An Exploratory Cross-Cultural Analysis of Marketing Ethics: The Case of Turkish,Thai, and American Businesspeople

Although a number of studies have shown that corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities often lead to greater organisational performance in western developed economies, researchers are yet to examine the strategic value of CSR in emerging economies. Using survey data from 280 firms operating in Dubai, this study examines the link between CSR activities and organisational performance. The results show that CSR has a positive relationship with all three measures of organisational performance: financial performance, employee commitment, and corporate reputation. These results reinforce the accumulating body of empirical support for the positive impact of CSR on performance and challenge the dominant assumption that, given the weak institutional framework in emerging economies, CSR activities drain resources and compromise firms’ competitiveness.     

Corporate Social Responsibility in Western Europe: An Institutional Mirror or Substitute?

In spite of extensive research on corporate social responsibility (CSR) and its link with economic and social performance, few studies have investigated the institutional determinants of CSR. This article draws upon neo-institutional theory and comparative institutional analysis to compare the influence of different institutional environments on CSR policies of European firms. On the basis of a dataset of European firms, we find that firms from the more liberal market economies of the Anglo-Saxon countries score higher on most dimensions of CSR than firms in the more coordinated market economies (CMEs) in Continental Europe. This result lends support to the view of voluntary CSR practices in liberal economies as being a substitute for institutionalized forms of stakeholder participation. Meanwhile, CSR tends not to mirror more institutionalized forms of stakeholder coordination. Instead, in CMEs, CSR often takes on more implicit forms. Our analysis also shows that national institutional and sectoral-level factors have an asymmetric effect – strongly influencing the likelihood of firms adopting ‘minimum standards’ of CSR, but having little influence on the adoption of ‘best practices’.     

Do Chinese firms benefit from government ownership following cross-border acquisitions?

Chinese firms’ increasing cross-border acquisitions (CBAs) in recent years seem to challenge the explanatory power of received theories of multinational enterprise (MNE) due to their relatively unique characteristics and the active role of the Chinese government. In this study, we seek to revisit and contextualize the OLI paradigm in conjunction with the institution-based view and examine how Chinese firms’ post-CBA long term performance is associated with government ownership. Our study shows that Chinese firms with more government ownership demonstrate better post-CBA long term performance. However, the above relationship is differentially moderated by such firm-level boundary conditions as political connections and financial slack, and the country-level institutional boundary conditions (i.e., the host country formal institutions and the home-host country cultural distance). We discuss our findings in detail and explore theoretical and practical implications for both Chinese firms and other emerging economy (EE) firms.     

Corporate social responsibility in emerging market economies: Determinants,consequences, and future research directions

The last two decades have witnessed a growing interest in corporate social responsibility (CSR) worldwide by corporations, investors, policy makers, and researchers across different disciplines. This paper is part of a Special Issue devoted to CSR practices of firms in emerging market economies (EMEs). It complements prior research focusing mainly on developed countries. We begin with an assessment of CSR practices in EMEs, and examine their determinants and performance implications. We then review key findings in the empirical CSR literature, including studies published in the Emerging Markets Review Special Issue. We conclude by describing pertinent avenues for future research.     

Corporate Social Responsibility in Challenging and Non-enabling Institutional Contexts: Do Institutional Voids matter?

The extant literature on comparative Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) often assumes functioning and enabling institutional arrangements, such as strong government, market and civil society, as a necessary condition for responsible business practices. Setting aside this dominant assumption and drawing insights from a case study of Fidelity Bank, Nigeria, we explore why and how firms still pursue and enact responsible business practices in what could be described as challenging and non-enabling institutional contexts for CSR. Our findings suggest that responsible business practices in such contexts are often anchored on some CSR adaptive mechanisms. These mechanisms uniquely complement themselves and inform CSR strategies. The CSR adaptive mechanisms and strategies, in combination and in complementarity, then act as an institutional buffer (i.e. ‘institutional immunity’), which enables firms to successfully engage in responsible practices irrespective of their weak institutional settings. We leverage this understanding to contribute to CSR in developing economies, often characterised by challenging and non-enabling institutional contexts. The research, policy and practice implications are also discussed.     

