IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jbrese/v162y2023ics0148296323002230.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Corporate social responsibility in family firms: Can corporate communication affect CSR performance?

Author

Listed:
  • Battisti, Enrico
  • Nirino, Niccolò
  • Leonidou, Erasmia
  • Salvi, Antonio

Abstract

Drawing on the stewardship theory (ST) and socio-emotional wealth (SEW) perspective, this study investigates the role of sustainable activities within family firms (FFs) and the effect of marketing strategic decisions in improving their corporate social responsibility performance. To achieve the research aims, we analysed a sample of 730 American and European listed companies from 2015 to 2020. The results show that family businesses are more socially responsible than non-family businesses due to the presence of stewards. However, strategic marketing decisions have unclear effects in achieving these outcomes. This study expands the literature on ST and SEW in FFs, integrating them with sustainable principles. We also contribute to the sustainability debate and marketing literature related to FFs.

Suggested Citation

  • Battisti, Enrico & Nirino, Niccolò & Leonidou, Erasmia & Salvi, Antonio, 2023. "Corporate social responsibility in family firms: Can corporate communication affect CSR performance?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 162(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:162:y:2023:i:c:s0148296323002230
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2023.113865
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0148296323002230
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jbusres.2023.113865?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
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Pascual Berrone & Andrea Fosfuri & Liliana Gelabert, 2017. "Does Greenwashing Pay Off? Understanding the Relationship Between Environmental Actions and Environmental Legitimacy," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 144(2), pages 363-379, August.
    2. Giovanna Campopiano & Alfredo Massis & Lucio Cassia, 2014. "Corporate Social Responsibility in Family Versus Non-Family Enterprises: An Exploratory Study," International Studies in Entrepreneurship, in: Anders Lundström & Chunyan Zhou & Yvonne von Friedrichs & Elisabeth Sundin (ed.), Social Entrepreneurship, edition 127, chapter 0, pages 113-154, Springer.
    3. Villalonga, Belen & Amit, Raphael, 2006. "How do family ownership, control and management affect firm value?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 80(2), pages 385-417, May.
    4. Joern H. Block & Marcus Wagner, 2014. "The Effect of Family Ownership on Different Dimensions of Corporate Social Responsibility: Evidence from Large US Firms," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 23(7), pages 475-492, November.
    5. Bae, Kee-Hong & El Ghoul, Sadok & Gong, Zhaoran (Jason) & Guedhami, Omrane, 2021. "Does CSR matter in times of crisis? Evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    6. Alexander Dahlsrud, 2008. "How corporate social responsibility is defined: an analysis of 37 definitions," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 15(1), pages 1-13, January.
    7. James H. Davis & Mathew R. Allen & H. David Hayes, 2010. "Is Blood Thicker Than Water? A Study of Stewardship Perceptions in Family Business," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 34(6), pages 1093-1116, November.
    8. Robert Strand & R. Freeman & Kai Hockerts, 2015. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability in Scandinavia: An Overview," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 127(1), pages 1-15, March.
    9. Longinos Marin & Salvador Ruiz & Alicia Rubio, 2009. "The Role of Identity Salience in the Effects of Corporate Social Responsibility on Consumer Behavior," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 84(1), pages 65-78, January.
    10. Roy, Partha P. & Rao, Sandeep & Zhu, Min, 2022. "Mandatory CSR expenditure and stock market liquidity," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    11. Yuan‐Shuh Lii & Kuang‐Wen Wu & May‐Ching Ding, 2013. "Doing Good Does Good? Sustainable Marketing of CSR and Consumer Evaluations," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 20(1), pages 15-28, January.
    12. Shahzad Uddin & Javed Siddiqui & Muhammad Azizul Islam, 2018. "Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosures, Traditionalism and Politics: A Story from a Traditional Setting," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 151(2), pages 409-428, August.
    13. Guoli Chen & Raveendra Chittoor & Balagopal Vissa, 2021. "Does nepotism run in the family? CEO pay and pay‐performance sensitivity in Indian family firms," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(7), pages 1326-1343, July.
    14. Kashmiri, Saim & Mahajan, Vijay, 2014. "Beating the recession blues: Exploring the link between family ownership, strategic marketing behavior and firm performance during recessions," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 31(1), pages 78-93.
    15. Niccolò Nirino & Enrico Battisti & Alberto Ferraris & Stefano Dell'Atti & Massimiliano Farina Briamonte, 2022. "How and when corporate social performance reduces firm risk? The moderating role of corporate governance," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(6), pages 1995-2005, November.
