CSR disclosure and sustainable supplier management: a small to medium-sized enterprises perspective

The respective literatures on corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure and sustainable supplier management have grown in recent years, but little scholarly attention has been paid to the link between the two. Within a framework that incorporates legitimacy and neo-institutional theories, this study investigates how CSR disclosure in small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) influences CSR requirements and capacity building with suppliers. Based on an empirical data set of 146 000 SMEs, we test our hypotheses using multiple mediation analysis. Our results indicate that SME CSR disclosure has a positive direct effect on capacity building. When the mediating role of CSR requirements is taken into account, the study reveals that the more SMEs disclose their CSR activities, the more they require CSR from their suppliers, which in turn leads to an increase in capacity building with them. The study also suggests that the SMEs that limit their CSR requirements to the application step are more likely to build capacity with their suppliers than the SMEs that impose CSR verification. Overall, this article provides unique insights for practitioners seeking to determine the circumstances in which the SME practices of sustainable supplier management unfold in practice.     

Getting into the energy efficiency scene: does corporate social responsibility matter for energy efficiency in SMEs?

A growing body of literature argues that improving energy efficiency is an essential step that firms must take to mitigate climate change issues. It is assumed that corporate social responsibility (CSR) in general plays a prominent role in firms’ policies, and this paper specifically investigates the effects of the individual CSR dimensions on SMEs’ energy efficiency improvement. Based on data from a sample of 146 thousand SMEs, and using logit model, and fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis, the study reveals that high activities in social, environmental and economic CSR dimensions are associated with high energy efficiency. Specifically, the environmental CSR dimension has the highest contribution to improving energy efficiency. Furthermore, this study indicates that energy efficiency improvement can be achieved by large SMEs provided they have developed simultaneously the environmental, social, and economic CSR dimensions. In doing so, this study answers to recent calls for more research on CSR-energy efficiency relationship and addresses with greater precision why it matters to relate the role of the CSR dimensions and energy efficiency. Furthermore, this study can be of value to policymakers who are called to promote CSR practices of SMEs in order to foster their energy efficiency.     

CSR and financial performance: complementarity between environmental,social and business behaviours

This article analyses the interactions between various dimensions of corporate social responsibility (CSR) that mediate the relationship between CSR and financial performance. We hypothesize that the absence of consensus in the empirical literature on the CSR–financial performance relationship may be explained by the existence of synergies (complementarity) and trade-offs (substitutability) between the different CSR components. We investigate such relationship using a final unbalanced panel sample of 1094 observations (around 300 firms per year) from 15 countries over the 2002–2007 period. Our results show that responsible behaviours towards employees (human resources dimension) and towards customers and suppliers (business behaviour dimension) appear as complementary inputs of financial performance, indicating mutual benefits and less conflict between those stakeholders. Conversely, responsible behaviours towards customers and suppliers and towards the environment appear as substitutable inputs of financial performance, suggesting more conflict between or over-investment towards those stakeholders.     

Web-based CSR communication in post-communist countries

In this survey, we investigate the level of web-based CSR communication in selected post-communist countries. Our objective was to identify, analyse and evaluate the scope of web-based CSR communication and the structure of CSR activities communicated by the TOP 100 companies based in the Czech Republic and Ukraine. On the basis of content analysis of the websites of the 100 most important companies (according to the level of revenue) based in each of these countries, we can state that the level of their web-based CSR communication is comparable. It does, however, correspond to the generally low level of CSR communication in post-communist countries. Apart from corporate websites, another popular channel of communication is social networks, in particular, Facebook. As far as the scope of CSR activities communicated is concerned, companies based in the Czech Republic communicate an average of 19 and companies based in Ukraine communicate an average of 18 of the 39 monitored activities. TOP 100 companies operating in these countries communicate economic and environmental responsibility activities in the greatest scope and on the contrary, ethical responsibility activities the least.     