Corporate Social Responsibility in Transnational Spaces: Exploring Influences of Varieties of Capitalism on Expressions of Corporate Codes of Conduct in Nigeria

Drawing from the varieties of capitalism theoretical framework, the study explores the home country influences of multinational corporations (MNCs) on their corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices when they operate outside their national/regional institutional contexts. The study focusses on a particular CSR practice (i.e. corporate expressions of code of conducts) of seven MNCs from three varieties of capitalism – coordinated (2), mixed (2) and liberal (3) market economies – operating in the oil and gas sector of the Nigerian economy. The study concludes that the corporate codes of conduct of these MNCs operating in Nigeria, to a large extent, reflect the characteristics of their home countries’ model of capitalism, respectively, albeit with certain degree of modifications. The home countries’ model of capitalism is also found to have implications for the degree of adaptability of these MNCs’ CSR practices to the Nigerian institutional context – with the mixed market economy model of capitalism adapting more flexibly than the liberal and coordinated market economies, respectively. The findings of this study will contribute to the emerging literature on the institutional embeddedness of CSR practices in transnational social spaces, understanding of varieties of capitalism, and CSR in developing economies.     

Board of director attributes and CSR engagement in emerging economy firms: Evidence from across Asia

This study investigates the relationship between the board of director attributes and corporate social responsibility (CSR) engagement across a sample of Asian emerging economy firms. We find a statistically positive relationship between CSR engagement and several directors' attributes including their political influence, international experience, business expertise, other directorships held and independence from management. These empirical results indicate that while corporate governance recommendations designed for developed economy firms are relevant for emerging economy firms, additional director attributes are also important in encouraging CSR engagement in emerging economy firms given the divergent institutional and resource dependency issues they face.     

Corporate Social Responsibility as a Strategic Shield Against Costs of Earnings Management Practices

We highlight how Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) can be strategically used against the negative perception from earnings management (EM). Using international data, we analyse the effect of CSR and EM on the cost of capital and corporate reputation. Results confirm that CSR strategy is positively valued by investors and other stakeholders. Contrary to EM, CSR has a positive effect on corporate reputation and lowers the cost of capital. In addition, we also find that the favourable effect of CSR on cost of capital is consistently more intense in firms that show signs of EM indicating that the market does not identify when CSR practices are used as a strategy to mask EM. We also demonstrate how institutional factors influence the above relationship.     

基于制度理论的企业非相关多元化与绩效关系研究

传统战略管理理论认为非相关多元化对企业绩效有负向影响。然而在中国这样的转型经济国家,由于制度的缺失导致市场有效性相对较弱,非相关多元化可以使企业形成内部市场从而弥补制度的欠缺,通过对中国500强企业的实证研究也证明非相关多元化与企业绩效正相关。由于中国民营企业的非相关多元化程度较国有企业更高,民营企业非相关多元化与企业绩效的关系也较国有企业更为显著。     

Firm-Level Determinants of Political CSR in Emerging Economies: Evidence from India

Multinational companies (MNCs) frequently adopt corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities that are aimed at providing ‘public goods’ and influencing the government in policymaking. Such political CSR (PCSR) activities have been determined to increase MNCs’ socio-political legitimacy and to be useful in building relationships with the state and other key external stakeholders. Although research on MNCs’ PCSR within the context of emerging economies is gaining momentum, only a limited number of studies have examined the firm-level variables that affect the extent to which MNCs’ subsidiaries in emerging economies pursue PCSR. Using insights from resource dependence theory, institutional theory, and the social capital literature, we argue that MNCs’ subsidiaries that are critically dependent on local resources, have greater ties to managers of related businesses and to policymakers, and that those that are interdependent on the MNCs’ headquarters and other foreign subsidiaries, are more likely to be involved in PCSR. We obtain support for our hypotheses using a sample of 105 subsidiaries of foreign firms that operate in India. Our findings enhance our understanding of the factors that determine MNCs’ political CSR in emerging economies.     

