IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/corsem/v25y2018i1p47-65.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Researching Corporate Social Responsibility in the Middle East: The Current State and Future Directions

Author

Listed:
  • Ahmed Al‐Abdin
  • Taposh Roy
  • John D. Nicholson

Abstract

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has the potential to yield economic and social value in the Middle East (ME), especially given the current high environmental flux in the region. Although much scholarly attention has been paid to CSR issues, a key question remains about how to operate responsibly in the ME, particularly since institutional environments and stakeholders' needs vary across ME states. The purpose of this paper is to provide a systematic review of the current state of CSR in the ME. We identify 38 papers that are most pertinent to CSR in the ME and examine the main theoretical frameworks, methodologies, trajectories for further conceptual development, gaps where new research pathways need to be created, and also future research questions. From this systematic review, we reveal how attention to CSR in the ME is slowly gaining traction. A snapshot of the gaps identified include collaboration between business and non‐governmental organisations (NGOs), the impact of stakeholders and institutions on CSR, the impact of political and economic crisis on CSR, and the influence of individualistic characteristics shaping managers' CSR behaviour. In addition to such gaps, we present an agenda for future research. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment

Suggested Citation

  • Ahmed Al‐Abdin & Taposh Roy & John D. Nicholson, 2018. "Researching Corporate Social Responsibility in the Middle East: The Current State and Future Directions," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 25(1), pages 47-65, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:corsem:v:25:y:2018:i:1:p:47-65
    DOI: 10.1002/csr.1439
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.1439
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/csr.1439?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Valerie Priscilla Goby & Catherine Nickerson, 2016. "Conceptualization of CSR Among Muslim Consumers in Dubai: Evolving from Philanthropy to Ethical and Economic Orientations," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 136(1), pages 167-179, June.
    2. Isabel‐María García‐Sánchez & Emma García‐Meca, 2017. "CSR Engagement and Earnings Quality in Banks. The Moderating Role of Institutional Factors," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 24(2), pages 145-158, March.
    3. Valerie Goby & Catherine Nickerson, 2012. "Introducing Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility at Undergraduate Level in the United Arab Emirates: An Experiential Exercise on Website Communication," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 107(2), pages 103-109, May.
    4. Ebrahim Soltani & Jawad Syed & Ying-Ying Liao & Abdullah Iqbal, 2015. "Managerial Mindsets Toward Corporate Social Responsibility: The Case of Auto Industry in Iran," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 129(4), pages 795-810, July.
    5. Carroll, Archie B., 1991. "The pyramid of corporate social responsibility: Toward the moral management of organizational stakeholders," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 34(4), pages 39-48.
    6. Swan, John E. & Bowers, Michael R. & Richardson, Lynne D., 1999. "Customer Trust in the Salesperson: An Integrative Review and Meta-Analysis of the Empirical Literature," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 44(2), pages 93-107, February.
    7. Robertson, Christopher J. & Al-Khatib, Jamal A. & Al-Habib, Mohammed & Lanoue, Darryl, 2001. "Beliefs about work in the Middle East and the convergence versus divergence of values," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 36(3), pages 223-244, October.
    8. Saeidi, Sayedeh Parastoo & Sofian, Saudah & Saeidi, Parvaneh & Saeidi, Sayyedeh Parisa & Saaeidi, Seyyed Alireza, 2015. "How does corporate social responsibility contribute to firm financial performance? The mediating role of competitive advantage, reputation, and customer satisfaction," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 68(2), pages 341-350.
    9. Laufs, Katharina & Schwens, Christian, 2014. "Foreign market entry mode choice of small and medium-sized enterprises: A systematic review and future research agenda," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(6), pages 1109-1126.
    10. Dima Jamali & Tamar Keshishian, 2009. "Uneasy Alliances: Lessons Learned from Partnerships Between Businesses and NGOs in the context of CSR," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 84(2), pages 277-295, January.
    11. Mellahi, Kamel & Demirbag, Mehmet & Riddle, Liesl, 2011. "Multinationals in the Middle East: Challenges and opportunities," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 46(4), pages 406-410, October.
    12. Dima Jamali, 2008. "A Stakeholder Approach to Corporate Social Responsibility: A Fresh Perspective into Theory and Practice," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 82(1), pages 213-231, September.
    13. Peter Dobers & Minna Halme, 2009. "Corporate social responsibility and developing countries," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 16(5), pages 237-249, September.
    14. Belaid Rettab & Anis Brik & Kamel Mellahi, 2009. "A Study of Management Perceptions of the Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility on Organisational Performance in Emerging Economies: The Case of Dubai," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 89(3), pages 371-390, October.
    15. Duygu Turker, 2009. "Measuring Corporate Social Responsibility: A Scale Development Study," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 85(4), pages 411-427, April.
