CSR initiatives. Furthermore, these CSR initiatives are distinct and cannot be substituted by investments in information technology. The additional analysis illustrates that firms with superior CSR performance undergo a smaller stock price decline surrounding data breach announcements. This supports the notion that CSR functions much like insurance, shielding against the impacts of data breaches. Subsequently, this study presents direct evidence on firms’ concerns regarding the reputational impact of cybersecurity. Overall, this study underscores cybersecurity concerns as a driving force behind social responsibility initiatives in this digital era.

Target population

This research holds significance for policymakers worldwide who are considering cybersecurity-related regulations and for firms seeking effective risk management strategies in the face of cybersecurity challenges.

This study examines the association between Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities measured by two of Taiwan’s leading publishers, the Commonwealth Magazine and the Global View Magazine, and the acquirer’s short- and long-term performances after the merger announcement in Taiwan. We use CEO compensation and the firm’s free cash flow as the proxies for CEO self-confidence. We find that the acquirer’s CSR engagement is positively associated with its long-term performance but not with its short-term performance. CEO compensation is positively associated with the acquirer’s performance, especially after the mandatory establishment of the remuneration committee for publicly traded firms. However, the acquirer’s free cash flow is found negatively associated with its performance, supporting Jensen’s (Agency costs of free cash flow, corporate finance, and takeovers. American Economic Review, 76, 323–329) free cash flow hypothesis or CEO hubris. These findings indicate that the CSR measurements of Commonwealth Magazine and Global View Magazine do provide valuable information for CSR activities and that CSR activities do enhance firm value in the long run. Furthermore, the requirement for the establishment of the remuneration committee does improve the effectiveness of CEO compensation for firm performance in Taiwan.

Corporate social responsibility (hereinafter referred to as “CSR”) sometimes does not directly affect enterprise performance but through some mediator variable. Corporate reputation and brand value have chain-mediating effects in the influence mechanism of CSR on enterprise performance. Theoretically, this paper broadens the scope of study on CSR and enterprise performance, deeply explores the internal mechanism between them, and opens the “black box” in the process of transforming CSR into enterprise performance. Practically, it can encourage Chinese enterprises to actively undertake CSR, strengthen reputation management, enhance brand value, and finally promote the sustainable development of enterprises. A-share listed companies (listed companies in the Chinese A stock market) in Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges from 2008 to 2020 in “China’s 500 Most Valuable Brands List” by World Brand Lab are studied in this paper. The results of the empirical study based on relevant data show a significant positive relationship between CSR and enterprise performance. It investigates the mediating chain effects of corporate reputation and brand value in the influence of CSR on enterprise performance. Listed companies must disclose the annual CSR report. CSR reports as an effective supplement to corporate financial information, which provides an important communication channel for the enterprise and stakeholders. Stakeholders can timely understand their rights and interests through the CSR information and have a more comprehensive and deeper understanding of enterprises. In turn, the enterprise can also win a good reputation, establish a good brand image, and get sustainable development.

This paper examines the relationship between the presence of employee representatives and female directors at the board level and a firm’s environmental and corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance. Using an international sample of firms from 23 developed countries between 2001 and 2014, we provide evidence that the presence of labor representatives and a larger proportion of women as well as female labor representatives at the board level are positively related to CSR and environmental performance. Furthermore, we find no substitutional relationship between female board members and labor representation when we include an interaction term between the two. Our findings illustrate that the relevant legislation in some non-Anglo-Saxon countries is beneficial and could be introduced in Anglo-Saxon countries where employee representation rights are limited and female board members are still a minority.

This paper draws on the articles in the Forum on Corporate Governance to discuss how corporate governance and accounting research complement each other well in explaining how companies are governed as well as properly managed from an accounting point of view. We put special attention to the cross-national differences in both corporate governance systems and accounting practice and how that affect multiple organizational outcomes ranging from financial performance to corporate social performance and reporting quality.

Synopsis

Research problem

According to the World Economic Forum, terrorism is one of the main managerial concerns for companies worldwide. However, there is surprisingly scant research on how terrorist attacks impact managerial decision-making. To fill this gap, we investigate how terrorist attacks influence firms’ socially oriented activities, as measured by their investments in corporate social responsibility (CSR).