Demand for ISO 14001 adoption in the global supply chain: An empirical analysis focusing on environmentally conscious markets

This paper analyzes the environmental preferences and pressures of customers in environmentally conscious markets influencing the number of adoptions of ISO 14001—the international standard certified by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) concerning an Environmental Management System (EMS)—in a country. Customers in different countries have different priorities and ideas with regard to the environment and its management, and therefore it is possible that environmental preferences and pressures of customers in environmentally conscious markets are greater, although many earlier studies suggest that foreign customers generally form a significant stakeholder group encouraging the adoption of ISO 14001. A random-effects Tobit estimation using a sample of 155 countries over eight years supports the view that the environmental preferences and pressures of customers in environmentally conscious markets (including Finland, Japan, Germany and Denmark) are more likely to encourage domestic along with foreign suppliers to adopt ISO 14001. As it is easier for firms in environmentally conscious markets to adopt ISO 14001 because of their better economic performance, they have already adopted certification and consequently require their domestic and foreign suppliers to do likewise in the global supply chain. For this reason, suppliers wishing to access environmentally conscious markets can obtain an advantage with ISO 14001 certification.     

基于声誉视角的企业社会责任实施策略研究

企业应当如何寻求社会责任与社交媒体交融背景下的企业社会责任(CSR)实施策略?这已成为全球经济面临的现实难题,对于处在声誉压力下的中国企业更是如此。文章通过全面回顾"声誉机制与CSR之间存在关联"的相关研究成果,以来自中国的两家企业(联想与宏碁)为商业案例,从公司治理、工作环境以及企业公民实践三个维度对其CSR实践进行了详细比较与系统分析,以期验证西方学者提出的"声誉机制对CSR实施策略具有正面影响效应"观点。结果表明:声誉机制确实可以促进企业加强自我约束,选择负责任的商业实践,成为法律规制、政府监管等正式制度的有益补充和替代,对中国企业来说也不例外。最后,结合中国企业现实处境,文章提出从回报角度认知CSR、取得行业标准认证、从局部小处起步等将CSR策略性融入到企业日常运营中的几点启示。     

中小企业商业模式创新的现实意义与实现途径

商业模式创新是中小企业转型升级的有效途径。商业模式诠释了公司价值的来源,是企业的主动选择,具有系统性、逻辑性、具体性、形象性和创新性等特色。中小企业商业模式以完善型和改变型为主,通过可分收入式模式、专业化模式、协作式模式创新以及有机融合,实现重新定义客户、重新定义服务、重新定义沟通、重新定义供应链构架等模式创新。商业模式创新的成功取决于创新途径的正确选择。要坚持能使企业发挥自身优势的细分市场来进行专业化经营,促进企业持久发展;培育中小企业商业模式创新的动力机制,营造良好的外部环境;促进中小企业电子商务向国际化、专业化与纵深化方向发展。     

Deciphering the motives behind corporate social responsibility (CSR) using managerial ownership: evidence from heteroskedastic identification

Motivated by agency theory, we investigate the effect of managerial ownership on CSR engagement. Exploiting a novel identification strategy and using a large U.S. sample of over 14,000 observations across 18 years, we find that higher managerial ownership diminishes CSR engagement significantly. As managers own a larger share of equity, they bear greater costs of CSR, leading to a reduction in CSR engagement. Further analysis, however, shows that not all CSR activities are motivated by agency problems. In particular, the CSR activities related to human rights and products appear to promote shareholders’ wealth. The results of this study are important as they show that there can be different motives behind different CSR activities. We contribute to the literature by shedding light on the motives behind CSR investments using a novel identification strategy.     

我国企业实施社会责任管理研究

西方市场经济国家自进入20世纪80年代以后,要求企业在社会责任方面做出更多贡献的呼声越来越大,我国近年来社会各界对企业的社会责任问题也越发关注。我国企业的社会责任实践活动有了初步的发展。本文通过对样本企业的数据研究,分析了我国企业对社会责任的认知现状,并从员工、股东、客户、供应商、政府、社区、社会公益事业及反商业贿赂等方面研究了我国企业社会责任的实施现状。通过对我国企业实施社会责任管理的现状分析,我们认识到我国企业在社会责任认知与实施方面与国外企业还有一定的差距,为缩小这一差距并提升我国企业社会责任的实施水平,我国企业应重视社会责任管理,把社会责任融于企业的使命、战略制定、战略实施及评价等各方面,实施企业的全面社会责任管理。     

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate diversification: do diversified production firms invest more in CSR?