    16. Binz Astrachan, Claudia & Prügl, Reinhard & Hair, Joseph F. & Babin, Barry J., 2019. "Marketing and branding in family business: Assessing the landscape and charting a path forward," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 10(1), pages 3-7.
    17. Margarete Schellong & Nils D. Kraiczy & Lucia Malär & Andreas Hack, 2019. "Family Firm Brands, Perceptions of Doing Good, and Consumer Happiness," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 43(5), pages 921-946, September.
    18. Kim, Chung Hee & Amaeshi, Kenneth & Harris, Simon & Suh, Chang-Jin, 2013. "CSR and the national institutional context: The case of South Korea," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 66(12), pages 2581-2591.
    19. Battisti, Enrico & Nirino, Niccolò & Leonidou, Erasmia & Thrassou, Alkis, 2022. "Corporate venture capital and CSR performance: An extended resource based view’s perspective," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 1058-1066.
    20. Arijs, Diane & Botero, Isabel C. & Michiels, Anneleen & Molly, Vincent, 2018. "Family business employer brand: Understanding applicants’ perceptions and their job pursuit intentions with samples from the US and Belgium," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 9(3), pages 180-191.
    21. Jordi Surroca & Josep A. Tribó, 2008. "Managerial Entrenchment and Corporate Social Performance," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(5‐6), pages 748-789, June.
    22. Zellweger, Thomas M. & Kellermanns, Franz W. & Eddleston, Kimberly A. & Memili, Esra, 2012. "Building a family firm image: How family firms capitalize on their family ties," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 3(4), pages 239-250.
    23. Jess H. Chua & James J. Chrisman & Erich B. Bergiel, 2009. "An Agency Theoretic Analysis of the Professionalized Family Firm," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 33(2), pages 355-372, March.
    24. Cristina Cruz & Martin Larraza–Kintana & Lucía Garcés–Galdeano & Pascual Berrone, 2014. "Are Family Firms Really More Socially Responsible?," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 38(6), pages 1295-1316, November.
    25. Poutziouris, Panikkos & Savva, Christos S. & Hadjielias, Elias, 2015. "Family involvement and firm performance: Evidence from UK listed firms," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 6(1), pages 14-32.
    26. Archie B. Carroll, 2016. "Carroll’s pyramid of CSR: taking another look," International Journal of Corporate Social Responsibility, Springer, vol. 1(1), pages 1-8, December.
    27. Deborah E. Rupp & Ruodan Shao & Daniel P. Skarlicki & E. Layne Paddock & Tae-Yeol Kim & Thierry Nadisic, 2018. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Employee Engagement : The Moderating Role of CSR-Specific Relative Autonomy and Individualism," Post-Print hal-02312131, HAL.
    28. Paul M. Hirsch & Daniel Z. Levin, 1999. "Umbrella Advocates Versus Validity Police: A Life-Cycle Model," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 10(2), pages 199-212, April.
    29. Nirino, Niccolò & Santoro, Gabriele & Miglietta, Nicola & Quaglia, Roberto, 2021. "Corporate controversies and company's financial performance: Exploring the moderating role of ESG practices," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 162(C).
    30. Marjo Siltaoja, 2006. "Value Priorities as Combining Core Factors Between CSR and Reputation – A Qualitative Study," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 68(1), pages 91-111, September.
    31. Victor Cui & Shujun Ding & Mingzhi Liu & Zhenyu Wu, 2018. "Revisiting the Effect of Family Involvement on Corporate Social Responsibility: A Behavioral Agency Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 152(1), pages 291-309, September.
    32. Giovanna Gavana & Pietro Gottardo & Anna Maria Moisello, 2017. "The effect of equity and bond issues on sustainability disclosure. Family vs non-family Italian firms," Social Responsibility Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 13(1), pages 126-142, March.
    33. Hadjielias, Elias & Christofi, Michael & Vrontis, Demetris & Khan, Huda, 2022. "Social impact through family firms’ interorganizational relationships within a community and a cooperative: An embedded view of stewardship," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 584-601.
    34. W. Gibb Dyer Jr. & David A. Whetten, 2006. "Family Firms and Social Responsibility: Preliminary Evidence from the S&P 500," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 30(6), pages 785-802, November.
    35. Jordi Surroca & Josep A. Tribó & Sandra Waddock, 2010. "Corporate responsibility and financial performance: the role of intangible resources," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(5), pages 463-490, May.
    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. Otero Gómez, María Cristina & Pérez, Wilson Giraldo & Gutiérrez Barriga, Luis Alejandro, 2024. "Análisis de la responsabilidad social empresarial en la respuesta afectiva de los usuarios de Bancolombia," Revista Tendencias, Universidad de Narino, vol. 25(1), pages 33-51, January.
    2. Yunsook Hong & Min-Jik Kim & Taewoo Roh, 2023. "Mitigating the Impact of Work Overload on Cybersecurity Behavior: The Moderating Influence of Corporate Ethics—A Mediated Moderation Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(19), pages 1-20, September.

