Corporate Social Responsibility,Ownership Structure,and Political Interference: Evidence from China

Prior research suggests that ownership structure is associated to corporate social responsibility (CSR) in developed countries. This article examines whether and how ownership structure affects CSR in emerging markets using Chinese firms’ social responsibility ranking. Our empirical evidences show that for non-state-owned firms, corporate ownership dispersion is positively associated to CSR. However, for state-owned firms, whose controlling shareholder is the state, this relation is reversed. We attribute the reversed relationship to political interferences and further test this hypothesis by demonstrating that regional economic development is negatively related to CSR for state-owned firms due to decreased political interference in more developed areas. This study is the first to directly examine the relationship between the dispersion of corporate ownership and CSR in emerging markets, and our results depict that it is important to consider ownership type in assessing CSR in emerging market where state ownership is still prevalent such as China. The results also reveal that firm size, profitability, employee power, leverage, and growth opportunity affect CSR in China.     

企业社会责任与财务绩效关系研究综述

20世纪90年代起,企业社会责任与利益相关者在理论与实证检验方面呈现出相互整合的趋势。本文通过探析企业社会责任与利益相关者缘何走向理论结合,分别基于利益相关者整体视角与利益相关者分维度视角,对国内外企业社会责任与财务绩效关系的实证研究进行回顾与总结,并在此基础上提出了未来的研究方向。     

非家族高管更加“患不均”？——家族企业CEO身份对高管薪酬差距的影响研究

文章通过衡量家族企业中CEO与非家族高管之间的薪酬差距,试图探讨非家族高管的激励问题。依据社会比较理论和锦标赛理论的不同解释逻辑,并基于家族高管与非家族高管的不同特点,文章首先考察影响高管薪酬差距的前因变量,提出非家族CEO与薪酬差距之间关系的竞争性假设,并探讨薪酬差距对企业绩效的影响作用。利用2009〖KG-*4〗-〖KG-*6〗2016年中国家族上市公司数据,研究发现,当非家族成员担任CEO时,CEO与非家族高管之间的薪酬差距减小;另外,薪酬差距与企业绩效呈负相关关系,说明非家族高管中“不均”的薪酬安排会影响企业绩效。综合来看,相比锦标赛理论,社会比较理论对解释家族企业CEO身份对其与非家族高管之间薪酬差距的影响更具预测力与解释力。     

The interplay of corporate social responsibility and corporate political activity in emerging markets: The role of strategic flexibility in non‐market strategies

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate political activities are complementary, and the coordinated management of corporate social responsibility and corporate political activities may lead to better firm performance. However, corporate social responsibility and corporate political activities should be aligned carefully to utilize this complementarity. Strategic flexibility, which is the ability of a firm to adapt to changes in the external environment and make necessary organizational modifications quickly, can help firms to align their corporate social responsibility and corporate political activities. This paper empirically investigates the political dimension and the interactive dimension which describes interactions between corporate social responsibility and corporate political activities together with strategic flexibility and their effects on firm performance through a study of 142 firms in Turkey using moderated multiple regression methods. The results show that, while the political dimension had an inverted U‐shaped effect on firm performance, indicating that only a moderate level of corporate political activities may improve financial performance, the interactive dimension had positive but limited implications for performance. Finally, it was found strategic flexibility plays a positive moderating role on the relationships between the interactive dimension and firm performance. It is concluded that complementarity between corporate social responsibility and corporate political activities which may result in better performance is contingent on strategic flexibility.     

企业与上下游企业的连锁董事对环境战略的影响研究

文章依据资源依赖理论,研究企业与上下游企业建立的连锁董事关系对企业环境战略产生的影响。通过对183家中国工业企业上市公司2009-2012年连续4年的面板数据进行实证检验。研究结果发现：连锁董事对企业采纳环境战略具有显著的正向影响;企业所在地区的制度环境越差,连锁董事对于环境战略的正向影响越强。文章的结论为资源依赖理论提供了实证证据,连锁董事的降低企业资源获取不确定性的功能可能会对企业采取战略产生一定的约束作用。企业对连锁董事的依赖影响企业的环境战略,而且,地区制度环境影响企业对连锁董事的依赖性。     