A diversification strategy increases the range of stakeholder demands and social issues related to a firm’s operation. Examining the consequence of production diversification strategy at a broader level, not only (short-term) financial performance but also long-term performance, as proxied by corporate social responsibility (CSR), is surprising. We show that a firm’s production diversification is associated with stronger engagement in CSR, particularly for unrelated diversification. And the higher level of diversification is, the more investment in CSR. Our findings lead to the interesting questions regarding diversification discount and the value of unrelated diversification, which has often been criticized because of its negative impact on short-term financial performance.     

供应链环境中的转移定价、内部营销和价值管理

研究内部供应链关系是正确理解整个供应链成本管理的一个必要条件。内部供应链中存在内部供应商（转让者）和内部客户（受让者）关系,探讨了内部供应链中的转移定价问题,处理供应链中的转移定价问题,应该将其整合进企业战略,以价值创造和增值为目标,在管理转让者与受让者关系时采用“内部客户”观念,并以价值为基础的绩效评估系统来支持这一观念。,     

Firm value in commonly uncertain times: the divergent effects of corporate governance and CSR

Economic uncertainty disrupts firms’ ability to create value. Most related literature examines how various organizational characteristics affect value under extreme conditions – the global financial crisis. However, recent work in quantifying economic uncertainty now makes it possible to take a more nuanced approach in investigating the conditions under which this value reduction can be mitigated during more ‘commonly uncertain’ periods. In this paper we analyze the effects of corporate governance mechanisms and social responsibility investments on Tobin’s q across 13 years and 40 countries. Evidence suggests that shareholder-centric corporate governance policies restrict board and executive flexibility during uncertain times, and therefore stifle their ability to react effectively to adverse macroeconomic changes. We also find that CSR initiatives serve as insurance in that they preserve value under uncertainty by acting as a reservoir of social capital.     

Profitability of corporate social responsibility in network industries

The present paper shows that, when firms compete in a non-cooperative way on the level of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in network industries, the conventional result of the prisoner’s dilemma structure of the game in standard industries—i.e. to have social concerns is the Nash equilibrium, but it is harmful for firms’ profits—vanishes and, for sufficiently intense network externalities, the equilibrium in which both firms have social concerns is more profitable than simple profit-seeking. Moreover, we show that—when firms cooperate in choosing the profit-maximising level of social concerns—a profit-maximising CSR level does exist, provided that network effects are sufficiently strong. Therefore, in network industries, firms may obtain higher profits engaging in—cooperatively as well as non-cooperatively—CSR activities, showing that firms’ social concerns may be motivated by the owners’ selfish behaviour. Finally, a counter-intuitive result as regards consumer’s surplus and social welfare is obtained: those are always higher under competitive than cooperative choice of CSR because the level of CSR activities is higher in the former case. However, given that firms gain their largest profits with the cooperative choice of CSR, a Pareto-superior outcome is not reached.     

创业板上市企业社会责任履行对创新绩效的影响

企业社会责任与创新绩效之间的关系是社会责任研究领域一个备受关注的话题。创业板上市企业履行社会责任不但可以得到公众认可,还可以从各利益相关者处获得提升创新绩效不可或缺的资源。以创业板上市企业为样本,研究二者之间的关系。结果表明:(1)就货币层社会责任而言,创业板上市企业履行对股东的社会责任正向影响创新技术绩效和创新财务绩效,而履行对债权人的社会责任正向影响创新技术绩效但影响不显著,且负向影响创新财务绩效;(2)就人力层社会责任而言,创业板上市企业履行对员工的社会责任正向影响创新技术绩效、负向影响创新财务绩效,就社会层社会责任而言,创业板上市企业履行对顾客的社会责任负向影响创新技术绩效、正向影响创新财务绩效,履行对政府的社会责任正向影响创新技术绩效但影响不显著,且负向影响创新财务绩效,履行对供应商的社会责任负向影响创新技术绩效、正向影响创新财务绩效。     

Are corporate social responsibility and advertising complements or substitutes in producing firm reputation?

