IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v9y2017i5p707-d97108.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Finding the Missing Link between Corporate Social Responsibility and Firm Competitiveness through Social Capital: A Business Ecosystem Perspective

Author

Listed:
  • Jaehun Joo

    (Division of Management, College of Business and Economics, Dongguk University-Gyeongju, Gyeongju, Gyeonsangbuk-do 780-714, Korea)

  • Mike Tae-In Eom

    (Pamplin School of Business, University of Portland, Portland, OR 97203, USA)

  • Matthew Minsuk Shin

    (Department of International Trade, College of Commerce and Economics, Konkuk University, Seoul 05029, Korea)

Abstract

There are existing studies that successfully show the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on firms’ financial performance. However, limited attention is paid to its impact on the business ecosystem. CSR could be seen as an investment for building a sustainable business ecosystem, which enhances the competitiveness of this system’s members. In that context, this study apprehends and captures the virtuous cycle of firm competitiveness. On analyzing data from interviews with seven firms, the study offers four propositions identifying the structure of the virtuous cycle linking CSR activities to firm competitiveness through the accumulation of social capital within business ecosystems. Based on those propositions, the study offers new insights into CSR research for academics and strategic planning guidelines for managers that integrate social and economic values for a sustainable business ecosystem and firm competitiveness.

Suggested Citation

  • Jaehun Joo & Mike Tae-In Eom & Matthew Minsuk Shin, 2017. "Finding the Missing Link between Corporate Social Responsibility and Firm Competitiveness through Social Capital: A Business Ecosystem Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(5), pages 1-22, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:9:y:2017:i:5:p:707-:d:97108
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/9/5/707/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/9/5/707/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ron Adner & Rahul Kapoor, 2010. "Value creation in innovation ecosystems: how the structure of technological interdependence affects firm performance in new technology generations," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(3), pages 306-333, March.
    2. Wenlong Yuan & Yongjian Bao & Alain Verbeke, 2011. "Integrating CSR Initiatives in Business: An Organizing Framework," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 101(1), pages 75-92, June.
    3. Thierry ISCKIA & Denis LESCOP, 2009. "Open Innovation within Business Ecosystems: A Tale from Amazon.com," Communications & Strategies, IDATE, Com&Strat dept., vol. 1(74), pages 37-54, 2nd quart.
    4. Rong, Ke & Hu, Guangyu & Lin, Yong & Shi, Yongjiang & Guo, Liang, 2015. "Understanding business ecosystem using a 6C framework in Internet-of-Things-based sectors," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 41-55.
    5. Patrick Biernacki & Dan Waldorf, 1981. "Snowball Sampling: Problems and Techniques of Chain Referral Sampling," Sociological Methods & Research, , vol. 10(2), pages 141-163, November.
    6. Peter Moran, 2005. "Structural vs. relational embeddedness: social capital and managerial performance," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(12), pages 1129-1151, December.
    7. Angeloantonio Russo & Francesco Perrini, 2010. "Investigating Stakeholder Theory and Social Capital: CSR in Large Firms and SMEs," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 91(2), pages 207-221, January.
    8. Jaehun Joo & Lyunhwa Kim, 2016. "Strategic Guidelines for the Diffusion of Smart Grid Technologies Through a Korean Testbed," Information Technology for Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(3), pages 503-524, July.
    9. Shannon H. Rogers & Kevin H. Gardner & Cynthia H. Carlson, 2013. "Social Capital and Walkability as Social Aspects of Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 5(8), pages 1-11, August.
    10. David Eberle & Guido Berens & Ting Li, 2013. "The Impact of Interactive Corporate Social Responsibility Communication on Corporate Reputation," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 118(4), pages 731-746, December.
    11. Suman Sen & James Cowley, 2013. "The Relevance of Stakeholder Theory and Social Capital Theory in the Context of CSR in SMEs: An Australian Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 118(2), pages 413-427, December.
    12. John M Bryson, 2004. "What to do when Stakeholders matter," Public Management Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 6(1), pages 21-53, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Jaehun Joo & Matthew Minsuk Shin, 2022. "Business Ecosystem Management and Editorial on the Special Issue," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(3), pages 1-6, January.
    2. Kimpimäki, Jaan-Pauli & Malacina, Iryna & Lähdeaho, Oskari, 2022. "Open and sustainable: An emerging frontier in innovation management?," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 174(C).
    3. Castillo-Palacio & M. & Vargas-García & M.L. & Gomez-Lopez & M.J., 2022. "Intellectual Capital and Innovation in Organizational Competitiveness: An Analysis in the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO)," International Journal of Economics & Business Administration (IJEBA), International Journal of Economics & Business Administration (IJEBA), vol. 0(1), pages 29-48.
    4. Eurídice Mamede de Andrade & Lúcia Lima Rodrigues & José Paulo Cosenza, 2020. "Corporate Behavior: An Exploratory Study of the Brazilian Tax Management from a Corporate Social Responsibility Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-21, May.
