IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eme/mrrpps/v33y2010i7p734-748.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The convergence of corporate social responsibility practices

Author

Listed:
  • Nicola Misani

Abstract

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to explain why many socially responsible firms appear to converge on a standard set of corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices instead of striving to differentiate themselves from rivals and achieve competitive advantage. Design/methodology/approach - Three explanations of this convergence are presented as follows: herd behaviour, institutional isomorphism and strategic cooperation. The different empirical predictions of these theories are laid down. The resulting framework is used to analyse a recent self‐regulatory scheme launched by the steel industry, in which knowledge sharing was used to stimulate poor performers to curb carbon dioxide emissions. Findings - Social practices of firms are very often driven by pressures to conform, instead of pressures to perform. Even firms that want to be innovative may be forced by stakeholder requests to adopt passive and imitative behaviour. Practical implications - The paper suggests that there are two types of CSR – convergent and divergent – and that firms need to establish which type of CSR best fits their needs before they address the issues raised by stakeholders. Originality/value - The literature on CSR focuses on the relationship between stakeholders and single firms. The paper tries to add to this literature by analysing the relationship between stakeholders and industries. The paper also contributes to the debate on the financial benefits of CSR by arguing that in industries where the convergent type of CSR is dominant researchers should not expect above‐average returns for socially responsible firms.

Suggested Citation

  • Nicola Misani, 2010. "The convergence of corporate social responsibility practices," Management Research Review, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 33(7), pages 734-748, June.
  • Handle: RePEc:eme:mrrpps:v:33:y:2010:i:7:p:734-748
    DOI: 10.1108/01409171011055816
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/01409171011055816/full/html?utm_source=repec&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=repec
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers

    File URL: https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/01409171011055816/full/pdf?utm_source=repec&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=repec
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1108/01409171011055816?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 look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ilídio Barreto & Charles Baden‐Fuller, 2006. "To Conform or To Perform? Mimetic Behaviour, Legitimacy‐Based Groups and Performance Consequences," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(7), pages 1559-1581, November.
    2. Bikhchandani, Sushil & Hirshleifer, David & Welch, Ivo, 1992. "A Theory of Fads, Fashion, Custom, and Cultural Change in Informational Cascades," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 100(5), pages 992-1026, October.
    3. Keith Weigelt & Colin Camerer, 1988. "Reputation and corporate strategy: A review of recent theory and applications," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 9(5), pages 443-454, September.
    4. Anne Tempel & Peter Walgenbach, 2007. "Global Standardization of Organizational Forms and Management Practices? What New Institutionalism and the Business‐Systems Approach Can Learn from Each Other," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(1), pages 1-24, January.
    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. Tolossa Fufa Gulema & Yadessa Tadesse Roba, 2021. "Internal and external determinants of corporate social responsibility practices in multinational enterprise subsidiaries in developing countries: evidence from Ethiopia," Future Business Journal, Springer, vol. 7(1), pages 1-19, December.
    2. Govindan, Kannan & Shankar, Madan & Kannan, Devika, 2018. "Supplier selection based on corporate social responsibility practices," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 200(C), pages 353-379.
    3. Thomas Laudal, 2011. "Drivers and barriers of CSR and the size and internationalization of firms," Social Responsibility Journal, Emerald Group Publishing, vol. 7(2), pages 234-256, July.
    4. Sitkin, Alan, 2013. "Working for the local community: Substantively broader/geographically narrower CSR accounting," Accounting forum, Elsevier, vol. 37(4), pages 315-324.
    5. Petr Cech & Irena Jindrichovska & Jiri Neubauer, 2018. "Corporate Social Responsibility in Hotel Industry: Empirical Analysis of Transitional Market," International Journal of Economics & Business Administration (IJEBA), International Journal of Economics & Business Administration (IJEBA), vol. 0(1), pages 61-89.
    6. Esben Pedersen & Wencke Gwozdz, 2014. "From Resistance to Opportunity-Seeking: Strategic Responses to Institutional Pressures for Corporate Social Responsibility in the Nordic Fashion Industry," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 119(2), pages 245-264, January.
    7. Cohen, Solomon I., 2014. "Different institutional behavior in different economic systems: Theory and evidence on diverging systems worldwide," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 221-242.
    8. Michael Kopel, 2021. "CSR leadership, spillovers, and first-mover advantage," Decisions in Economics and Finance, Springer;Associazione per la Matematica, vol. 44(2), pages 489-505, December.
    9. José María González González, 2010. "Determinants of socially responsible corporate behaviours in the Spanish electricity sector," Social Responsibility Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 6(3), pages 386-403, August.
    10. Mazboudi, Mohamad & Sidani, Yusuf M. & Al Ariss, Akram, 2020. "Harmonization of firm CSR policies across national contexts: Evidence from Brazil & Sweden," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 29(5).
    11. Ya Hui Ling, 2019. "Examining green policy and sustainable development from the perspective of differentiation and strategic alignment," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(6), pages 1096-1106, September.
    12. Ala'aldin Alrowwad & Bader Yousef Obeidat & Ali Tarhini & Noor Aqqad, 2017. "The Impact of Transformational Leadership on Organizational Performance via the Mediating Role of Corporate Social Responsibility: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach," International Business Research, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 10(1), pages 199-221, January.
    13. Catalina Soriana SITNIKOV & Claudiu George BOCEAN, 2012. "Corporate Social Responsibility Through The Lens Of Iso Standards," Business Excellence and Management, Faculty of Management, Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania, vol. 2(4), pages 56-66, December.
    14. Anni Tuppura & Anne Toppinen & Kaisu Puumalainen, 2016. "Forest Certification and ISO 14001: Current State and Motivation in Forest Companies," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(5), pages 355-368, July.
    15. Ghulam Jilani & Guangqin Yang & Irfan Siddique, 2021. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Pro-Environmental Behavior of the Individuals from the Perspective of Protection Motivation Theory," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-20, December.
    16. repec:ers:journl:v:vi:y:2018:i:1:p:61-89 is not listed on IDEAS

