Browsing by Subject "Corporate social responsibility"
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Item Corporate social responsibility : a refreshing idea?(2011-05) Lyle, Matthew Daniel; Wilcox, Gary B.; Kahlor, LeeAnnThe benefits of Corporate Social Responsibility (or CSR, for short) have long been debated among corporations. The debate is a legitimate one as the decision where to invest money is always a difficult one. Should the money be put towards marketing to better brand your company? Should it be invested in infrastructure to improve the efficiency of the company and better position it for the future? Or should it be invested back into the community in which the customers live? This professional report will detail and analyze a number of company initiatives that are currently going on or that have taken place in the past in the name of Corporate Social Responsibility. My intentions are to look at these CSR programs through the lens of ROI and, more specifically, profitability.Item Corporate Social Responsibility Practices and Financial Performance over Time for Selected U.S. Corporations(2011-10-21) Phelan Ribera, Kelli CatherineCorporate social responsibility (CSR) is a subject long debated since the 1930s, but the premises of the topic in regards to the what, how, why, and to whom it should be remain in question. The relation between CSR and corporate financial performance (CFP) has emerged at the forefront of this debate, particularly within the last 30 years, yet no unified theory has been reached. Other scholars interested in CSR have criticized the emphasis on CFP as a means of economic justification for what they believe to be a broader social issue, and have attempted to redirect the focus in CSR research to include other motivations and outcomes associated with organizational stakeholders other than shareholders. Using a descriptive and instrumental stakeholder theory approach, the focus of the current study was to explore CSR practices in both a dependent and independent sense. These theoretical underpinnings reflect stakeholder management decisions based on organizational characteristics, and the strategic management of various organizational stakeholders, respectively. The study population consisted of a diverse array of 353 U.S.- based corporations, 80 percent from the Fortune 500. Data included eleven corporate classification variables that represented organizations? geographical location, industry, executive leadership dimensions, and financial health. It also included six CFP variables that represented accounting and market-based measures, and seven CSR variables that represented the key organizational stakeholders of the local community and environment, employees, and customers. The corporate classification variables were utilized to assess CSR performances, while CFP was assessed by analyzing differences among levels of the CSR practices. These assessments were performed for organizations for the twelve years within 1991-2002. Several results that assisted in informing descriptive and instrumental stakeholder theory were produced through the examination of previously used and under-explored variables. Specifically, the study results included new insights regarding how several organizational characteristics related to their CSR practices. Study findings provided elaboration regarding how performance differences in seven key CSR categories affected six representative accounting and market-based measures of corporate financial performance. Implications for practice for organizational decision-makers are provided along with detailed information pertaining to how, with inferences as to why, firms engage in CSR. Additionally, associated financial outcomes from different levels of CSR implementation are reported. Key findings from the study were that the CSR practices regarding employees and the environment remained stable over the twelve-year time period. Additionally, organizations? geographical location, financial health, and corporate leadership dimensions had an impact on CSR practices for various stakeholder groups, with the exception of employees. A high level of investment in CSR for certain stakeholder groups did not produce the best financial outcomes in all cases; however, organizations that emphasized CSR in the categories relative to the community and its employees outperformed others with respect to certain financial performance measures.Item Essays on corporate social performance : an examination of the antecedents and consequences of corporate social performance(2011-05) Brower, Jacob Royce; Mahajan, Vijay; Srinivasan, Raji; Henderson, Andrew; DeKinder, Jade; Henderson, TyThere is growing evidence that a vast majority of CEO’s believe that sustainability-related issues are having or will soon have a material impact on their firms. Nearly all of the academic literature on the firm level impacts of corporate social performance (CSP) has focused on looking for a universally positive or negative effect of CSP on corporate financial performance (CFP). Recent literature in the CSP domain, however, has presented two questions that have been under-researched with respect to CSP by firms: 1) What are the processes and motivations that underlie the inclusion of CSP in firm strategic decisions? and 2) Why do some firms generate different market returns from their CSP? The present research consists of two studies that focus on developing an understanding of these two questions. The first study uses a Contingency Theory approach and proposes that several organizational, market, customer, environmental and competitive characteristics of a firm predict a firm’s level of CSP. Findings based on a longitudinal, multi-industry sample of 447 firms over the period from 2000 to 2007 show that firms that have a corporate branding strategy, serve consumer markets, and have a greater degree of globalization have higher levels of CSP. Finally, this study also finds that higher levels of CSP relative to a firm’s industry result in higher levels of firm intangible value (Tobin’s q). The second study examines the following: 1) Does CSP history moderate the relationship between CSP and CFP? and 2) Is there a CSR Black Hole with respect to a firm’s history of negative behaviors? That is, does past negative social performance of the firm negate potential benefits from current period changes in positive social performance? Using the Flow Signals framework proposed by Dekinder and Kohli (2008), this study finds that a (1) history of growth in negative CSP, (2) trend toward increasing negative CSP, or (3) more inconsistent history of positive or negative CSP (reversals) decrease the returns to positive social performance. This study also finds evidence of a CSR Black Hole, but show that firms may be able to exit this by consistently managing their social performance over time.Item Evaluating the impact of a sport-based corporate social responsibility program on multicultural youth in South Korea(2015-05) Kim, Chi Young, Ph. D.; Dixon, Marlene A., 1970-; Heere, Bob; Todd, Janice; Bowers, Matthew; Jin, Su-Hyun; Hunt , ThomasWith increasing attention being given to corporate social responsibility (CSR) by corporations, it has become apparent that more corporations are involved in CSR initiatives. Sport business entities also have widely embraced the principles and practices of CSR over the past decades (Babiak & Wolfe, 2009; Bradish & Cronin, 2009). The deployment of CSR through sport offers substantial potential for a return to the community due to the ubiquitous appeal of sport, so that CSR in sport has been practiced by a considerable number of athletes, teams, leagues, sport franchises, and sporting goods manufacturing companies (Bardish & Cronin, 2009). Despite the increasing emphasis on CSR initiatives using sport in the marketplace, little is known about the effects of CSR programs. In other words, there is little transparent evidence that demonstrates the effectiveness of CSR programs in sport. Hence, the purpose of this study is to determine if a sport-based corporate social responsibility program provides discernable benefits to its participants. It also seeks to determine if the program meets the needs of the intended beneficiaries. Furthermore, it tries to see if the CSR program through sport is not misused as a PR strategy or a device to please shareholders. Through a series of interviews with program stakeholders, secondary document analysis, and personal observations, the researcher was able to assess the outcomes of a baseball program for multicultural children in Korea, operated by a nonprofit baseball foundation. The findings of this study have shown that the program did produce a positive change in the attitudes and opinions of the participants. However, the findings of this study also showed that some promises that the foundation made were not fulfilled. Beneath the surface of the public-facing socially responsible program was a somewhat devious plan by the foundation to exploit the children for bolstering the foundation’s public image. The founder did just enough to ensure his foundation was viewed as socially responsible but not enough to operate a good quality program.Item The formation of perceived marketer motives in corporate societal marketing(2010-05) Kim, Yeo Jung, active 21st century; Lee, Wei-Na, 1957-Since the early days of corporate societal marketing, managers and researchers alike have considered perceived marketer motives as a key factor in eliciting positive consumer response. However, little is known as to how the perception of marketer motives is formed. This dissertation research looks into a number of factors that may influence the process of perceived marketer motives formation. In particular, the roles of corporate societal marketing type, cognitive capacity, ad skepticism, and cause-involvement are examined. In addition, the underlying structure of perceived marketer motives is also explored. The results showed that the effect of corporate societal marketing type on perceived marketer motives was not significant. Cognitive capacity did have a significant effect that subjects with unconstrained cognitive capacity perceived higher community-oriented motives than those with constrained cognitive capacity. The effect of ad skepticism was equivocal. Ad skepticism had a significant effect on perceived marketer motives in Study 1, but not in Study 2. The key methodological difference between the two studies is that ad skepticism was measured along with other constructs in Study 1 whereas it was measured two weeks prior to the lab experiment in Study 2. Cause-involvement had no significant effect on perceived marketer motives, although it did affect the subsequent consumer response. As for the structure of perceived marketer motives, data from both studies suggest that there are three dimensions: community-oriented motives, company-oriented motives, and manipulative motives. These three dimensions appeared to be independent from one another; each of them had unique effects on subsequent consumer response. Most notably, company-oriented motives had no significant effect on company evaluation, attitude toward the company, or purchase intent. As expected, community-oriented motives had positive effects on all three indicators of consumer response whereas manipulative motives had negative effects. Limitations in the current investigation are discussed and suggestions for future research are proposed.Item Great expectations: corporate social responsibility and the extractive industries(2009-08) Snodgrass, Mary Beth; Gholz, Eugene, 1971-; Weaver, CatherineExploring two hotly contested issues, corporate social responsibility (CSR) and the extractive industries, this report will demonstrate to a general reading audience the necessity of CSR as a business practice. The report finds that, given pressures from globalization and stakeholders, CSR is no longer an optional practice in the extractive industries but a business imperative. In general, why is CSR an important practice for businesses to adopt? In the extractive industries, what distinguishing CSR issues do they face, and how is CSR being propelled forwards in these industries? This report explores these questions and offers recommendations for policymakers and extractive companies on how to ensure CSR is implemented in a way that meets society’s great expectations.Item A new framework for African smallholder agriculture : harnessing innovation and the private sector to drive sustainable development(2010-05) Kosoris, Justin Michael; Wilson, Robert Hines; Wilson, Patricia A.; Evans, Angela M.This report will outline a new framework for improved yields and increased sustainability in Sub-Saharan African smallholder agriculture. Given the failures of agricultural development aid and policy in the past, cross-sector collaboration among local farmer networks, national governments, and private corporations could represent a new model to foster sustainable agricultural production and growth, as each has had past successes but have not traditionally come together to work as a collaborative unit. This paper will examine each sector to look at best practices and then develop a framework for such collaboration. After a normative case with a positive outlook as to the potential for implementing the framework to Senegal‘s groundnut sector, the paper concludes that the framework can work in a variety of settings as long as one is aware of and respects local conditions.Item That thing you do(2011-05) Albala Cardemil, David; Schiesari, Nancy; Lewis, Richard; Ramírez-Berg, CharlesThis report outlines the process of creating and producing the documentary film “That Thing You Do” based on the TV series “1+1=Infinito” (1+1=Infinite). The series and the film provide a better understanding of the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and shows how people can incorporate CSR into their daily lives. The film production was financed by “PROhumana Foundation” (Chile) and shows how three Chilean people: Rodrigo Alonso, entrepreneur, Catalina Valdés, chef, and Javier del Río, architect, are trying to make a difference in their specific fields in terms of environmental impact, saving and using energy properly, and the importance of conscientious eating. The documentary film has taken the concept of CSR and attempted to present it to a massive audience in order to suggest the idea that all of our actions eventually come back to us. Any imbalance in the system that surrounds us and which we are a part of will affect us. In contrast, any improvement to the system will benefit us. The film thus attempts to showcase testimonials by the main characters suggesting small changes we can make in our daily lives in order to work toward this goal.