    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. Bargoni, Augusto & Alon, Ilan & Ferraris, Alberto, 2023. "A systematic review of family business and consumer behaviour," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    2. Olivier Meier & Guillaume Schier, 2021. "CSR and Family CEO: The Moderating Role of CEO’s Age," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 174(3), pages 595-612, December.
    3. Stutz, Adrian & Schell, Sabrina & Hack, Andreas, 2022. "In family firms we trust – Experimental evidence on the credibility of sustainability reporting: A replication study with extension," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 13(4).
    4. Jain, Shalini Sarin & Fernando, Guy D. & Tripathy, Arindam & Bhatia, Sandhya, 2021. "Closing the gender gap in top management teams: An examination of diversity and compensation parity in family and non-family firms," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 12(4).
    5. Rovelli, Paola & Benedetti, Carlotta & Fronzetti Colladon, Andrea & De Massis, Alfredo, 2022. "As long as you talk about me: The importance of family firm brands and the contingent role of family-firm identity," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 692-700.
    6. Francesco Aiello & Paola Cardamone & Lidia Mannarino & Valeria Pupo, 2021. "Green patenting and corporate social responsibility: Does family involvement in business matter?," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(4), pages 1386-1396, July.
    7. Andrea Stübner & Svenja Jarchow, 2023. "Family oblige: the link between CSR and succession intention in small and medium family firms," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 93(3), pages 389-431, April.
    8. Claudia Arena & Giovanna Michelon, 2018. "A matter of control or identity? Family firms' environmental reporting decisions along the corporate life cycle," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(8), pages 1596-1608, December.
    9. Abeysekera, Amal P. & Fernando, Chitru S., 2020. "Corporate social responsibility versus corporate shareholder responsibility: A family firm perspective," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    10. Laura Broccardo & Elisa Truant & Adrian Zicari, 2019. "Internal corporate sustainability drivers: What evidence from family firms? A literature review and research agenda," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(1), pages 1-18, January.
    11. Réal Labelle & Taïeb Hafsi & Claude Francoeur & Walid Ben Amar, 2018. "Family Firms’ Corporate Social Performance: A Calculated Quest for Socioemotional Wealth," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 148(3), pages 511-525, March.
    12. Bargoni, Augusto & Kliestik, Tomas & Jabeen, Fauzia & Santoro, Gabriele, 2023. "Family firms’ characteristics and consumer behaviour: An enquiry into millennials’ purchase intention in the online channel," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).
    13. Christian Espinosa-Méndez & Carlos P. Maquieira & José T. Arias, 2023. "The Impact of ESG Performance on the Value of Family Firms: The Moderating Role of Financial Constraints and Agency Problems," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-20, April.
    14. Rehman, Atiqa & Gonenc, Halit & Hermes, Niels, 2023. "Corporate social performance of family firms and shareholder protection: An international analysis," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 14(2).
    15. Ernst, Robin-Alexander & Gerken, Maike & Hack, Andreas & Hülsbeck, Marcel, 2022. "Family firms as agents of sustainable development: A normative perspective," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 174(C).
    16. Niccolò Nirino & Enrico Battisti & Alberto Ferraris & Stefano Dell'Atti & Massimiliano Farina Briamonte, 2022. "How and when corporate social performance reduces firm risk? The moderating role of corporate governance," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(6), pages 1995-2005, November.
    17. Marcin Borsuk & Nicolas Eugster & Paul-Olivier Klein & Oskar Kowalewski, 2023. "Family Ownership and Carbon Emissions," Working Papers 2023-ACF-01, IESEG School of Management.
    18. Beliaeva, Tatiana & Ferasso, Marcos & Kraus, Sascha & Mahto, Raj V., 2022. "Marketing and family firms: Theoretical roots, research trajectories, and themes," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 66-79.
    19. Juan Diego Alzate-G mez & Di genes Lagos Cort s & Percy Marquina Fieldman, 2020. "Corporate Social Responsibility Practices and Economic Performance in Colombia: The Moderating Effect of Family Control," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 10(1), pages 6-18.
    20. Madden, Laura & McMillan, Amy & Harris, Oneil, 2020. "Drivers of selectivity in family firms: Understanding the impact of age and ownership on CSR," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 11(2).

    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:eee:jbrese:v:162:y:2023:i:c:s0148296323002230. 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jbusres .

    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.