基于社会网络视角的企业社会责任行为相似性研究

本文利用国泰安数据库和锐思数据库中2010年-2012年的我国上市公司管理层数据、公司财务数据,以及润灵环球责任评级2010年-2012年我国A股上市公司的企业社会责任评级数据,从社会网络的角度出发,探索我国上市公司社会责任履行行为的相似性。研究结果发现,公司之间存在的社会网络会造成企业社会责任履行行为具有一定的相似性。当企业越是处于核心地位,越是容易传播信息,控制能力越强的时候,该公司同与之相关联的公司在社会责任履行行为方面越是具有相似性。这一结论为改善我国企业社会责任履行现状提供了一个全新的思考方向。     

Corporate social responsibility disclosure and market valuation: evidence from Spanish listed firms

Using a sample of listed Spanish companies pertaining to the IBEX35 index for the period 2007–2011, this paper examines whether those firms with higher CSR disclosure ratings are more valued by market participants. This study also complements the literature addressing the value relevance of CSR disclosure by further analyzing not only the direct effects of CSR reporting on stock prices but also its indirect effects through its interaction with main accounting variables (i.e., earnings and book value of equity). CSR reports can also affect stock price indirectly because the sustainability report may be perceived by investors to be a source of further and complementary information regarding the nature, composition and trends of the traditional value-relevant accounting variables. Finally, this study also analyzes whether CSR disclosure by firms operating in environmentally-sensitive industries is assessed differently by market participants than CSR disclosure by companies operating in other industries. By using a modified Ohlson (Contemp Account Res 1:661–687, 1995) model, it is found that CSR disclosure do have both a direct and indirect effect on stock prices by modifying the value-relevance of earnings and book value of equity. Moreover, CSR disclosure by companies operating in environmentally-sensitive industries is associated with higher market valuations than CSR disclosure by companies operating in nonsensitive industries. This may be due to the fact that CSR disclosures provide information that allow investors to make better assessments of the increased risk related to potential litigation and future environmental liabilities, thereby reducing information asymmetries and the risk of adverse selection.     

Sustaining the Financial Value of Global CSR: Reconciling Corporate and Stakeholder Interests in a Less Regulated Environment

In this article we examine the association between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and firm value. This line of research is important since firms continue to invest in CSR even though past studies reveal a limited linkage between financial value and CSR. However, the business case for CSR or “doing good while making a profit,” appears to be advancing within the business ethics literature as a preferred conception of CSR. We conjecture that the greater unification and refinement of both profit maximization and stakeholder interests through corporate acts, not statements alone, will sustain the financial value of CSR in a less regulated global business environment. We study the triangle of what companies say, what companies do, and firm financial performance. We analyze Fortune 250 firms and find a positive association between what companies do based on KLD Research and Analytics, Inc. (KLD) ratings, and what companies state about ethics in their CSR statements. We then employ regression analysis and find that companies’ socially responsible acts are positively associated with overall firm value and financial performance. Yet we do not find a statistically significant association between what companies say regarding ethics in their CSR statements and their financial outcomes. These results suggest that firm value and financial performance is associated with what companies do and not what they say. Our results seem to be driven by multinational corporations (MNCs) and not by non‐MNCs. This is possibly because MNCs generally operate in a less regulated global business environment that often necessitates strong ethical corporate leadership to further stakeholder interests. Overall, these results help reconcile corporate and stakeholder objectives since evidence of a link between financial performance and doing good sustains global CSR.     

Determinants of voluntary CSR disclosure: empirical evidence from Germany

Currently, companies spend a great deal of effort on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) disclosures. CSR disclosure relates to the provision of information on companies’ environmental and social performance. From an economic perspective, companies might disclose this information to avoid or decrease potential political costs. We construct a CSR disclosure index based on the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines. Using content analysis, we analyze 130 listed German companies’ CSR disclosures (470 firm-year observations) to investigate the determinants of these voluntary disclosure activities. Our results show that, consistent with the political cost theory, German companies’ disclosures of all CSR issues are affected by their visibility, shareholder structure, and relationship with their US stakeholders. In addition, higher profitability is associated with more environmental disclosures. Finally, size and industry membership affect the amount of CSR disclosure.     

