Search results

We test whether six individual components of corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosures in the form of environmental, employee, anticorruption, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), health and human rights are converging (global), diverging (regional) or crossverging (hybrid) on a sample of 335 multinational enterprises (MNEs) from 31 countries from three regions of the world: Europe, Anglo-Saxon cluster and Asia and the emerging markets.

We use an analysis of variance (ANOVA) and multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) analysis to test for differences between the six components of CSR on a sample of 335 MNEs from 310 countries for three regions of the world.

The effect of one-way ANOVA was significant for each of the six dependent variables separately on the differences between MNEs from the three regions. Taken together clearly the MANCOVA analysis indicates that there are signs of crossvergence between MNEs from Asia and the emerging markets and those from the Anglo-Saxon and European subsamples due to the hybrid nature of the findings.

The results of the present study support the regional nature of CSR practices and disclosures and on many of the individual components CSR disclosures are a reflection of their home environments.

The study sheds light on the ongoing debate on whether CSR practices are converging, diverging or crossverging on a sample of 335 MNEs from the three regions of the world. Clear evidence of divergence was seen in that in all six dimensions of CSR, there were differences between MNEs from Europe and those from the Anglo-Saxon region reinforcing the implicit and explicit nature of the phenomena. There were significant differences between MNEs from Asia and emerging markets and Europe on four out of the six dimensions of CSR indicating mostly divergence. There were also significant differences between MNEs from Asia and emerging markets and those from the Anglo-Saxon region on three out of the six dimensions of CSR indicating the presence of divergence.

The term corporate social responsibility (CSR) is not new as it has its root in the past, but now it becomes more complicated today. It has been observed that CSR is the building block of social capital and globalisation is the main factor which has forced the market and business to interact with the people either they are from their own place or from different part of the country. At the time of interaction, people interact with the differences of their cultures, beliefs and they have different hopes from the companies and its place in society. This reality of interaction with many differences provides us a direction to explore the cross-cultural variations and to know how it helps in creating the social responsibility policy by the government in different countries and its implementation by business people, employees and other stakeholders. This theoretical review is aimed to explore the role of institutionalisation theory for increasing the social capital and ensuring positive CSR practices in cross-cultural scenario.

This study aims to explore how institutional quality impacts private capital participation in large-scale infrastructure development, particularly in public–private partnership (PPP) projects, aiming to enhance incentives for private sector involvement.

Building on new institutional theory, a triangular theoretical framework was constructed to analyze the high participation of private capital in PPP projects, focusing on seven key institutional factors. Data from 1,319 PPP projects across 36 Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) countries from 2015 to 2020 were then analyzed using a combination of necessary condition analysis (NCA) and fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to evaluate the combined impact and interactions of these factors.

Results indicate that high private capital participation does not hinge on a single institutional quality factor but results from the synergistic influence of multiple factors. The paths leading to high private capital participation can be categorized as regulatory-led, normative-cognitive synergistic, regulatory-normative synergistic and institutional failure-led. Among these, regulatory quality plays a central role in the regulatory-led; the synergy between political stability and voice and accountability is pivotal in the normative-cognitive synergistic, and the rule of law, in combination with voice and accountability, is essential to the regulatory-normative synergistic.

This research systematically examines the multidimensional impact of institutional quality, revealing how different institutional factors interact to influence private capital’s willingness to participate and behavior. It enriches applied research in institutional economics within PPP projects and provides a new theoretical perspective and methodological framework to the scholarly community.

The purpose of this study is to empirically examine the impact of ownership structure variables on the level of sustainability reporting (SR) of listed BRICS energy firms as well as the moderating role of the board sustainability committee on this relationship.

This study used a sample of 1,260 firm-year observations from BRICS for the period 2010–2019. This study uses the Bloomberg database, companies’ annual reports and companies’ websites for data collection and the ordinary least squares (OLS) and instrutemental variables (IV) two-stage least squares (2SLS) regressions for data analysis.

This study provides empirical evidence that foreign ownership, managerial ownership and blockholder ownership have a positive and statistically significant impact on the level of SR. However, the results indicate institutional ownership impacts SR negatively. The findings remain qualitatively the same after addressing endogeneity concerns using the IV 2SLS regression method.

This paper has some limitations. This study focuses on listed companies in BRICS. Therefore, future studies should look at non-listed small and medium enterprises. Similarly, because this study focuses on emerging economies, future studies should consider comparative studies between developed and developing economies.

This study makes significant empirical, theoretical and regulatory contributions to policymakers, investors and management on the ownership type that positively influence the level of SR.

This study contributes to the corporate governance and sustainability literature and extends existing empirical literature on the role of ownership structure on the level of SR in the context of emerging economies. This study provides important theoretical and empirical evidence for regulators and policymakers.

