Strategically manipulating social reputation by scheduling corporate social responsibility events

Purpose Board diversity positively impacts corporate social responsibility (CSR); however, there is limited evidence on how board diversity affects the reputation of organizations that are involved in CSR. The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect board diversity has on socially responsible firms’ corporate social responsibility reputation (CSRR). The authors specifically examine this relationship because an organization’s corporate reputation may be very different to its CSRR gained through engagement in socially responsible activities. Design/methodology/approach The authors use the CSR reputation scores for the top 100 most socially responsible global companies provided by the RepTrak Database as a measure of CSRR. Board diversity measures are calculated for gender, ethnicity and education to measure their impact on social reputation. The sample for this study consists of 146 observations for the period 2013–2017. Findings The authors find a significant and positive relation between having a combination of women and ethnically diverse members on the board and firms’ CSRR. The authors also find a significant positive effect on CSRR when the board is composed of women and educationally diverse members. Research limitations/implications Board diversity characteristics continue to impact organizations’ decision-making processes and their involvement in CSR activities as public stakeholders demand greater representation of females and minorities on the board. Because research on board diversity is in its infancy, the authors urge scholars to continue to investigate the impact board diversity has on an organization’s motivation to be socially responsible as well as how it affects their CSRR. Practical implications The findings of this study highlight the importance stakeholders place on an organization’s social responsibility reputation and the positive effects of board diversity in managing their CSRR. Social implications The findings provide evidence that the composition of the board can influence a company’s engagement in CSR activities and their CSRR as perceived by its stakeholders. Originality/value This study contributes to the CSR literature by introducing the concept of CSRR. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study also extends research in the diversity literature by examining the relationship between board diversity variables and an organization’s CSRR. The findings highlight the importance of having a diverse board composed of ethnically and educationally varied individuals and provide evidence of a link between organizations’ involvement in socially responsible activities and their CSRR.

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Implication of Environmental Certification and CSR for Companies’ Sustainable Performance in Developing Countries

Journal of Sustainable Development ◽

10.5539/jsd.v9n3p160 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 9 (3) ◽

pp. 160 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Kateryna Melykh ◽

Olga Melykh

Keyword(s):

Developing Countries ◽

Corporate Social Responsibility ◽

Social Responsibility ◽

Business Processes ◽

Regional Distribution ◽

Subsequent Increase ◽

Environmental Certification ◽

Sustainable Performance ◽

Social Reputation ◽

Corporate Social

<p>This article presents a new approach to measuring level of social and ecological consciousness in developing countries based on the example ofUkraine. The paper documents a relationship between introduction of eco-certification and corporate social responsibility practices into companies’ daily activities, and the possible subsequent increase of their revenues, social reputation and competitiveness on international markets. Environmental certification will be also considered as a systematic tool to guarantee the quality of products, production and company’s business processes.</p><p>The research was conducted during 2014-2015 and has covered 35% of Ukrainian companies from various branches that had valid environmental certificates. Based on regional distribution, distribution according to the industry a company operates in, in this paper we explore correlation between implementation of eco-certificates and CSR and their influence on company’s performance.</p>The research is aimed to demonstrate how the introduction of green policy, environmental certification and corporate social responsibility influence company’s societal value, its reputation and competitiveness on the market, and whether it helps receive financial benefits in short- or long-term period.

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Defining and measuring corporate social reputations

Annals in Social Responsibility ◽

10.1108/asr-08-2016-0008 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

pp. 18-28 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Grahame Dowling

Keyword(s):

Corporate Social Responsibility ◽

Social Responsibility ◽

Corporate Reputation ◽

Operational Definition ◽

Content Type ◽

Social Reputation ◽

Definition Of ◽

Corporate Social ◽

Practical Implications ◽

Selection Of

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to outline a theory-based approach to defining the corporate reputation construct. Design/methodology/approach The approach taken is to describe how to create a well-formed nominal definition of a construct and then show how this definition is translated into an operational definition that guides the selection of an appropriate measure. New definitions of corporate social reputation and appropriate measures of this construct are provided to illustrate this framework. Findings The definitional framework used suggests that many measures of corporate social responsibility and reputation are under specified. Thus, the measures derived from these definitions are poorly constructed. The strengths and weaknesses of three new types of measure of corporate social reputation are reviewed. Practical implications For scholars the advantages of creating a well-formed definition are that it will lead to a valid measure of the construct under investigation. This will then help to better interpret what are significant findings and non-findings of empirical research. Originality/value This paper is an extension of the author’s previous work on defining the corporate reputation construct. Because what is meant by corporate social responsibility is contested amongst scholars this and related constructs need more precise definition and measurement. This paper offers a theory-based approach to achieve this aim.

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