Connecting the Dots: Do Financial Analysts Help Corporate Boards Improve Corporate Social Responsibility?

This paper presents an examination of the joint impact of board structural elements at firm level and financial analysts as market-level corporate governance (CG) on corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance. Our study contributes to the CG–CSR literature by adopting the bundling approach, a perspective that has recently attracted researchers’ attention as an answer to any heterogeneity and fragmentation in existing findings. It is based on an extensive sample consisting of 7,739 firm-year observations of US firms for the 2006–2015 period. The findings suggest that financial analysts complement the corporate board with more independence, gender diversity and a specialized CSR committee to realize a certain level of CSR performance of a firm. The findings also indicate that analysts substitute for those internal governance factors that are associated with weaker boards – larger sizes and dual-role CEOs. We also draw implications for research and practice from our findings.     

企业社会责任一致性对财务绩效的影响研究

基于工具性利益相关者理论,以A股上市公司为研究对象,考察了企业社会责任时间和结构这两类一致性对财务绩效的影响,并检验了信任因素在该过程的中介作用,以及企业社会责任水平和不同利益相关者关注的调节效应。研究表明:企业持续地承担社会责任(时间一致性)有助于提升财务绩效,而公平地承担社会责任(结构一致性)则对财务绩效有负面影响;信任因素是一致性和财务绩效之间的中介机制,“时间/结构一致性—信任—财务绩效”是社会责任发挥作用的逻辑路径之一;企业社会责任整体水平的提升将强化结构一致性的负面作用,而外部利益相关者中分析师的关注会强化时间一致性的积极影响;对于结构一致性而言,包括公众和分析师在内的外部利益相关者的关注会强化其负面影响,而内部独立董事的关注则有助于缓和这一负面影响。     

CSR signaling in controversial and noncontroversial industries: CSR policies,governance structures,and transparency tools

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives are signals used by organizations to reduce information asymmetries within the market and to make their commitment to sustainability observable. The present study aims at investigating the hypothesis that responsible companies operating in controversial industries (i.e., companies whose core business or production processes are perceived as questionable by society given current environmental, social, or/and ethical issues) are likely to be more active in using different types of CSR signals. Through ANCOVA, we assess how firms belonging to both controversial and non-controversial industries differ in the way they manage CSR signals. The empirical results show that companies in controversial sectors are significantly more focused on developing CSR policies and transparency tools since they expect these signals to be really visible and distinctive to stakeholders. However, companies in controversial industries seem to be similar to non-controversial companies in signaling CSR governance, suggesting that organizations expect receivers to attribute little relevance to the least visible signals. Therefore, these signals do not grant a sufficiently large reputational payoff, discouraging firms from taking advantage of the implementation of CSR governance structures. The study supports the idea that firms, in designing different types of CSR signals, take into account the peculiarities of different receivers. At the same time though, this could make firms underestimate the receivers’ ability to decode the signals and to generate countersignals, thus failing in assessing properly the expected return from their CSR signaling.     

When Do Multinational Companies Consider Corporate Social Responsibility? A Multi‐country Study in Sub‐Saharan Africa

While African countries are becoming more and more relevant as host countries for suppliers of multinational companies little is known about corporate social responsibility (CSR) in this region. To fill this gap, the present article explores CSR considerations of foreign affiliates of multinational companies when choosing local African suppliers. The article suggests a model of three types of determinants, namely firm characteristics, exports, and intra‐trade. Analyses of a large‐scale and quite unique firm level data for more than 2,000 foreign owned firms in 19 sub‐Saharan African countries demonstrate that firms importing intermediates from their parent company abroad are more likely to implement CSR. Similarly, CSR plays a larger role for affiliates that export to developed countries. Different determinants affect environmental and social CSR activities.     

