To read this content please select one of the options below:

$40.00 (excl. tax) 30 days to view and download

Performance below social aspirations, CSR initiatives and CEO characteristics: a conceptual framework

Nongnapat Thosuwanchot, Jitrinee Chanphati

Social Responsibility Journal

ISSN: 1747-1117

Article publication date: 31 December 2024

Issue publication date: 16 January 2025

83

Abstract

Purpose

This conceptual paper aims to contribute to prior corporate social responsibility (CSR) studies by examining CSR issues through the lens of the behavioral theory of the firm, which emphasizes the bounded rationality and limited cognition of firms’ decision-makers. The authors suggest that social aspiration may be a more important benchmark since stakeholders tend to evaluate a firm’s corporate social performance (CSP) against other comparable firms.

Design/methodology/approach

After reviewing various theoretical perspectives that have been applied to CSR studies spanning from 1985 to 2023, the authors summarize their limitations on examining executives’ decisions toward CSR initiatives. By drawing on the behavioral theory of the firm, a conceptual model was developed to explain how firm executives increase subsequent CSR initiatives when their firms’ CSP is below social aspiration.

Findings

This study suggests that firms increase their subsequent CSR initiatives when their CSP is below the performance of their peers. Furthermore, the authors propose three important characteristics of chief executive officers, including tenure, hubris and international experience, as boundary conditions that can impact the extent of firms’ subsequent CSR initiatives when CSP is below social aspiration.

Originality/value

The paper contributes to the CSR literature by emphasizing the influence of decision-makers’ bounded rationality on firms’ CSR initiatives.

Keywords

Citation

Thosuwanchot, N. and Chanphati, J. (2025), "Performance below social aspirations, CSR initiatives and CEO characteristics: a conceptual framework", Social Responsibility Journal, Vol. 21 No. 3, pp. 667-686. https://doi.org/10.1108/SRJ-01-2023-0048

Publisher

:

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2024, Emerald Publishing Limited

Related articles