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In spite of accruing concerted scholarly and managerial interest since the 1950s in corporate social responsibility (CSR), its implementation is still a growing topic as most of it remains academically unexplored. As CSR continues to establish a stronger foothold in organizational strategies, understanding its implementation is needed for both academia and industry. In an attempt to respond to this need, we carry out a systematic review of 122 empirical studies on CSR implementation to provide a status quo of the literature and inform future scholars. We develop a research agenda in the form of an integrated framework of CSR implementation that pronounces its multi-dimensional and multi-level nature and provides a snapshot of the current literature status of CSR implementation. Future research avenues relating to multi-level studies, theoretically supported research models, developing economy settings, and more are recommended. Practitioners can also benefit through utilizing the holistic framework to attain a bird’s eye view and proactively formulate and implement CSR strategies that can be facilitated by collaborations with CSR scholars and experts.

Purpose This study aims to explore the set of corporate social responsibility (CSR) committee attributes that may enhance CSR performance and CSR strategy formation and reduce CSR controversies.[AQ1] Towards this end, the study also explores the differences between companies with and without CSR committees in terms of these three CSR performance facets. Design/methodology/approach The study uses a sample of financial times stock exchange (FTSE) 100 non-financial companies in 2015–2017. Kruskal-Wallis test is conducted to test the differences in CSR performance in firms with CSR board-level committee, CSR management committee and no committees. Additionally, a regression model is used to explore the attributes of CSR committees that lead to better/less CSR performance and CSR strategy/CSR controversies. A two-stage least squares regression model was used as a robustness check. Findings Firms with board CSR committee have better CSR performance and CSR strategy and lower CSR controversies than both firms with no CSR committees and firms with a CSR management committee. Regression results show that CSR committees that are predominantly consisting of independent board members, chaired by a female director and setting more meetings have better CSR performance. Additionally, CSR committees were found to have lower CSR controversies when having more independent directors and a chair with CSR expertise. CSR strategy was better with the CSR committee represented by a larger group of members. Originality/value This study makes several contributions to the sustainability governance literature and regulatory/guidance interfaces. There is extant literature examining audit committee attributes and their effects on various firm outcomes. The same can be said on the regulations of the audit committee. CSR committees’ composition and benefits are, by far, less regulated and largely under-researched. Hence, this paper is considered an early attempt to explore the CSR performance improvements a CSR committee may bring and the composition that would bring better CSR performance.

Extant research provides compelling conceptual and empirical arguments that company-external (e.g., philanthropic) as well as company-internal (i.e., employee-directed) CSR efforts positively affect employees, but does so largely in studies assessing effects from the two CSR types independently of each other. In contrast, this paper investigates external-internal CSR jointly, examining the effects of (in)consistent external-internal CSR strategies on employee attitudes, intentions, and behaviors. The research takes a social and moral identification theory view and advances the core hypothesis that inconsistent CSR strategies, defined as favoring external over internal stakeholders, trigger employees' perceptions of corporate hypocrisy which, in turn, lead to emotional exhaustion and turnover. In Study 1, a cross-industry employee survey (n = 3410) indicates that inconsistent CSR strategies with larger external than internal efforts increase employees' turnover intentions via perceived corporate hypocrisy and emotional exhaustion. In Study 2, a multi-source secondary dataset (n = 1902) demonstrates that inconsistent CSR strategies increase firms' actual employee turnover. Combined, the two studies demonstrate the importance of taking into account the interests of both external and internal stakeholders of the firm when researching and managing CSR.

The literature on antecedents of corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategies of firms has been predominately content driven. Informed by the managerial sense-making process perspective, we develop a contingency theoretical framework explaining how political ideology of managers affects the choice of CSR strategy for their firms through their CSR mindset. We also explain to what extent the outcome of this process is shaped by the firm's internal institutional arrangements and external factors impacting on the firm. We develop and test several hypotheses using data collected from 129 Chinese managers. The results show that managers with a stronger socialist ideology are likely to develop a mindset favouring CSR, which induces the adoption of a proactive CSR strategy. The CSR mindset mediates the link between socialist ideology and CSR strategy. The strength of the relationship between the CSR mindset and the choice of CSR strategy is moderated by customer response to CSR, industry competition, the role of government, and CSR-related managerial incentives.

To achieve good long-term financial performance, a company needs to develop a Corporate Social Responsibility strategy that integrates Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) factors. This would enable it to meet the expectations of its stakeholders. This study investigates the impact of ESG practices on the financial performance of Chinese firms, addressing stakeholder expectations and strategic corporate outcomes. A two-step Generalized Method of Moment estimation model and penalized-spline estimation are used to test the relationship between financial performance and ESG factors on 772 Chinese companies from 2015 to 2019. This study’s results reveal a significant impact of ESG factors on the financial performance of the companies in our sample, as measured by their Return On Equity and market-to-book ratio. This research makes a significant contribution to the existing literature by providing empirical evidence on the impact of ESG factors in the Chinese context, a developing market with unique characteristics. It highlights the importance of good governance practices and environmental investments in improving financial performance. This work offers valuable insights for policymakers, investors, and companies on the potential benefits of integrating ESG criteria into their corporate strategies.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is one of the main drivers of corporate reputation. Many studies show that CSR can positively affect financial performance (FP) and vice versa. However, the relationship between FP and CSR depends on the type of industry in which the company operates, and there is little research regarding the energy sector in this area. The basis of empirical research in this study is slack resource theory which argues that financial performance is the cause of corporate social performance. This paper aims to analyze if financial performance affects corporate social responsibility adoption in energy sector companies. In order to achieve this goal, the study specifically examines the relationship between selected financial performance indicators and CSR adoption. Analyzing an international sample of 219 companies from thirty-two countries for 2020, we observed the statistically significant relations between financial performance and the implementing of the CSR strategy of the energy industry companies. The Return on Assets measure (ROA) and the Earnings Before Interest and Taxes measure (EBIT) were significantly higher among companies implementing the CSR strategy. The Enterprise Value to earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization ratio (EV EBITDA) was lower among companies that adopted CSR. We did not confirm that the Return on Equity measure (ROE), Beta coefficient, and EBITDA per Share correlated with CSR adoption. Our research had implications for firms’ investment policies in social initiatives and highlighted the relation between the financial performance and CSR initiatives of the energy sector companies.