Organizational Ambidexterity and Innovation Performance: The Moderating Effect of Entrepreneurial Orientation

The influence of organizational ambidexterity on innovation and the growth of enterprises has gradually become an important research topic in the field of strategic management and organization theory. This paper builds up a theoretical framework of the relationship between organizational ambidexterity and innovation performance with regards to corporate entrepreneurship orientation. We select 175 companies from high and new technology industries in China’s three large cities, Beijing, Tianjin and Dalian, as samples to carry out an empirical test. We find that the balance and complement of organizational ambidexterity are positively correlated with the innovation performance of enterprises; a corporate entrepreneurial orientation has a significantly moderating effect on the relationship between the balance dimension of organizational ambidexterity and innovation performance, yet it has no significant positive moderating effect on the relationship between the combined dimension of organizational ambidexterity and innovation performance.     

Corporate Governance Quality and CSR Disclosures

Given the increasing importance attached to both corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate governance, this study investigates the association between these two complimentary mechanisms used by companies to enhance relations with stakeholders. Consistent with both legitimacy and stakeholder theory and controlling for industry profile, firm size, stockholder power/dispersion, creditor power/leverage, and economic performance, our analysis of the annual reports for a sample of 222 listed companies suggests that firms providing more CSR information: have better corporate governance ratings; are larger; belong to higher profile industries; and are more highly leveraged. Our findings support the limited prior research suggesting a link between corporate governance quality and CSR disclosure in company annual reports and suggest that, rather than mandating specific disclosures, regulators might be better served focussing on corporate governance quality as a way of increasing CSR disclosures.     

Erratum to: Managing Corporate Sustainability with a Paradoxical Lens: Lessons from Strategic Agility

Although the same environmental regulations apply to all regions in China, legal enforcement can be different due to local economic development priorities. There is still a lack of knowledge about how regional disparities affect the operating performance results of the implementation of corporate environmental management practices, thus providing little information for foreign companies when they invest and develop their production base in China. To fill this research gap, this paper collects data from the Fortune 500 Chinese firms to investigate the moderating role of regional disparities in affecting the performance results of corporate environmental management efforts based on the institutional theory. The disclosed corporate environmental responsibility (CER) practices serve as proxy to represent corporate environmental management practices. Content analysis approach was applied to collect and analyze CER practices published in the corporate reports of Chinese manufacturers. The results show that CER has a positive impact on operating income, while regional disparities influence the relationship between CER and corporate operating income. Specifically, CER and operating income are positively related in Eastern China; on the contrary, they are negatively related in Western China. This paper adds to the body of knowledge about environmental discrepancies in the same emerging economy, and provides insights for systematic consideration in terms of the issues of government environmental regulations and corporate environmental strategies.     

上下游企业的信任与赊销战略——兼论区域金融发展的干扰效应

以沪深股市1990—2009年间的非金融上市公司为研究样本,利用Tobit模型和Inter-val模型对上下游企业的信任对上市公司赊销战略的影响以及区域金融发展对前两者关系的干扰效应展开研究。研究发现:上下游企业的总信任以及上游企业的信任会促使上市公司增加使用赊销战略,而下游企业的信任则会诱使上市公司减少赊销战略的使用;区域金融发展和上下游企业的总信任以及区域金融发展和上游企业的信任在对赊销战略的影响上是替代关系,但区域金融发展和下游企业的信任两者在影响公司赊销战略上的不确定关系仍待证实。     

Do Investors Value a Firm’s Commitment to Social Activities?

Previous empirical research has found mixed results for the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) investments on corporate financial performance (CFP). This paper contributes to the literature by exploring in a two stage investor decision-making model the relationship between a firm’s innovation effort, CSR, and financial performance. We simultaneously examine the impact of CSR on both accounting-based (financial health) and market-based (Tobin’s Q) financial performance measures. From a sample of top corporate citizens, we find that: (1) a firm’s social responsibility commitment (CSR) contributes to its financial performance; (2) after controlling for investment in innovation activities, CSR continues to have a positive impact on a firm’s financial performance; (3) the customer dimension of CSR has a positive effect on both CFP measures, whereas the employee dimension indicates a significant impact only on financial heath; and (4) the community relation dimension of CSR only affects the market-based CFP measure of firms with high innovation intensity.     