Artificial intelligence (AI) carries the risk of widening gender inequalities due to the digital divide, while simultaneously promising to equalise the situation for women through the gender digital dividend. The conflicting findings from previous studies justify the need to investigate the gendered aspects of Artificial Intelligence (AI) diffusion. Specifically, the aim of this chapter is to understand the relationship between female entrepreneurship and the adoption of AI technologies within business contexts at the macroeconomic level. To achieve this, cluster analyses are conducted for the European Union (EU) countries. The results indicate an inverted U-shaped pattern in the relationship between the level of female entrepreneurship and the diffusion of AI technology in business. In the EU countries belonging to clusters with the highest level of AI diffusion, female entrepreneurship is at a moderate level, while in the EU countries with the lowest level of intelligent transformation, both extremes are observed: the highest and the lowest levels of female entrepreneurship. The variety of patterns in female entrepreneurship and AI technology spread in the EU countries implies the complex and multidimensional nature of the interrelationship, and, thus, it indicates the need for diverse, country-specific policies and practices to reach the intelligent transformation with respect to more equal society.

This chapter explores the interplay between organizational conservatism (OC) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices within family firms, specifically in Morocco. By exploring the familial dimensions of CSR, the study aims to uncover the impact of OC on CSR strategies, outcomes, and implications. Employing an exploratory qualitative design with multiple case studies, the research examines three Moroccan family firms. Thematic content analysis (TCA) was used to synthesize interview data and extract primary themes. The findings illustrate that OC fosters stable, values-driven, and sustainable CSR initiatives. This is achieved through the alignment of shared values, cautious change management, prudent financial strategies, commitment to legacy, and integration with family values. Moreover, the study underscores the informal nature of CSR practices in the Moroccan context, which are deeply intertwined with cultural, social, and religious norms. The implications of this research shed light on the effectiveness of OC in promoting enduring and meaningful CSR efforts within family firms. This study contributes to a nuanced understanding of the relationship between conservatism, CSR, and familial dimensions, enriching the discourse on responsible business practices.

This study investigates the motivations and challenges of Nigerian women in leadership roles in male-dominated family firms. It addresses the literature gap in gender dynamics within these businesses, particularly in Nigeria, where such enterprises are economically significant yet often display gender biases due to cultural and societal norms. Using qualitative methods and a multiple case study approach, the research analyzes the experiences of eight women leading family firms. It identifies three key motivations for these women: acquiring necessary skills and capabilities, career development, and enhancing quality of life, influenced by personal growth, job satisfaction, and balancing work and family. The study also highlights three main challenges: the glass ceiling effect, traditional gender roles, and primogeniture, leading to stereotypes, societal pressures, and often relegating women to subordinate roles or presenting significant leadership hurdles.

The purpose of this study is to learn what kinds of obstacles Indian businesses face when trying to make biodiversity protection a top priority as part of their corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts. Interventions are proposed to elevate biodiversity protection to the ranks of CSR priorities among Indian businesses.

This study applies an interpretive phenomenological analysis strategy to glean information from in-depth interviews with leaders and professionals in CSR.

The findings of the study revealed that the main factors influencing Indian companies’ CSR area choices are existing processes and stakeholder pressures. Companies prioritise engaging with local communities and employees when selecting CSR activities. The major challenge is integrating biodiversity into business plans, with CSR heads struggling to secure investment due to long gestation periods and limited media coverage. Implementing agencies face issues with project deliverables, mainly due to land ownership and lack of local government support. Companies can also encourage employee involvement in pro-environmental behaviours. The study also provides practical solutions for Indian companies to enhance their CSR engagement in biodiversity conservation.

The research only focuses on the opinions of CSR specialists and leaders, so it may only consider part of the situation’s complexity inside the organisation. The results may only apply to the business climate in India; hence, extra care is warranted when extrapolating them to other countries. Nonetheless, the study provides valuable insights into the interplay between CSR and biodiversity protection that might inform future studies and policy initiatives.

This research fills a gap in the literature by investigating an uncharted territory: the role of CSR in protecting biodiversity in India. Examining obstacles and variables affecting CSR objectives illuminates business involvement in biodiversity conservation. The recommended treatments have real-world consequences for improving CSR involvement in this critical area.

This research investigates the influence of corporate–NGO collaborations on corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure measured in three different ways (i.e. extent, level and quality) in low-income developing economies. Additionally, it examines the moderating effect of corporate profitability in the relationship between corporate–NGO collaborations and CSR disclosure.

This research uses multivariate regression analysis based on data collected from 201 non-financial firms listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSE).

The findings reveal that corporations with NGO partnerships are more likely to disclose CSR information and provide high-quality information regarding workers, the environment and community-related issues. Further, corporate profitability positively moderates the corporate–NGO collaborations and CSR disclosure relationship.

Research limitations are presented in the conclusion section.

The findings underline the crucial significance of NGOs and their associated normative isomorphism logics for CSR disclosure in low-income countries with weak law enforcement and relatively ineffective state institutions, which were previously believed to lack such institutions.

While some research has suggested that companies in developing countries perceive significant pressure from NGOs to adopt social disclosure, no study has specifically explored how internally driven corporate–NGO collaboration (as opposed to external NGO activist pressures) promotes CSR disclosure specifically in developing economies.