Motivation or theoretical reasoning

In light of the crucial role of CSR in financial markets and the growing apprehension regarding terrorism risk, this study explores whether and to what extent firms’ CSR investments contribute to the resilience to terrorism risk. The motivation for our research question is grounded in the idea that terrorist attacks create a unique set of circumstances that prompt firms to reconsider their socially oriented initiatives. We argue that firms impacted by such events tend to recognize the importance of demonstrating commitment to social responsibility in the aftermath of a crisis. Overall, the theoretical underpinnings of this study revolve around the notion that CSR becomes a strategic response for firms affected by terrorism, through which they address various stakeholder concerns, maintain legitimacy, and strategically manage their public image in the aftermath of a crisis.

The test hypotheses

We empirically examine two key research questions in this study. First, we examine the effect of terrorist attacks on the CSR investments of publicly traded firms. Second, we examine whether and how the increase in CSR investments of publicly traded firms after terrorist attacks affects firm value.

Target population

Our study extends the limited research on the impact of terrorism on capital markets, which is an area of great concern to various stakeholders, including shareholders and corporate managers. The findings will also help researchers understand the determinants of CSR and the potential channels through which CSR creates value for shareholders.

Adopted methodology

Using a multivariate regression model and controlling for all other determinants of corporate CSR investment documented by prior studies, we test the effect of terrorist events on firms’ CSR investment. To reduce the concern that a growing awareness of the importance of CSR may explain the changes in firms’ investment in CSR over time, we use a difference-in-differences research design.

Analyses

Using a sample of 53 major terrorist attacks occurring in the U.S. between 1994 and 2015, this study examines the causal effect of terrorist attacks on firms’ CSR activities.

Findings

Our findings indicate that public firms located in close proximity to terrorist attacks (i.e., the impact firms) substantially increase their investment in CSR following those terrorist events, and that the increase in CSR investment is positively associated with firm value. We further observe a strengthened association between increased CSR and firm value when the CSR efforts of the impact firms attract greater media attention. In conclusion, our findings substantiate the hypothesis that firms exposed to higher levels of terrorism risk are more inclined to enhance their CSR investments. This inclination is driven by the dual impact of CSR efforts: not only do they contribute to bolstering stakeholders’ confidence in firms’ future performance, but they are also linked to increased returns in the aftermath of a terrorist attack.

The main objective of this study consists of investigating the impact of innovation strategies on corporate financial and social performance. Our study is based on French listed firms (SBF 120) from 2015 to 2019. Two models are employed to test our hypotheses: in the first model we opt for linear regressions to investigate the relation between innovation strategies (process, product and open) on firm’s financial performance. In the second model, logit regression model is employed to explore the impact of innovation strategies on corporate social responsibility (CSR). Findings reveal that product and open innovation are valuable to firm’s performance measured by return on asset (ROA). Second, we find evidence that open and technological innovation (process and product) have a positive effect on CSR strategies.

The environmental policy and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) are two notions of high importance for enterprises and nations. Numerous pages have been written about the environmental policy of companies in their CSR reports. Whether it concerns to raise environmental awareness among their employees or local communities or to give in detail their environmental footprint at the end of the story, it is about giving proofs of their environmental policy. Climate change is among the topics of CSR reports and is under examination in this paper. A case study analysis will be applied in order to present how climate change is interpreted in the CSR reports of Greek companies from the petroleum refining industry.

The research consists of a systematic literature review (SLR) emphasizing scholars’ views on the topic of green finance. Seeking to provide a deep understanding of the state of the art, the paper aims to draft implications and insights to address future research. Studies on green finance are investigated using the Scopus database as a source to get access to the dataset. The methodological approach is inspired by Kraus et al. (2020) in order “to identify, choose and critically appraise relevant pieces of research, and to generate collective insights of knowledge from past research” (Loureiro et al. 2019).

The implementation of corporate social responsibility (CSR) is examined from various perspectives, as well as the distinctive features of some theories. CSR is a kind of action for communicating with stakeholders to show that companies pay attention to the environment, nature, and society. The theories relating to CSR implementation can be discussed from different perspectives. Agency theory focuses on the relationship between agent and principal and may give rise to conflict of interest. Legitimacy theory places the public as its responsibility. Disclosing information about social and environmental performance is a path for companies to maintain or regain their legitimacy in the society’s point of view. Meanwhile, entity theory focuses only on the satisfaction of the shareholders, hence the company activities are only directed to meet the welfare of the owners. Enterprise theory recognizes the responsibility to the owners and broader stakeholder groups. However, Sharia enterprise theory pays attention in two directions, consisting of vertical accountability to God and the horizontal accountability in direct and indirect stakeholders for humans, the environment, and society.