    16. Mostaghel, Rana, 2016. "Innovation and technology for the elderly: Systematic literature review," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(11), pages 4896-4900.
    17. Dilek Cetindamar, 2007. "Corporate Social Responsibility Practices and Environmentally Responsible Behavior: The Case of The United Nations Global Compact," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 76(2), pages 163-176, December.
    18. Alpay, Guven & Bodur, Muzaffer & Ener, Hakan & Talug, Cem, 2005. "Comparing board-level governance at MNEs and local firms: lessons from Turkey," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 11(1), pages 67-86, March.
    19. Anis Ben Brik & Belaid Rettab & Kamel Mellahi, 2011. "Market Orientation, Corporate Social Responsibility, and Business Performance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 99(3), pages 307-324, March.
    20. Ziva Sharp & Nurit Zaidman, 2010. "Strategization of CSR," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 93(1), pages 51-71, April.
    21. Dima Jamali & Ben Neville, 2011. "Convergence Versus Divergence of CSR in Developing Countries: An Embedded Multi-Layered Institutional Lens," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 102(4), pages 599-621, September.
    22. Adam Lindgreen & Valérie Swaen & David Harness & Marieke Hoffmann, 2011. "The Role of ‘High Potentials’ in Integrating and Implementing Corporate Social Responsibility," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 99(1), pages 73-91, February.
    23. Duygu Turker, 2009. "How Corporate Social Responsibility Influences Organizational Commitment," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 89(2), pages 189-204, October.
    24. Diana Robertson, 2009. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Different Stages of Economic Development: Singapore, Turkey, and Ethiopia," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 88(4), pages 617-633, October.
    25. Dima Jamali & Ramez Mirshak, 2007. "Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): Theory and Practice in a Developing Country Context," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 72(3), pages 243-262, May.
    26. Dima Jamali & Ramez Mirshak, 2010. "Business-Conflict Linkages: Revisiting MNCs, CSR, and Conflict," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 93(3), pages 443-464, May.
    27. Anne Davis & Hannah Rothstein, 2006. "The Effects of the Perceived Behavioral Integrity of Managers on Employee Attitudes: A Meta-analysis," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 67(4), pages 407-419, September.
    28. Karam, Charlotte M. & Jamali, Dima, 2013. "Gendering CSR in the Arab Middle East: An Institutional Perspective," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 23(1), pages 31-68, January.
    29. Erik G. Hansen & Stefan Schaltegger, 2016. "The Sustainability Balanced Scorecard: A Systematic Review of Architectures," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 133(2), pages 193-221, January.
    30. Dima Jamali & Yusuf Sidani & Khalil El-Asmar, 2009. "A Three Country Comparative Analysis of Managerial CSR Perspectives: Insights From Lebanon, Syria and Jordan," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 85(2), pages 173-192, 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. Roberto Fernández‐Gago & Laura Cabeza‐García & José‐Luis Godos‐Díez, 2020. "How significant is corporate social responsibility to business research?," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(4), pages 1809-1817, July.
    2. repec:thr:techub:10031:y:2022:i:1:p:522-552 is not listed on IDEAS
    3. Abdelfattah, Tarek & Aboud, Ahmed, 2020. "Tax avoidance, corporate governance, and corporate social responsibility: The case of the Egyptian capital market," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 38(C).
    4. Nor'Aini Yusof & Amin Akhavan Tabassi & Ernawati Mustafa Kamal, 2020. "Do environmental, economic and reputational advantages strengthen green practices' impact on environmental performance?," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(5), pages 2081-2093, September.
    5. Yan lI, 2022. "Corporate Social Responsibility of Chinese Manufacturing Companies' effect on Green Business Strategy, Innovation and Performance," Technium Social Sciences Journal, Technium Science, vol. 31(1), pages 522-552, May.
    6. Chege, Samwel Macharia & Wang, Daoping, 2020. "The influence of technology innovation on SME performance through environmental sustainability practices in Kenya," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    7. Petya Koleva, 2021. "Towards the Development of an Empirical Model for Islamic Corporate Social Responsibility: Evidence from the Middle East," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 171(4), pages 789-813, July.
    8. Simone Terzani & Teresa Turzo, 2021. "Religious social norms and corporate sustainability: The effect of religiosity on environmental, social, and governance disclosure," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(1), pages 485-496, January.
    9. Sohail Ahmad Javeed & Boon Heng Teh & Tze San Ong & Lee Lee Chong & Mohd Fairuz Bin Abd Rahim & Rashid Latief, 2022. "How Does Green Innovation Strategy Influence Corporate Financing? Corporate Social Responsibility and Gender Diversity Play a Moderating Role," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(14), pages 1-22, July.
    10. Qinghua Zhu & Fei Zou & Pan Zhang, 2019. "The role of innovation for performance improvement through corporate social responsibility practices among small and medium‐sized suppliers in China," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(2), pages 341-350, March.
    11. Ibrahem Alshbili & Ahmed A. Elamer & Maha W. Moustafa, 2021. "Social and environmental reporting, sustainable development and institutional voids: Evidence from a developing country," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(2), pages 881-895, March.