不同CSR分担模式下的闭环供应链销售努力与定价决策

本文研究考虑企业社会责任(CSR)闭环供应链的定价及销售努力问题,在制造商、零售商以及二者联合承担CSR三种模式下,分析了CSR行为对闭环供应链销售努力及定价策略的影响。研究表明,无论在何种CSR分担模式下,成员企业的CSR行为不仅有利于降低产品价格,提高零售商的销售努力水平、产品销量及废旧产品回收效果,还有效的增加了制造商的社会福利、第三方及系统的总利润。当制造商或零售商单独承担CSR时,第三方及闭环供应链整体的利润均相等且大于二者联合承担CSR时。当制造商和零售商联合承担CSR时,二者的社会福利均大于其单独承担CSR时,且主导零售商的社会福利较之制造商更大。     

Governance Choices for Corporate Social Responsibility: to Contribute,Collaborate or Internalize?

Within a competitive business environment where resources are limited, it is increasingly important for senior management to make every investment count. Measuring ‘return on investment’ occurs at every level of operations—so why not also in the arena of Corporate Social activity? Until now, much research has focused on finding the link between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and increased business performance. Researchers have not examined the cost implications associated with the different forms of governance utilized by companies to implement their CSR activities, e.g., outsourcing through charitable contributions, developing an in-house program, or creating a more collaborative model, which benefits both the company and the partner nonprofit organization. Careful examination and evaluation of these costs will help senior management choose the governance structure that will maximize the benefits they reap from CSR activities.Drawing upon insights from organizational economics, this article develops a framework to compare the alternative modes of CSR governance and identifies the key drivers that affect governance choice, including associated costs. Most importantly, it provides a decision-making tool that can guide senior management in this vital choice as a way to contribute to the competitive advantage of the firm.     

Consequences of Collaborative Governance in CSR: An Empirical Illustration of Strategic Responses to Institutional Pluralism and Some Theoretical Implications

Collaborative governance (CG) is becoming the common currency of decision‐making, able to surmount existing institutional constraints to effectively address challenges related to sustainability and social and environmental corporate behavior. CG approaches may however result in institutional complexity. As an illustration of CG in the domain of corporate social responsibility (CSR), the ISO 26000 standard is a legitimate point of reference for organizations worldwide. The standard represents a pluralistic institutional logic that resonates several tensions arising from the domain it tries to standardize, the nature of its development process, its interpretation of CSR and the type of standard it represents. This article aims to identify and examine strategic responses to ISO 26000 by various standards‐related organizations (including national standardization institutes, certification organizations, and service providers) and to contribute to the understanding of strategic responses of organizations to pluralistic institutional logics that result from CG.     

Corporate Social Responsibility through Cross‐sector Partnerships: Implications for Civil Society,the State,and the Corporate Sector in India

Corporations are increasingly forced to widen their agendas to include social and environmental concerns, or corporate social responsibility (CSR). This development has been recorded in the current academic debate, and the views regarding its implications for business, the state, and civil society diverge. However, there is agreement within the CSR and corporate governance literatures that there is a lack of thorough empirical studies of these effects. Based on a case study of the multinational wind energy company Suzlon Energy's CSR projects in rural India, this article contends that CSR projects implemented through cross‐sector partnerships can help to build the capacities of civil society organizations (CSOs). Although the risk of corporate steering of the civil society agenda is reduced when CSR prioritizes community needs over business imperatives, CSOs tend to bear the highest costs in partnerships, through credibility losses and insecurity concerning project terms and funding, reinforcing the importance of critical cooperation and complementary core competencies in cross‐sector partnerships. The results have implications for the strategies of corporations, CSOs, and governments as well as for the planning of national and international development aid.     