A firm’s reputation is one of the critical drivers of success, and two of the key levers firms use to influence their perceived reputation are corporate social responsibility (CSR) and advertising. The relationship between CSR and advertising is important because whether they are complements or substitutes has different implications for how firms use these activities. Using a unique panel dataset of US-listed companies between 2005 and 2014, we estimate flexible production functions to identify whether CSR and advertising act as complements or substitutes in the production of firm reputation. A secondary motivation of this paper is to examine whether the use of different stakeholder ratings of firm reputation matters. We find evidence consistent with advertising and CSR being substitutes toward the production of firm reputation. Our results also show that advertising, own-firm CSR activities, and industry-level CSR spillovers contribute positively to firm reputation. Lastly, we find that the effects of CSR and advertising vary across the stakeholder groups (general public, business executives, or CSR experts) used in the analysis.     

How external partnering enhances innovation: evidence from Chinese technology-based SMEs

If China is to make the leap from being a manufacturer of goods, often for others, to being a world-class innovator, then Chinese small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) have an important role to play in achieving this future goal. Much recent debate has focused on innovation activities of multinational corporations in China, with little attention paid to the role of indigenous SMEs and how they attempt to become more innovation oriented. This paper presents findings from 10 case studies of SME firms based in the Zhejiang Province of China to try and establish to what extent external partnerships have helped them become more innovative and competitive. The most common forms of partnering used by these firms is collaboration with universities, with customers and key suppliers, which has implications for how learning and absorptive capacity affects the firm's innovation strategy.     

基于供应链金融的客户价值评价模型研究

供应链金融为解决中小企业融资难提供了新思路。结合供应链金融的特点,系统考虑客户自身的价值、交易对手资质和供应链运营状况等各种影响因素,建立了基于供应链金融的客户价值评价指标体系与相应的客户价值评价模型。在此基础上,利用主成分分析法逐层对该模型进行定量分析评价,并与传统的客户价值评价方法进行比较,揭示了基于供应链金融的客户价值评价方法提高了客户评价值,说明供应链金融在一定程度缓解了中小企业的融资困境。     

The socially responsible choice in a duopolistic market: A dynamic model of “ethical product” differentiation

The increasing attention of profit maximizing corporations to corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a new stylized fact of the contemporary economic environment. In our theoretical analysis we model CSR adoption as the optimal response of a profit maximizing firm to the competition of a not for profit corporate pioneer in the presence of a continuum of consumers with heterogeneous preferences towards the social and environmental features of the final good. CSR adoption implies a trade-off since, on the one side, it raises production costs but, on the other side, it leads to accumulation of “ethical capital”. We investigate conditions under which the profit maximizing firm switches from price to price and CSR competition by comparing monopoly and duopoly equilibria and their consequences on aggregate social responsibility and consumer welfare. Our findings provide a theoretical background for competition between profit maximizing incumbents and not for profit entrants in markets such as fair trade, organic food, ethical banking and ethical finance.     

Corporate social responsibility and market entry

Is the decision of firms to pursue social interest and promote social progress philanthropic or motivated by strategic reasons? Using a simple Spence–Dixit entry model game with homogeneous goods, this paper studies the possible anticompetitive effect of the adoption of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the form of “consumer friendliness” (i.e., firms’ attention to the welfare of consumers). It is shown that, when the market becomes contestable, the incumbent can select to adopt CSR to hamper to a greater extent the potential entrant, regardless of its choice to engage in CSR activities. In other words, CSR can become a strategic barrier to entry.     

基于企业战略的社会责任财务评价体系研究

全球竞争环境的变更导致企业社会责任约束力越来越大。企业在承受外部企业社会责任评价体系带来的压力的同时,更希望提高自身的企业社会责任内部管理能力。将企业社会责任与经济绩效联系在一起,从财务评价体系的角度融入社会责任元素,是提高企业社会责任内部管理能力的关键途径。为此,企业可以借助日常财务嵌入、信息披露和财务数据挖掘等三种途径,并将其与企业社会责任战略链接在一起,从财务数据中和战略方向上体现社会责任绩效。