Bring institutions into FDI spillover research: Exploring the impact of ownership restructuring and institutional development in emerging economies

Extant studies exploring the influences of foreign direct investment (FDI) spillovers on the productivity of local firms have provided conflicting evidence. In particular, they have largely overlooked the important role of institutional mechanisms in the host market in understanding the sources of the variation in FDI spillover effects on the productivity of local firms, especially in the context of emerging markets. Using a comprehensive panel data set of manufacturing firms in China during 1998–2007, our paper presents an integrative framework of how FDI spillovers affect the productivity of local firms in emerging markets. We identify an inverted U-shaped relationship between FDI spillovers and the productivity of local firms in China. This result suggests the coexistence of and the interplay between the opposing mechanisms of FDI spillover learning opportunity and adverse competition. Drawing on the institution-based view, this study also develops contingency frameworks and arguments to explore the question of if FDI spillover effects are contingent on, or independent of, a local institutional context especially in emerging markets. We find that institutional mechanisms, such as the institutionally determined ownership restructuring and the different levels of subnational institutional development within the host emerging market, significantly shape the variation of FDI spillover effects on the productivity of local firms. This research highlights the importance of incorporating institutional effects in understanding the FDI spillover effects in emerging markets.     

Does it pay for firms in Asia's emerging markets to be market oriented? Evidence from Vietnam

The positive effects of market orientation (MO) on firm performance are empirically supported much more strongly by studies conducted in developed than in emerging markets. One commonly cited reason for this differential effect is that MO is affected by the cultural, economic and institutional characteristics of the economies in which it is applied. This study aims to determine whether or not MO is relevant in an Asian emerging market such as Vietnam and if so, how a firm in such countries can become more market oriented. Based on a survey of 300 firms and using structural equation modeling, the present study finds that MO has a significant effect on firm performance and that its adoption is driven by both internal organizational and external market forces. The study identifies these specific internal and external forces, including those that are unique to the emerging economies in Asia.     

National Stakeholder Orientation,Corporate Social Responsibility,and Bank Loan Cost

Based on a sample of firms from 20 countries around the world, this study investigates how the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and bank loan pricing is affected by the degree of national stakeholder orientation. We find that firms with superior CSR performance are more likely to enjoy lower loan costs in more stakeholder-oriented countries than are their counterparts in less stakeholder-oriented countries. This study contributes to the CSR literature by highlighting the importance of national institutional environments in determining the economic consequences of CSR practices.     

The Effects of CEO Trustworthiness on Directors’ Monitoring and Resource Provision

This research investigates the interplay between leadership styles and institutional corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices. A large-scale field survey of managers reveals that firms with greater transformational leadership are more likely to engage in institutional CSR practices, whereas transactional leadership is not associated with such practices. Furthermore, stakeholder-oriented marketing reinforces the positive link between transformational leadership and institutional CSR practices. Finally, transactional leadership enhances, whereas transformational leadership diminishes, the positive relationship between institutional CSR practices and organizational outcomes. This research highlights the differential roles that transformational and transactional leadership styles play for a firm’s institutional CSR practices and has significant implications for theory and practice.     

The internationalization of entrepreneurial firms from emerging economies: The roles of institutional transitions and market opportunities

This paper examines the influence of institutional transitions and market opportunities in emerging economies on the internationalization of entrepreneurial firms from these economies. We conceptualize and examine a three-stage model of institutional transition in emerging economies, and their effects on the internationalization strategies of new venture firms. Propositions are developed in examining how the different stages of the institutional transition can influence the strategic choices for the internationalization of new venture firms. In responding to the calls for more research on institutions and international entrepreneurship, this paper is an attempt extending the linkages between the two to the context of emerging economies. The paper also has managerial implications for entrepreneurs and the associated policy implications in international entrepreneurship.     