The Function of Credibility in Information Processing for Risk Perception

This study examines how credibility affects the way people process information and how they subsequently perceive risk. Three conceptual areas are brought together in this analysis: the psychometric model of risk perception, Eagly and Chaiken's heuristic-systematic information processing model, and Meyer's credibility index. Data come from a study of risk communication in the circumstance of state health department investigations of suspected cancer clusters (five cases, N = 696). Credibility is assessed for three information sources: state health departments, citizen groups, and industries involved in each case. Higher credibility for industry and the state directly predicts lower risk perception, whereas high credibility for citizen groups predicts greater risk perception. A path model shows that perceiving high credibility for industry and state-and perceiving low credibility for citizen groups-promotes heuristic processing, which in turn is a strong predictor of lower risk perception. Alternately, perceiving industry and the state to have low credibility also promotes greater systematic processing, which consistently leads to perception of greater risk. Between a one-fifth and one-third of the effect of credibility on risk perception is shown to be indirectly transmitted through information processing.     

The Social Dimensions of Business Excellence

In an era of dynamic markets, globalisation, telecommunication and volatile stock markets, the board of directors of listed companies have grown familiar with the pressure of shareholders. Nowadays CEO's discus corporate responsible behaviour and sustainability more often. They feel the pressure of external stakeholders. They are aware of the increasing vulnerability of their corporate reputation, an increasing number of financial institutions start demanding social and environmental criteria — and it is more and more difficult to attract new talented people and at the same time, keeping existing employees satisfied. These developments make companies aware of the social dimensions of their organisation, their corporate identity, their role within society and their duty towards future generations.The business environment is beginning to accept that prosperity, profitability and shareholder value alone do not represent the value of the company. The companies’ ability to grow and to improve continuously is also determined by its social competences, ethical responsibility and environmental contributions. This shift of focus leads to a reorientation of the concept of business excellence. At first, quality management focused on the quality improvement of products and services, later on the processes providing these products. Quality was renamed into business excellence when corporations oriented themselves on the quality of the organisation and the chain (or network or hub) in which it operates. With the present challenges at hand, companies are beginning to focus on the quality of society while taking care of their core businesses, an objective that transcends and includes the former quality orientations.This article first introduces the European Business Excellence Model (EFQM model), which have facilitated the transformation toward an integral management approach, including openings to corporate social responsibility (CSR). We will than elaborate on the cultural context of companies engaged in CSR and social responsible investing (SRI) activities. We will end this article with an overview of CSR activities, structured according the EFQM model.     

Financial Returns of Corporate Social Responsibility,and the Moral Freedom and Responsibility of Business Leaders

A number of theorists have proposed mechanisms suggesting that corporate social responsibility produces better financial results. Others subscribe to the theory that, realistically, less ethical means are necessary. This article contains an analysis of these perspectives drawing on observations from evolutionary game theory and nature. Based on these analyses, it is concluded that the financial returns of corporate social responsibility and irresponsibility (CSR and CSI) are equal on average. The explanation is that CSR and CSI aredriven to a state of equilibrium, because if one or the other were to offer higher profits, it would attract more players who would compete for the best opportunities until there was no difference in average profit. Existing empirical research generally shows a positive correlation between CSR as measured and corporate financial performance. It is argued that what is actually causing that finding is probably not CSR but management skill. More skillful managers, whether actually responsible or irresponsible, are able to obtain both higher profits and greater credit in imperfect measures of CSR. Next it is shown that this theory of equal returns implies greater moral freedom and therefore responsibility for business leaders. It is concluded that this insight can intensify the interest of decent business leaders in vigorously championing CSR.     

Die Bedeutung von Steuern in der Nachhaltigkeitsberichterstattung: Eine international vergleichende empirische Analyse

Due to tax competition, high levels of national debt and promulgated tax avoidance strategies of large corporations, there is a growing interest of multiple stakeholders in taxation putting taxes on the corporate social responsibility (CSR) agenda. This study empirically examines the relevance of taxes in sustainability reports of 90 corporations listed on the Dow Jones 30, DAX 30 and FTSE 100. The findings show that 54,4?% of these corporations disclose tax information in their reports. The quality of disclosure is examined using a scoring model based on the tax-related performance indicators of theGlobal Reporting Initiative Guidelines and two standards for voluntary disclosure of tax information. In most cases, disclosure practices are of low quality. However, there are a few corporations providing high disclosure quality, especially in the UK. By analyzing the determinants of disclosure, this study demonstrates that extractive companies and companies that have been object of negative tax-related media coverage tend to disclose more information. Furthermore, corporations with higher profitability and high performance in CSR rankings rather disclose tax information.     