    5. Xiaotang Zhang & Haili Zhang & Michael Song, 2019. "Does Social Capital Increase Innovation Speed? Empirical Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(22), pages 1-22, November.
    6. Jingxun Li & Ruby P. Lee & Lian Zhang, 2018. "Managerial ties and knowledge transfer in business ecosystems: Evidence from Korean subsidiaries in China," Asian Business & Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 17(3), pages 183-207, July.
    7. Jaehun Joo & Jeong-Ja Choi & Namhyun Kim, 2019. "Examining Roles of Tour Dure Producers for Social Capital and Innovativeness in Community-Based Tourism," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(19), pages 1-17, September.
    8. Urszula Markowska-Przybyła & David M. Ramsey, 2018. "Social Capital and Long-Term Regional Development within Poland in the Light of Experimental Economics and Data from a Questionnaire," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-26, August.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. John Cantrell & Elias Kyriazis & Gary Noble, 2015. "Developing CSR Giving as a Dynamic Capability for Salient Stakeholder Management," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 130(2), pages 403-421, August.
    2. Camélia Radu & Nadia Smaili, 2022. "Alignment Versus Monitoring: An Examination of the Effect of the CSR Committee and CSR-Linked Executive Compensation on CSR Performance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 180(1), pages 145-163, September.
    3. Sophia Barquete & Ana Hiromi Shimozono & Adriana Hofmann Trevisan & Camila Gonçalves Castro & Leonardo Augusto de Vasconcelos Gomes & Janaina Mascarenhas, 2022. "Exploring the Dynamic of a Circular Ecosystem: A Case Study about Drivers and Barriers," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-22, June.
    4. Hou, Hong & Shi, Yongjiang, 2021. "Ecosystem-as-structure and ecosystem-as-coevolution: A constructive examination," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).
    5. Mª Eugenia López‐Pérez & Iguácel Melero & F Javier Sese, 2017. "Management for Sustainable Development and Its Impact on Firm Value in the SME Context: Does Size Matter?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(7), pages 985-999, November.
    6. Nihad Faissal Bassis & Fabiano Armellini, 2018. "Systems of innovation and innovation ecosystems: a literature review in search of complementarities," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 28(5), pages 1053-1080, December.
    7. Mark A. Phillips & Jagjit Singh Srai, 2018. "Exploring Emerging Ecosystem Boundaries: Defining ‘The Game’," International Journal of Innovation Management (ijim), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 22(08), pages 1-21, December.
    8. Gang Tian & Gabriel Dodzi Pekyi & Haojia Chen & Huaping Sun & Xiaoling Wang, 2021. "Sustainability-Conscious Stakeholders and CSR: Evidence from IJVs of Ghana," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-23, January.
    9. Anat Anaqie Zahidy & Shahryar Sorooshian & Zahidy Abd Hamid, 2019. "Critical Success Factors for Corporate Social Responsibility Adoption in the Construction Industry in Malaysia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(22), pages 1-24, November.
    10. Liu, Gordon & Aroean, Lukman & Ko, Wai Wai, 2023. "Service innovation in business ecosystem: The roles of shared goals, coopetition, and interfirm power," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 255(C).
    11. Yanzhang Gu & Longying Hu & Hongjin Zhang & Chenxuan Hou, 2021. "Innovation Ecosystem Research: Emerging Trends and Future Research," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(20), pages 1-21, October.
    12. Menno D. T. Jong & Mark Meer, 2017. "How Does It Fit? Exploring the Congruence Between Organizations and Their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Activities," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 143(1), pages 71-83, June.
    13. Guannan Xu & Weijie Hu & Yuanyuan Qiao & Yuan Zhou, 2020. "Mapping an innovation ecosystem using network clustering and community identification: a multi-layered framework," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 124(3), pages 2057-2081, September.
    14. Gordon Liu & Teck-Yong Eng & Wai-Wai Ko, 2013. "Strategic Direction of Corporate Community Involvement," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 115(3), pages 469-487, July.
    15. Shi, Xianwei & Liang, Xingkun & Luo, Yining, 2023. "Unpacking the intellectual structure of ecosystem research in innovation studies," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(6).
    16. Leon Guillén & Afcha Sergio & Chu Manuel, 2022. "Research on social responsibility of small and medium enterprises: a bibliometric analysis," Management Review Quarterly, Springer, vol. 72(3), pages 857-909, September.
    17. Qamar Farooq & Yunhong Hao & Xuan Liu, 2019. "Understanding corporate social responsibility with cross‐cultural differences: A deeper look at religiosity," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(4), pages 965-971, July.
    18. Silvia Blasi & Silvia Rita Sedita, 2020. "The diffusion of a policy innovation in the energy sector: evidence from the collective switching case in Europe," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(6), pages 680-704, June.
    19. Ying-Che Hsieh & Kuo-Yi Lin & Chao Lu & Ke Rong, 2017. "Governing a Sustainable Business Ecosystem in Taiwan’s Circular Economy: The Story of Spring Pool Glass," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(6), pages 1-15, June.
    20. Mauro Sciarelli & Mario Tani & Giovanni Landi & Lorenzo Turriziani, 2020. "CSR perception and financial performance: Evidences from Italian and UK asset management companies," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(2), pages 841-851, March.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:9:y:2017:i:5:p:707-:d:97108. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.