Performance feedback and export intensity of Chinese private firms: Moderating roles of institution-related factors

Building on the behavioral theory of the firm and institutional view, we examine how performance feedback (i.e., a focal firm’s performance relative to its industry peers) affects export intensity and how institution-related factors moderate this relationship. Using a sample of Chinese private manufacturing firms, we find that positive performance feedback lowers export intensity while the relationship between negative performance feedback and export intensity is insignificant. Moreover, outperforming firms are likely to decrease their export intensity even more when they are located in regions of better institutional development or have political connections. Underperforming firms with political connections tend to increase their export intensity. These findings enrich our understanding of the export behavior of emerging market firms.     

Corporate social responsibility disclosure and market value: Family versus nonfamily firms

We investigate the moderating role of family involvement in the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting and firm market value using a longitudinal archival data set in the French context. Our empirical results show that family firms report less information on their CSR duties than do nonfamily firms. However, market-based financial performance, as measured by Tobin's q, is positively related to CSR disclosure for family firms and negatively related to CSR disclosure for nonfamily firms. Family firms would benefit greatly from communicating commitment to CSR; specifically, they could obtain shareholders' endorsement more easily than nonfamily firms could.     

On the Determinants of Corporate Social Responsibility: International Evidence on the Financial Industry

This article sets out to undertake a thorough, point-by-point examination of the theory postulated by Campbell (2007), in which an attempt is made to specify the conditions under which corporations may or may not act in socially responsible ways. In order to ensure the overall reliability of our study, and to attempt to provide a new understanding of, and greater insights into, whether corporate social responsibility (CSR) is affected by financial and institutional variables, we empirically investigate a total of 520 financial firms in 34 countries, between the years 2003 and 2005. Our empirical findings are: (i) firms with larger size are more CSR minded, and the financial performance and CSR are not related; (ii) firms would actually act in more socially responsible ways to enhance their competitive advantages when the market competitiveness is more intense; (iii) financial firms in countries with stronger levels of legal enforcement tend to engage in more CSR activities; however, interestingly and rather strikingly, those firms in countries with stronger shareholder rights tend to engage in less CSR activities; and (iv) self-regulation within the financial industry has a significantly positive effect on CSR, with firms being found to act in more socially responsible ways in those countries which have more cooperative employer–employee relations, higher quality management schools, and a better macroeconomic environment.     

Corporate social responsibility in emerging economies: Investigating firm behavior in the Indian context

Scholars have questioned the appropriateness of using a western‐centric framework to investigate corporate social responsibility (CSR) in emerging economies. This study assesses the appropriateness of using such a framework in one emerging economy—India. More specifically, the drivers of CSR and their impact on firm‐level CSR activity in the Indian context are investigated and compared with those in developed economies. Content analysis of 369 CSR policy statements of publicly traded Indian firms revealed the factors that drive CSR activities of Indian firms are similar to those found in developed economies. However, the ways firms respond to the drivers of CSR are surprisingly different in the Indian context, and these differences can be traced to attributes of the Indian socio‐cultural context. Implications and recommendations for future research conducted in India, and in other emerging economies, are offered.     

Institutional Dynamics and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in an Emerging Country Context: Evidence from China

This study identifies unique corporate social responsibility (CSR) dimensions and develops a framework to analyze different levels of institutional dynamics in understanding CSR in China. Based on multiple case studies of 16 firms, the article examines the CSR philosophy and approach in China??s emerging market. The findings suggest that Chinese CSR understanding is largely grounded in the context of ethical and discretionary actions. This focus is mainly attributed to the dominant role of ethical leadership, governmental dependency, and cultural traditions in Chinese CSR. Moreover, the weakness or the absence of conducive social normative environment and positive peer pressure, and misalignment between CSR and organizational design further contribute to a lack of systemic and institutionalized approach to CSR in China. Our study implies that CSR is still evolving at a preliminary stage in China, and institutional infrastructure and cultural ethics are exerting abiding influence on CSR approach in the emerging economies. The article also suggests the implications for practice and policy making.