    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. Hang Thu Nguyen & Tra Thi Dan Vu & Hiep Manh Nguyen & Michael Troege, 2022. "Political embeddedness and the adoption of environmental management practices: The mediating effects of institutional pressures," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(4), pages 965-983, July.
    2. Wang, Yong & Li, Kaige & Zhu, Yunxia & Chen, Jiawen, 2023. "Imitation, performance feedback, and outward foreign direct investments by emerging market firms," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 32(4).
    3. Chunlai Ye & Lin-Hui Yu, 2018. "The effect of restatements on trading volume reactions to earnings announcements," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 50(1), pages 129-180, January.
    4. Jie Wu & Kathryn Rudie Harrigan & Siah Hwee Ang & Zefu Wu, 2019. "The impact of imitation strategy and R&D resources on incremental and radical innovation: evidence from Chinese manufacturing firms," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 44(1), pages 210-230, February.
    5. Wang, Yong & Yao, Xiaotao & Li, Kaige, 2022. "Imitation and rapid internationalization of emerging market firms," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 57(6).
    6. Jaime Gómez & Raquel Orcos & Henk W. Volberda, 2021. "How imitation of multiple reference groups drives the evolution of firm strategy," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 15(8), pages 2319-2350, November.
    7. Chang, Eric C. & Cheng, Joseph W. & Khorana, Ajay, 2000. "An examination of herd behavior in equity markets: An international perspective," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 24(10), pages 1651-1679, October.
    8. Gu, Chen & Guo, Xu & Zhang, Chengping, 2022. "Analyst target price revisions and institutional herding," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    9. Ferdinand Thies & Sören Wallbach & Michael Wessel & Markus Besler & Alexander Benlian, 2022. "Initial coin offerings and the cryptocurrency hype - the moderating role of exogenous and endogenous signals," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 32(3), pages 1691-1705, September.
    10. Ruomeng Cui & Dennis J. Zhang & Achal Bassamboo, 2019. "Learning from Inventory Availability Information: Evidence from Field Experiments on Amazon," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 65(3), pages 1216-1235, March.
    11. Stéphan Marette, 2017. "Jill E. Hobbs, Stavroula Malla, Eric K. Sogah and May T. Yeung, 2014, Regulating Health Foods. Policy Challenges and Consumer Conundrums," Review of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Studies, Springer, vol. 98(1), pages 93-94, July.
    12. Jonas Hedlund & Carlos Oyarzun, 2018. "Imitation in heterogeneous populations," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 65(4), pages 937-973, June.
    13. Cao, Melanie & Shi, Shouyong, 2006. "Signaling in the Internet craze of initial public offerings," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 12(4), pages 818-833, September.
    14. Martin Andersson & Johan P. Larsson, 2022. "Historical local industry structure, voting patterns and the long-run entrepreneurial character of regions: Swedish examples," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 69(3), pages 611-631, December.
    15. Wei He & Qian Wang, 2020. "The peer effect of corporate financial decisions around split share structure reform in China," Review of Financial Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 38(3), pages 474-493, July.
    16. Ben Klemens, 2013. "A Peer-based Model of Fat-tailed Outcomes," Papers 1304.0718, arXiv.org.
    17. Kraemer, Carlo & Noth, Markus & Weber, Martin, 2006. "Information aggregation with costly information and random ordering: Experimental evidence," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 59(3), pages 423-432, March.
    18. Youn Kue Na & Sungmin Kang, 2018. "Sustainable Diffusion of Fashion Information on Mobile Friends-Based Social Network Service," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-23, May.
    19. Ye Zhang, 2020. "Discrimination in the Venture Capital Industry: Evidence from Field Experiments," Papers 2010.16084, arXiv.org, revised Aug 2022.
    20. Fishman, Arthur & Fishman, Ram & Gneezy, Uri, 2019. "A tale of two food stands: Observational learning in the field," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 101-108.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Corporate social responsibility; Corporate strategy; Organisational analysis; Regulation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • M14 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - Corporate Culture; Diversity; Social Responsibility
    • L14 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Transactional Relationships; Contracts and Reputation
    • L21 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Business Objectives of the Firm
    • L31 - Industrial Organization - - Nonprofit Organizations and Public Enterprise - - - Nonprofit Institutions; NGOs; Social Entrepreneurship

    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:eme:mrrpps:v:33:y:2010:i:7:p:734-748. 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: Emerald Support (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    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.