Monitoring Intensity and Stakeholders’ Orientation: How Does Governance Affect Social and Environmental Disclosure?

The aim of the paper is to investigate the effects of the corporate governance model on social and environmental disclosure (SED). We analyze the disclosures of the 100 U.S. Best Corporate Citizens in the period 2005–2007, and we posit a series of simultaneous relationships between different attributes of the governance system and a multidimensional construct of corporate social performance (CSP). We consider both the extent and the quality of SED, with the purpose of identifying increasing levels of corporate commitment to stakeholders and shedding some light on whether SED is used as a signal or rather as a legitimacy tool. Our empirical evidence shows that the stakeholders’ orientation of corporate governance is positively associated with CSP and SED. On the other hand, we do not find support for the monitoring intensity of corporate governance being negatively associated with social performance. We also find that CSP in the “product” dimension is positively associated with the extent and quality of SED whilst CSP in the “people” dimension is negatively associated with the extent and quality of SED. At a time when shareholders and stakeholders share more common aspects in their relationships with firms, this is a significant area to explore and this research fills an important lacuna in this respect.     

The Sustainability Balanced Scorecard: A Systematic Review of Architectures

The increasing strategic importance of environmental, social and ethical issues as well as related performance measures has spurred interest in corporate sustainability performance measurement and management systems. This paper focuses on the balanced scorecard (BSC), a performance measurement and management system aiming at balancing financial and non-financial as well as short and long-term measures. Modifications to the original BSC which explicitly consider environmental, social or ethical issues are often referred to as sustainability balanced scorecards (SBSCs). There is much scholarly discussion about SBSC architecture and how it can be designed to relate performance dimensions, strategic objectives and the logical links among these elements. To synthesise the widely scattered research findings and publications on the SBSC, we conducted a thematic analysis based on a systematic literature review containing 69 relevant articles spanning a period of two decades. We found that sustainability-oriented modifications of the BSC architecture are motivated by instrumental, social/political or normative theoretical perspectives. Moreover, these modifications can be mapped with a typology of generic SBSC architectures. The first dimension of the typology describes the hierarchy between performance perspectives and strategic objectives and how it is related to the organisational value system. The second dimension describes how sustainability-related strategic objectives are integrated into SBSC performance perspectives and how this is related to corporate sustainability strategy. This study contributes to the development of the emerging SBSC literature and practice and, more generally, to research on corporate sustainability performance measurement and management. We conclude with a research agenda and implications for management.     

外商投资的区域聚集及其对经济增长的影响分析:以江苏省为例

本文在现有理论文献的基础上,从经济规模、地区劳动力和土地面积多角度构建了外资利用水平的无量纲指标:业绩指数、人均指数、地均指数以及综合指数;提出用综合指数的离散系数来表征利用外资的区域聚集度;在此基础上,建立了计量经济模型,探讨外资聚集度对经济增长的影响。并以江苏省为例,展开实证分析。     

Exploring the Geography of Corporate Philanthropic Disaster Response: A Study of Fortune Global 500 Firms

In recent years, major disasters have figured prominently in the media. While corporate response to disasters may have raised corporate philanthropy to a new level, it remains an understudied phenomenon. This article draws on comparative research on corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate philanthropy to explore the geography of corporate philanthropic disaster response. The study analyzes donation announcements made by Fortune Global 500 firms from North America, Europe and Asia to look for regional patterns across three recent disasters: the South Asian Tsunami, Hurricane Katrina, and the Kashmiri earthquake. The results reveal inter-regional differences in the overall likelihood of donations and in their cash value, in addition to the identification of home-region- and local presence effects. Implications for researchers and practitioners are discussed. An erratum to this article can be found at     

区域企业社会责任：内涵、实现机制与作用机理

区域企业社会责任建设与区域竞争力的保持和提升密切相关,区域内的政策环境、企业社会责任和社会组织三个方面的相互作用将综合形成区域竞争优势,因此研究区域企业社会责任对于区域经济、社会和环境协调发展具有十分重要的意义。基于现有文献成果,运用系统分析的思路和方法,探讨区域企业社会责任内涵,剖析区域企业社会责任实现机制的基本要素、系统结构和功能,以及实现机制的作用机理,以此构建区域企业社会责任概念模型。     

