Corporate social responsibility as a source of employee satisfaction

Corporate social responsibility has received an increasing amount of attention from practitioners and scholars alike in recent years. However, very little is known about whether or how corporate social responsibility affects employees. Because employees are primary stakeholders who directly contribute to the success of the company, understanding employee reactions to corporate social responsibility may help answer lingering questions about the potential effects of corporate social responsibility on firms as well as illuminate some of the processes responsible for them. To begin our chapter, we provide a brief history of scholarship on corporate social responsibility and highlight some of the major challenges researchers in this area currently face. We then discuss why corporate social responsibility may represent a special opportunity to influence employees’ general impression of their company. Next, we identify four distinct paths through which corporate social responsibility may affect employees’ relationship with their company that correspond to four universal psychological needs: security, self-esteem, belongingness, and a meaningful existence. Finally, we offer an agenda for micro-level research on corporate social responsibility.     

对公司影像的勾画

本文认为,经济学家有必要更加多层次和全方位地勾画企业的图景。为此,从三维角度观察企业管理而形成的影像,构成了本文“理想化的维度”。这些维度分别是公司的利润、社会需求以及社会责任。一家企业类似一幅画,是企业家个人创造力与管理艺术的体现。它拥有自身的形式与结构,而且旨在体现和满足社会需求。在以三维角度对企业前景分析中,利润、社会需求以及企业和企业家社会责任等维度,应是企业管理理念与实践的主要维度。由于管理不同,企业性质和体制的色彩极其丰富。随着企业社会责任的不断增加,企业活动图景的维度也在不断扩展。     

论科学发展观视域下的石油企业公民形象的构建

在科学发展观的指引下，石油企业如何结合自身的特点，建构适合自己的企业公民形象。这不仅是石油企业内部建设的问题，更重要的是通过石油企业的特殊代表意义，来带动整个社会对企业公民的关注。     

Dow Jones Sustainability Group Index: A Global Benchmark for Corporate Sustainability

Increasingly investors are diversifying their portfolios by investing in companies committed to the concept of corporate sustainability. Investors are attracted to this new investment style because it promises to create long-term shareholder value by embracing opportunities and managing risks deriving from ongoing economic, environmental and social developments. It focuses on future challenges and is capable of capturing qualitative non-financial information for criteria such as quality of management, corporate governance structures, reputational risks, human capital management, stakeholder relations, corporate social responsibility.Here we present the framework used by the Dow Jones Sustainability Group Index (DJSGI) for identifying and ranking companies according to their corporate sustainability performance. In a yearly review the 10% leading sustainability companies in each of the 64 industry groups are selected for inclusion in the DJSGI. Throughout the year the companies are continuously monitored and, if necessary, downrated or excluded from the Index. A variety of sources is used for the assessment and for cross-checking of information, including company questionnaires, company documents, publicly available information, stakeholder relations, media screening and company interviews. The selection process is externally verified and the methodology is reviewed yearly to capture the increasing knowledge and standardisation of sustainability issues and to align it with ongoing initiatives such as the Global Reporting Initiative.     

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。     

Supplier code of conduct–state-of-the-art and customisation in the electronics industry

In the field of corporate social responsibility (CSR), one efficient way to improve the ethical behaviour of a company is the implementation of a code of conduct. When focused on suppliers, this code is referred to as the supplier code of conduct (SCoC). Specific, application-oriented research on SCoCs is rare. The main goals of the present article are to define the state-of-the-art in SCoCs and to show how this review can be used in industrial practice when defining a company-specific SCoC. This article uses the electronics industry as an example. The state-of-the-art review of the content of the SCoCs is structured in five main categories of issues: labour standards, health and safety, environment, ethics and compliance. The practical relevance of this review is demonstrated by applying it in the development of a customised SCoC for a company as a part of the company's corporate risk management activities. This review uses the content analysis of SCoCs based on the website disclosures of the Forbes Fortune 2000 (Technology Hardware & Equipment) companies; which yielded 24 SCoCs. The application was done in an action research framework with a partner company, and the results were verified with the help of a focus group consisting of 10 companies.     

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.     

Doing Well by Reporting Good: Reporting Corporate Responsibility and Corporate Performance

This article aimed to examine the impacts of reporting‐type corporate responsibility activities (CRA‐R) on corporate social and financial performance. Academic research has explored how varying attributes of markets, industry sectors and firms might shape corporate social and financial performance, but includes little effort to examine the impacts of different kinds of CRA on corporate performance. We build on debate about the value of firms' reporting activities related to corporate responsibility. Recent literature suggests that CRA‐R is superficial marketing or “greenwashing.” Despite this viewpoint, corporate reporting activities related to responsibility are rising. In order to solve this puzzle, this article explores the impact of CRA‐R on corporate performance. First, drawing from the institutional perspective, we propose that CRA‐R will positively impact corporate social performance (CSP) oriented toward secondary stakeholders. Second, combining the stakeholder–agency perspective and corporate responsibility literature, we motivate the hypotheses that CRA‐R positively influences corporate financial performance (CFP). Empirical testing with a unique dataset of large US corporations selected in the Fortune 500 support the proposed hypotheses. In particular, both corporate social responsibility and Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) activities positively influence corporate environmental performance, and financial performance. In particular, GRI reporting is a strong indicator to impact both social and financial performance. Our findings indicate that CRA‐R should not simply reflect shallow motivations, but deliver value to noninvestor stakeholders as well as investors.     