Purpose The corporate social responsibility (CSR) premise is complicated for an MNE subsidiary operating across a geographically dispersed heterogeneous environment and conceptual literature on MNE subsidiaries’ CSR, a function that makes-or-break legitimacy in the home and host environment, is at best scattered. This paper aims to bridge that gap by reviewing the literature on three levels and plotting all those idiosyncratic counter-institutional forces into a single framework. Design/methodology/approach After reviewing the literature on MNE subsidiaries’ CSR through institutional lens, this paper conceived a three-dimensional matrix of institutional force fields and mapped the quadrants with meta-level strategies that subsidiaries can assume. This paper further conceptualizes a linear flow model of subsidiary CSR. Findings An MNE subsidiary’s CSR premise could be plotted into a matrix structure of institutional force fields, with subsidiaries assuming strategies to balance these forces. This paper postulate that institutional complexities influence the CSR strategy of a subsidiary, subjected to firm-specific logic. This paper propose that for an MNC subsidiaries CSR, there is a systematic deviation path from Carroll’s hierarchical pyramid model to a need-based pyramidal model. Originality/value The three-dimensional force field matrix model with respective strategies that subsidiary could assume is proposed for the first time. The linear flow model of a subsidiary CSR is also new to literature.

Grassland ecosystems are facing rapid and ongoing change driven by intensified land‐use and accelerated climate change, highlighting the urgent need to understand their potential adaptation and response to environmental change. We analyzed data from 52 980 vegetation plots spanning all major grassland habitats in Europe (including alpine, rocky, sandy, saline, dry, mesic and wet grasslands). We quantified competitive (C), stress‐tolerant (S), and ruderal (R) strategies for 7858 plant species based on key functional traits and mapped the spatial patterns of C‐, S‐ and R‐strategies across European grasslands. Using random forest models, we evaluated the relative importance of environmental factors in shaping these patterns and explored potential changes in the distribution of C‐, S‐ and R‐strategies under future climate scenarios. We further investigated how these strategies and their environmental drivers vary across grassland habitats. Our results revealed a clear biogeographical gradient in the distribution of C‐, S‐ and R‐strategies from predominantly stress‐tolerant strategies in Mediterranean grasslands to greater representation of competitive and ruderal strategies in temperate regions. Climate and soil factors emerged as major drivers shaping these patterns at the continental scale. Projected responses to future climate change varied among regions: grasslands in the Atlantic and Continental regions were projected to decrease in C‐strategy and increase in both S‐ and R‐strategy representation, whereas grasslands in Arctic and boreal regions exhibited contrasting trends. Mediterranean grasslands were projected to undergo a transition from mainly R‐strategy toward S‐strategy species predominance. Furthermore, the strategy patterns and their key drivers differed among grassland habitats, with patterns largely reflecting habitat‐specific environmental constraints. This study demonstrates the utility of Grime's CSR framework for characterizing broad‐scale patterns of plant adaptive strategies across diverse grassland habitats. It highlights region‐ and habitat‐specific differences in potential responses to future climate change, with implications for targeted grassland management and restoration.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has emerged as an effective way for firms to create favorable attitudes among consumers. Although prior research has addressed the direct influence of proactive and reactive CSR on consumer responses, this research hypothesized that consumers' perceived organizational motives (i.e., attributions) will mediate this relationship. It was also hypothesized that the source of information and location of CSR initiative will affect the motives consumers assign to a firms' engagement in the initiative. Two experiments were conducted to test these hypotheses. The results of Study 1 indicate that the nature of a CSR initiative influences consumer attribution effects and that these attributions act as mediators in helping to explain consumers' responses to CSR. Study 2 suggests that the source of the CSR message moderates the effect of CSR on consumer attributions. The mediating influence of the attributions as well as the importance of information source suggests that proper communication of CSR can be a viable way to inculcate positive corporate associations and purchase intentions.

Purpose This study aims to examine how corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy impacts environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance in public listed firms across the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-5 countries. Additionally, it examines the interaction effect of family ownership, board gender diversity and board skills on the relationship. Design/methodology/approach This study used a fixed-effect panel regression to analyse 1,212 observations collected from ASEAN-5 public listed firms, covering the years 2017–2022. To address the endogeneity problem, this study used a two-step GMM. Findings The findings indicate that the ESG performance of firms in ASEAN-5 countries is significantly and positively influenced by their CSR strategy, suggesting that robust CSR strategies lead to superior ESG performance. Family ownership is found to weaken the positive impact of CSR strategy on ESG performance, indicating that family firms prioritize CSR less. Furthermore, female and skilful boards are more likely to implement effective CSR strategies, as reflected in their improved ESG performance. Practical implications This study urges firms, particularly family-owned firms, to enhance their CSR strategy. It also recommends that policymakers integrate gender diversity and a variety of skills into corporate boards, possibly by revising regulatory frameworks and corporate governance guidelines. Originality/value The results of this study are novel and specifically tailored for ASEAN firms. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is among the first to examine the roles of board skills, gender diversity and family ownership in the relationship between CSR strategy and ESG performance in the ASEAN context.