Corporate Social Responsibility and Firms’ Financial Performance: A New Insight

A Perceptual Approach to the Impact of CSR on Organizational Financial Performance

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a progressively significant issue for organizations and governments. To benefit from a good reputation that reflects on organizational performance, organizations must ensure the balance between stakeholders' needs. This paper studies the direct and indirect effects of CSR on organizational financial performance as perceived by employees of organizations. The investigation used structural equation modeling to evaluate and describe the nature of the relationship between these two variables. The empirical study uses a perceptual approach, evaluating the perceptions of the closest stakeholders (employees). Data on the perceptions of 431 employees in Romanian organizations were collected following a questionnaire-based survey. The results indicate a strong effect of social responsibility on both direct and mediated organizational financial performance. The relationships established with the stakeholders ultimately affect organizational financial performance through variables such as the attraction and retention of employees, the attraction and loyalty of customers, more accessible access to capital, and the organization's reputation.

Responsible Production for Sustainability: Concept Analysis and Bibliometric Review

Responsible production is receiving growing attention in manufacturing operations, but systematic analysis of its concept is scanty. This paper aims to advance the knowledge by examining the research evolution of responsible production for sustainability. Using the concept analysis approach, we first summarize four underlying attributes, including the change to sustainability, preventive initiatives, process management, and company-specific context. Next, we identify that contextual factors and firm characteristics are antecedents of responsible production, which consequently affects customer attitude, employee behavior, and firm performance. Through a bibliometric review of 518 most relevant articles, we observe that responsible production for sustainability has seen a research boom in developing countries and that China is one of the most conspicuous countries in this regard. We also recognize that the link of responsible production and financial performance receives particular interest, but it needs a more synthesized assessment framework. To promote research development of responsible production for sustainability, research collaboration, either at the author or country level, is highly desirable for knowledge creation and transfer. In view of the growing interest on its performance value, we propose a research framework with guideposts for studying responsible production and financial performance. This review provides managerial and policy implications for responsible production with insights to advance knowledge in this emerging research field.

Inculcation of Green Behavior in Employees: A Multilevel Moderated Mediation Approach

In this era of globalization, preventing organizations from undermining and degrading the environment has become a great challenge, especially when considering that organizations are among the major contributors to environmental deterioration. As a result, scholars have recently begun to focus on understanding the key determinants of employee green behavior (EGB), a nascent field within the area of sustainable development and organizational behavior. This study extends the emerging discussion over EGB by investigating how green behavior can be inculcated into employees’ mindsets and under what conditions this can best be accomplished. The present research examines the relationship between ethical leadership and EGB by the mediating mechanisms of green psychological climate, employees’ harmonious environmental passion, and employees’ environmental commitment, through the underpinnings of social learning theory. Further, the study examines the contingency effects of leaders’ pro-environmental attitudes to determine how leaders with ethical attributes and pro-environmental attitudes can create a green psychological climate that ultimately leads to EGB through employees’ harmonious environmental passion and employees’ environmental commitment. The approach to implementing theory development is deductive as the research employed a quantitative research design and survey administration with a time-lagged approach. Multi-level data were collected from 400 respondents working in public and private sector hospitals and universities in Pakistan. The analysis was conducted in MPlus. The results show positive and statistically significant effects of ethical leadership on EGB through the serial mediations of a green psychological climate and employees’ harmonious environmental passion, and a green psychological climate and employees’ environmental commitment. Moreover, the leaders’ pro-environmental attitude contingency strengthens the indirect impact of ethical leadership on EGB. This research provides several managerial implications through which organizations can strategically concentrate on EGB, including saving energy by turning off unused lights, reducing waste, and recycling.

The Influence of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Social Media on the Strategy Formulation Process

The current theory on strategy formulation is based significantly on environmental analysis and leveraging strategic capability. There is limited understanding of how corporate social responsibility (CSR) and social media strategies could develop the strategy formulation to improve strategic outcomes. The input into the strategic formulation process does not tend to take account of customers’ inclination for CSR practices and policies. This is particularly important for consumers who can spurn organisations that do not incorporate ethical practices in their core values. The paper aims to show that social media is an inclusive tool, because of the duplex communication techniques that enhance it, and CSR is complementary to building a robust strategic planning process. The methodology is a qualitative case study using a reflective perspective based on a complete participant role. The results demonstrate that there are challenges in operating a strategic planning process that is situated in an uncertain, volatile and dynamic business environment; it requires an integrated partnership between the inter-organisational actors and other stakeholders. Social media is the integrator of resources and CSR helps to build relationships, acting as a reinforcer of trust.