This study is conducted to identify how corporate social responsibility (CSR) influences consumer loyalty in the banking sector in Vietnam — an emerging economy. The social identity theory, stakeholder theory, and signaling theory are used to answer the question “Does CSR directly or indirectly influence customer loyalty in the banking sector in Vietnam?” To accomplish the research objectives, qualitative and quantitative mixed research methods are used. Qualitative research aims to adjust the scale of constructs to suit the Vietnamese market through face-to-face discussions with 10 Vietnamese customers. A survey is then carried out with 299 Vietnamese customers who have experience dealing with banks in Vietnam. Data collected are processed by Smart Partial Least Square (PLS) software with Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). Research results showed that CSR has no direct impact on customer loyalty. However, CSR has an indirect effect on customer loyalty through an intermediate variable of service quality. Service quality has a strong influence on customer loyalty. The administrative implications of this research are that Vietnamese banks should consider CSR as a way to help improve service quality, thereby increasing customer loyalty. CSR factors to consider are legal, ethical, and philanthropic responsibilities. To improve service quality to increase customer loyalty, Vietnamese banks need to pay attention to the factors of reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy. Future research directions that can be implemented include: use stakeholder dimensions for CSR; use other mediators such as brand image, customer satisfaction, and customer trust; and research in other countries with emerging economies similar to Vietnam to increase generalization.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a concept with varying interpretations. However, almost always, it involves socially oriented partnerships between corporations and non-profit organizations. This case details a partnership between China’s Proya Cosmetics and UN Women. It aims to address the multifaceted issues facing women in China today through fundraising, advocacy, and events. It also discusses what CSR is and whether Proya Cosmetics is embodying its aims.

This chapter analyses the implementation features of the principles of corporate social responsibility (CSR) at Belarusian enterprises that contribute to reducing social tension and preventing conflicts of interest. The problems of disseminating the ideas of CSR in the business environment and the experience of teaching methods of socially responsible business activities by students of the Belarusian State University are investigated.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting information of Indonesia shari’ah banks based on Shari’ah Enterprise Theory and explore the potential effects of corporate governance (CG) elements and ROE on CSR with size as the moderating variable. Agency theory, Legitimacy theory, Stakeholders theory, and Shari’ah Enterprise theory will be employed as underpinning theories. Using a sample of 10 shari’ah banks which published annual reports, CG, and CSR reports for the year 2014 to 2016, multiple regression analysis reveals that CG affects shari’ah banks to do CSR, yet ROE did not impact CSR. Aggregately, GCG and ROE influence CSR. Size as the moderating variable significantly strengthens the effect of CG and ROE on CSR with F of 5.419 and adj. R² of 47.8%. This study makes a significant contribution to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and enterprise theory by offering Shari’ah Enterprise theory as the foundation for the CSR implementation at shari’ah banks in Indonesia.

Many weighting methods based on ordinal information have been proposed by different authors within multi-attribute utility/value theory. Moreover, the literature has also addressed the possibility of considering additional information regarding the ranking of criteria, mainly focused on the strength of the differences between the weights of consecutive criteria. However, although comparison analyses have been carried out to analyze the performance of weighting methods based on ordinal information, no comparative analyses of these methods have been conducted when additional information is available. In this chapter, we compare the step-wise weight assessment ratio analysis (SWARA) and the cardinal sum reciprocal (CSR) using Monte Carlo simulation techniques on the basis of the hit ratio and the rank order correlation as quality measures.

The post-liberalization phase has seen a significant change in the stakeholder participation-based model of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in India. Although CSR is optional for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), there are apparent benefits if concrete mechanisms are in place. Since CSR and corporate governance are complementary and interconnected, including CSR provisions within the framework of corporate governance will create capabilities for Indian Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). For SMEs, the formal structures of CSR and corporate governance hardly prevail in ways typical of big organizations in India. This chapter highlights the role of CSR and corporate governance within SMEs, the challenges they face, and the benefits they receive from CSR and corporate governance. The chapter also draws attention to the fact that CSR and corporate governance are crucial for sustainable development.