CSR as Value Attunement within Governance Processes: Stakeholder Dialogue,Corporate Principles and Regulation

I argue that a governance perspective on corporate social responsibility (CSR) makes it possible to explain why the concept will always be under‐defined, is normative and thus political by nature, and is and should be difficult to measure. The perspective also makes it possible to understand the interaction between corporate values and stakeholders values. In processes of dialogue within governance systems and governance structures, changing insights into the principles of CSR can lead to regulation or its adjustment. Power is important in these dialogues. Principles are at least partly shaped within governance systems and governance structures, and they influence the outcomes of corporate policies. Changes within the regulatory framework could also lead to changes in the principles of CSR. Value attunement processes could lead to regulation, which again influences the governance structures and thus the power of stakeholders within the dialogue. The theoretical model provided helps to analyze why CSR is different in companies, cultures and academic traditions.     

Credibility, Information Preferences, and Information Interests

The Seveso Directive of the European Union demands that information be provided to the public by companies and authorities about facts, risks, and behaviors related to hazardous facilities, in particular chemical facilities. On behalf of the Commission of the European Communities, a survey was run in five European countries on the credibility of various information sources. This article describes the results of the German study. 430 persons were interviewed with a questionnaire of 50 items, in particular about their perceptions and evaluations of technical risks, the credibility of sources of information about chemical risks, their preferences for receiving risk information from these sources, and their interests in receiving information. Major findings are great differences in credibility, differentiated information preferences, and strong information interests. Surprisingly, credibility played only a minor role with regard to the respondents'information preferences and interests.     

企业社会责任、媒体报道与股价崩盘风险

理论上企业披露社会责任信息既可能抑制股价崩盘风险,亦可能加剧股价崩盘风险;新闻媒体作为社会责任披露的重要载体在其中既可能弱化也可能强化这种影响,对这些问题的探讨是近年来公司金融领域研究的热点,但学者对当前的研究结果尚存在较多争论。鉴于此,本文首先在理论上导出社会责任披露对股价崩盘风险的双向作用机制,然后引入新闻媒体研究其可能的传导途径。基于我国A股市场所有上市公司2010-2018年面板数据的研究结果显示：上市公司通过披露企业社会责任指数能够显著降低股价崩盘风险;企业履行社会责任会显著增加媒体报道的数量,而媒体报道数量增加能够显著抑制股价崩盘风险,即媒体报道在企业社会责任影响股价崩盘风险的过程中起到中介作用;进一步的拓展研究发现：企业社会责任指数中的股东责任对股价崩盘风险影响最大,而供应商、客户和消费者权益、社会责任的影响不显著;与中性媒体报道相比,正面媒体报道和负面媒体报道的中介作用效果更强。     

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT,USER INVOLVEMENT,AND THE USEFULNESS OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS*

This study investigates organizational factors related to user involvement in information system development and perceived system usefulness. Using a sample of 118 usermanagers in 34 companies, the results show that user involvement in design and implementation is related positively to users' perceptions of system usefulness. However, organizational factors were not found to be related significantly to user involvement, as had been originally hypothesized. Rather, organizational factors either had a direct relationship with perceived usefulness or moderated the relationship between involvement and usefulness. Two factors reflecting an MIS department's maturity (size and age) were found to reduce users' perceptions of system usefulness. Also, users at higher levels and those making more structured decisions found their systems more useful, although the user's level was found to moderate perceptions of system usefulness during the design stage. Three other organizational factors (level of MIS manager, MIS department scope, and decentralization of authority) also were found to have moderating effects.