Corporate Citizenship and Managerial Motivation: Implications for Business Legitimacy

In 2000, Business and Society Review published a Special Issue of the journal to explore scholars’ ideas about how the practice of corporate citizenship would evolve in the 21st century. Contributors to the volume predicted a change in business motives for engaging in social initiatives, suggesting that managers would begin to see corporate citizenship as a strategic necessity to preserve organizational legitimacy in the face of changing social values. This article uses data from a study of corporate citizenship practices in over 500 Norwegian companies to explore the validity of the Special Issue predictions. We begin by reviewing the foundations of organizational legitimacy theory and examine recent research documenting the growing importance of corporate citizenship for assessments of business legitimacy. We describe our study methods, present our results, and discuss the implications of our findings in this context.     

企业领导者的社会责任取向、企业社会表现和组织绩效的关系研究

企业领导者的社会责任取向、企业社会表现和组织绩效存在一定关系。根据以往的研究,企业社会责任取向包括经济取向、法律取向、伦理取向和慈善取向4个维度。在研究中,把企业社会表现拟合为员工、消费者、股东、强制环保、自觉环保、社区和特殊群体7个因子,把组织绩效分为市场绩效、财务绩效和人力绩效3个因子。研究发现,在企业社会责任取向、企业社会表现和组织绩效3者的关系中,企业社会表现起着中介作用。此外,对国外学者设计的企业社会责任取向问卷进行了本土化,并首次将企业社会责任取向、企业社会表现和组织绩效纳入一个研究框架中。     

上市公司高管更替模式对企业绩效的影响

本文以上市公司2005-2009年间高管更替数据为研究样本,引入了高管团队重组和战略连续性作为中介变量,探讨了不同高管更替模式对企业绩效的影响路径。研究结果表明,上市公司高管强制更替外部聘任对高管团队重组有正向影响,对战略连续性有负向影响,对企业绩效有负向影响,其中高管团队重组和战略连续性在强制更替外部聘任与企业绩效之间起到中介效应;上市公司高管强制更替内部聘任对高管团队重组影响不显著,对战略连续性有正向影响,对企业绩效有正向影响,其中战略连续性在强制更替内部聘任与企业绩效之间起到中介效应;另外,高管团队重组对企业绩效有负向影响,战略连续性对企业绩效有正向影响。     

Corporate Services in Poor Areas: A Case Study with Participative Multistakeholder Involvement

Corporations that provide services such as water, sewage disposal and electricity in poor countries or deprived areas face political, social and economic problems that make it difficult to simultaneously favor the interests of shareholders and other relevant stakeholders. In this paper a case study is presented in which a company, Aguas Argentinas, promoted innovative and participative multistakeholder involvement that produced benefits for all parties. Key factors in the model employed were the generation of credibility and trust, adaptive management to the specific situation of deprived areas, stakeholder dialogue, and participation. It is argued that understanding corporate citizenship as reciprocity and common effort in solving interdependent problems were fundamental to the success of the company in this case.     

Employee Volunteering and Social Capital: Contributions to Corporate Social Responsibility

As employee volunteering (EV) is increasingly regarded as a means of improving companies' community and employee relations, we investigate the contribution of EV to corporate social responsibility, specifically whether and how it contributes to social capital. We investigate the dynamics of EV in three UK companies. We explore the social relations and resources which underpin social capital creation; the roles of opportunity, motivation and ability in bringing the actors together and enhancing their capacity for cooperation; and the ways in which alternative EV modes inform the different dimensions of social capital – networks, trust and norms of cooperation. Our paper contributes to our understanding of EV and the factors that enable it to create social capital. Finally we assess the contribution of EV to the overall corporate social responsibility agenda of companies.     