Measuring CSR Image: Three Studies to Develop and to Validate a Reliable Measurement Tool

Although research on the corporate social responsibility (CSR) dimension of corporate image has notably increased in recent years, the definition and measurement of the concept for academic purposes still concern researchers. In this article, literature regarding the measurement of CSR image from a customer viewpoint is revised and areas of improvement are identified. A multistage method is implemented to develop and to validate a reliable scale based on stakeholder theory. Results demonstrate the reliability and validity of this new scale for measuring customer perceptions regarding the CSR performance of their service providers. With regard to this, CSR includes corporate responsibilities towards customers, shareholders, employees and society. The scale is consistent among diverse customer cohorts with different gender, age and level of education. Furthermore, results also confirm the applicability of this new scale to structural equation modelling.     

网络通达、金融发展与企业融资费用研究

鉴于“新基建”和“降成本”的现实背景，选取2000—2018年中国31个省级数据实证分析区域网络通达、金融发展与企业融资费用的影响关系。研究发现，区域交通网络通达与金融发展呈正相关，通信网络通达与金融发展呈负相关且通信网络硬件建设与金融发展存在倒U型关系，区域金融发展与企业融资费用呈负相关。在金融发展约束下，区域交通网络通达与企业融资费用呈负相关，通信网络通达对企业融资费用影响具有长短期不一致性，通信网络硬件建设短期内对企业融资具有挤出效应，通信网络软性使用长期对企业融资具有间接竞争加剧效应。网络通达下技术创新与企业融资费用呈负相关且存在倒U型关系。各地区推进新型基础建设投资和降成本中需注意“挤出效应”和“拐点效应”的长短期影响。     

Social Reporting as an Organisational Learning Tool? A Theoretical Framework

Social reporting has become an increasingly important dimension of the corporate social responsibility process. The growing necessity to include the social dimension in reporting practices raises important questions about the nature of social responsibility and its impact on corporate and individual behaviour and performance. The literature has yet to provide a reliable theoretical definition of corporate social responsibility and performance, however. Based on the approach proposed by Simons, we argue that organisational reporting about social responsibility can be viewed as a learning tool in some instances. Under this view the design and implementation of corporate social reporting procedures may lead to individual and organisational dynamic changes that foster organisational performance. Research propositions are then derived from the analysis.     

Language and visual imagery: Issues of corporate identity in East Asia

East Asian companies are increasingly positioning themselves as international players, carrying their corporate and brand identities across East Asia and beyond. Companies in the U.S. and Europe have, meanwhile, sought to compete for business in East Asia, with regionally targeted marketing campaigns of their own. The author points out that corporate identity—the names and symbols that businesses use to represent them in East Asia—must be defined differently than in the West in order to appeal to regional clients and customers. Faced with tough competition in terms of quality and cost, managers of corporate identity must be sensitive to linguistic and cultural factors in order to sell their products. This article summarizes the author's research on the linguistic and cultural factors pertinent to naming and visual identity issues and illustrates how strong sales in East Asia can be partially attributed to an appreciation of these factors     

Governmental environment and nongovernmental behavior: Corporate responsiveness to formal integration of the European community

Although it has been argued that the governmental environment has an important influence on corporate activities, limited systematic and empirical research has been undertaken to study this relationship. This is especially true for regional integration efforts where it is widely assumed that enterprises (and particularly transnational ones) quickly take advantage of new regional opportunities created by government policies. This article examines therefore the question of whether or not integration (more specifically, the European community) affects the behavior of corporate elite members in the Federal Republic of Germany and their enterprises-important nongovernmental actors within the integrating area. First, a theoretical framework is introduced that analytically and phenomenally distinguishes formal governmental and behavioral aspects of integration. Subsequent analysis suggests, among other things, that the strategies of enterprises do not necessarily follow (respond to) governmental integration. The impact of governmental integration on the attitudes and behavior of nongovernmental actors appears to be limited, selective, and uneven in character.