    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. Elbanna, Said & Abdelzaher, Dina M. & Ramadan, Nora, 2020. "Management research in the Arab World: What is now and what is next?," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 26(2).
    2. Petya Koleva, 2021. "Towards the Development of an Empirical Model for Islamic Corporate Social Responsibility: Evidence from the Middle East," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 171(4), pages 789-813, July.
    3. Jamali, Dima & Jain, Tanusree & Samara, Georges & Zoghbi, Edwina, 2020. "How institutions affect CSR practices in the Middle East and North Africa: A critical review," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 55(5).
    4. Valerie Priscilla Goby & Catherine Nickerson, 2016. "Conceptualization of CSR Among Muslim Consumers in Dubai: Evolving from Philanthropy to Ethical and Economic Orientations," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 136(1), pages 167-179, June.
    5. Ali Alotaibi & Francis Edum-Fotwe & Andrew D.F. Price, 2019. "Critical Barriers to Social Responsibility Implementation within Mega-Construction Projects: The Case of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-27, March.
    6. Dina El-Bassiouny & Peter Letmathe, 2019. "Political instability and corporate social responsibility: the case of Egypt," Social Responsibility Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 16(5), pages 745-767, June.
    7. Raiswa Saha & Shashi & Roberto Cerchione & Rajwinder Singh & Richa Dahiya, 2020. "Effect of ethical leadership and corporate social responsibility on firm performance: A systematic review," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(2), pages 409-429, March.
    8. Pisani, Niccolò & Kourula, Arno & Kolk, Ans & Meijer, Renske, 2017. "How global is international CSR research? Insights and recommendations from a systematic review," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 52(5), pages 591-614.
    9. Cătălina Silvia Crișan-Mitra & Liana Stanca & Dan-Cristian Dabija, 2020. "Corporate Social Performance: An Assessment Model on an Emerging Market," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-21, May.
    10. Mohammed Mispah Said Omar & Abdelghani Echchabi & Abdullah Mohammed Ayedh & Salim Al-Hajri, 2021. "Determinants of Social and Environmental Reporting Practices Disclosure in Libyan Oil and Gas Industry: A Managerial Perspective," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 11(4), pages 504-510.
    11. Kenneth Amaeshi & Emmanuel Adegbite & Tazeeb Rajwani, 2016. "Corporate Social Responsibility in Challenging and Non-enabling Institutional Contexts: Do Institutional Voids matter?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 134(1), pages 135-153, March.
    12. Maria Anne Schmidt & Daniel Cracau, 2015. "Cross-Country Comparison of the Corporate Social Responsibility Orientation in Germany and Qatar: An Empirical Study among Business Students," FEMM Working Papers 150006, Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg, Faculty of Economics and Management.
    13. Petya Koleva & Maureen Meadows, 2021. "Inherited Scepticism and Neo-communist CSR-washing: Evidence from a Post-communist Society," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 174(4), pages 783-804, December.
    14. Monowar Mahmood & Janet Humphrey, 2013. "Stakeholder Expectation of Corporate Social Responsibility Practices: A Study on Local and Multinational Corporations in Kazakhstan," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 20(3), pages 168-181, May.
    15. Progress Choongo, 2017. "A Longitudinal Study of the Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility on Firm Performance in SMEs in Zambia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(8), pages 1-19, July.
    16. Osveh Esmaeelinezhad & Ali Bin Boerhannoeddin & Kuppusamy Singaravelloo, 2015. "The Effects of Corporate Social Responsibility Dimensions on Employee Engagement in Iran," International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, Human Resource Management Academic Research Society, International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, vol. 5(3), pages 261-276, March.
    17. Najeb Masoud, 2017. "How to win the battle of ideas in corporate social responsibility: the International Pyramid Model of CSR," International Journal of Corporate Social Responsibility, Springer, vol. 2(1), pages 1-22, December.
    18. Chengli Shu & Hammad Bin Azam Hashmi & Zhenxin Xiao & Syed Waqar Haider & Mishal Nasir, 2022. "How Do Islamic Values Influence CSR? A Systematic Literature Review of Studies from 1995–2020," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 181(2), pages 471-494, November.
    19. Wenjuan Sui & Chunwei Yang & Huiyu Zhang, 2019. "Is Corporate Social Responsibility Used to Mask Corporate Speculation? Evidence from Emerging China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-23, June.
    20. Xuan Bai & Jeanine Chang, 2015. "Corporate social responsibility and firm performance: The mediating role of marketing competence and the moderating role of market environment," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 32(2), pages 505-530, June.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:wly:corsem:v:25:y:2018:i:1:p:47-65. 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: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://doi.org/10.1002/(ISSN)1535-3966 .

    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.