并购后高管变更的绩效影响:基于中国上市公司的实证分析

基于前人关于高管变更和公司控制权市场的研究,本文分析了上市公司控制权变化后高管变更和绩效之间的关系。我们假设上市公司控制权变更后,高管的变更会促进这些公司财务绩效的提高。本文选用1996-2001年间深圳和上海证券交易所中76家高管随第一大股东变动而变更的上市公司作为样本,并设立了47家第一大股东变动而高管未变更的上市公司作为对比组,用经过行业调整的财务绩效来分析比较。结果发现,公司控制权变化后高管变更的公司的绩效显著提高,而且绩效表现好于公司控制权变化后高管未变动的上市公司的绩效表现。     

Modeling corporate citizenship and turnover intention: social identity and expectancy theories

Drawing upon the expectancy theory and social identity theory, this study proposes a model that explains how perceived corporate citizenship influences turnover intention. In the proposed model, perceived economic and legal citizenships affect turnover intention indirectly via the full mediation of career development expectation, while perceived economic, legal, ethical, and philanthropic citizenships impact turnover intention indirectly via the full mediation of organizational identification. The hypotheses of this study were empirically tested by conducting a survey on employees in the tourism industry. The empirical findings show that a firm’s corporate citizenship can provide a competitive advantage in retaining its employees by simultaneously boosting their career development expectation and organizational identification. Lastly, managerial implications and limitations of this study based on empirical results are presented for in-depth discussion.

     

The role of business in society

This is one of a series of articles dealing with social and political issues relevant to business. It is intended to present some of the dilemmas which face top management in setting objectives and policies for the business. A number of key issues are isolated, matching economic objectives and social responsibilities, defining the rôle of the huge multi-national company, reconciling the different aims of owners, managers, and employees, etc. Finally the authors pose the problem: how should the modern corporation be controlled to ensure that it operates in the interests of the community at large, as well as the shareholders?     

上市公司高层管理人员监控的有效性研究

政府作为国有企业的出资人和国有产权的代理人,将政府机构控股转移到国有企业控股,并通过法规和准则来加强公司治理,以此来提高对上市公司监控的有效性。由此,使用公司业绩作为上述2项措施发挥监控作用的替代变量,实证分析其对上市公司监控的有效性。研究结果表明,国有企业控股公司比政府机构控股公司更能监控高层管理人员;同时,高层管理人员的变更对公司业绩有较高的敏感性,但公司治理机制并没有对公司高层管理人员变更与公司业绩的敏感性产生重大影响。在我国,上市公司由于业绩欠佳而更换高层管管理人员时,对控股股东的激励比公司治理机制更重要。     

中国情境下企业社会责任与财务绩效关系的实证研究——基于大、中小型上市公司的对比分析

本文以2012年发布的中国500强且在沪深上市的企业为大型企业样本,以中小板上市企业为中小型企业样本,选取各企业2010-2012年会计年报数据,运用结构化方程模型和多元回归分析方法,分别实证检验了大型企业、中小型企业承担社会责任对企业短期财务绩效和长期财务绩效的影响。研究结果表明:(1)无论是大型企业还是中小型企业,承担社会责任都不会引起其短期财务状况的恶化。(2)大型企业和中小型企业的社会责任与长期财务绩效关系的表现不完全相同,大型企业多呈正向关系,中小型企业则负向关系较多。(3)特别值得关注的是,无论大型企业还是中小型企业,对员工和顾客的社会责任与长期财务绩效都呈负相关关系。本文研究揭示了在当前中国情境下企业履行社会责任不容乐观的现状,同时研究结果对于引导企业履行社会责任,促进我国经济社会的健康和谐发展,也具有重要的借鉴价值。     

The Role of Distrust in Offshore Safety Performance

Trust is recognized as a potentially important factor in safety within high-risk industries. However, little detailed empirical research has explored how trust operates in these contexts to influence worker safety performance. The present study addresses this by (i) identifying the target (occupational group) in which trust is most important for good safety, and (ii) establishing the "type" of trust (trust or distrust) with the greatest impact on safety performance. A questionnaire survey of 203 UK offshore gas workers' attitudes of trust and distrust toward four occupational groups (workmates, supervisors, offshore managers, and contractors) and an operating company was conducted. Logistic regression analysis identified attitudes toward offshore management as the strongest predictor of safety performance at an industry level. At an installation level, safety performance was best predicted by attitudes toward contractors and workmates. Further analysis revealed attitudes of distrust as better predictors of safety performance compared to attitudes of trust. These findings suggest that safety professionals should pay more attention to the role of distrust in safety performance. They also suggest that safety initiatives should target attitudes toward specific groups for optimal effectiveness.     

Why ownership matters

The main argument of this article is that corporate planners have tended to concentrate on subjects such as control of business strategies, financial management and global economic assessment; they have paid too little attention to the ownership of corporate entities. Apart from the overwhelming economic and social arguments in favour of dispersed ownership, there is increasing evidence that companies which adopt a positive planning approach to the ownership of their business will derive wider benefits. Much more statistical and attitudinal evaluation is required; individual companies need to support the macro-work of academic research with detailed micro-studies at the company level. If these studies continue to support the basic argument, there are positive steps which each company will be able to take to support the cause of wider ownership.