IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/ers/journl/vxxiiiy2020i2p264-280.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Profitability of Corporate Social Responsibility Activities from the Perspective of Corporate Social Managers

Author

Listed:
  • Mariusz Zielinski
  • Izabela Jonek-Kowalska

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of the article is to determine the intensity of CSR activities undertaken by enterprises in Poland and to assess their profitability in terms of stakeholder groups. Design/Methodology/Approach: Questionnaire surveys were conducted on a representative group (by size and sectors of the economy) of 722 large and medium-sized enterprises in Poland in 2019. Respondents were CSR managers, among which three groups of people were identified for whom managing CSR is the only responsibility, is one of the basic responsibilities, CSR activities are one of the many responsibilities. The research hypotheses set out in the article regarding the intensity and profitability of CSR activities directed at individual stakeholders, as well as the complementarity of these activities and the characteristics of the respondents that differentiate their responses, were verified using arithmetic means, Pearson correlation coefficients and Chi-squared test. Findings: Research results indicate that enterprises direct CSR activities to primary stakeholders in the first place. Also, the profitability of CSR activities is usually higher valued in the case of primary stakeholders, while activities directed to the local community and the natural environment received higher ratings than activities directed at public authorities and capital providers. Respondents treat CSR activities directed at all stakeholders as complementary. The respondents' strongest opinions about the orientation of CSR activities and their profitability differentiate the workplace next is sector of the economy and the size of the enterprise has the least difference in assessment. Practical Implications: The results obtained encourage corrections of strategic directions of CSR activities, in the form of an increase in the importance (intensity) of CSR activities directed to local communities and the natural environment. Originality/Value: The research presented is so innovative that CSR managers were selected as the group of respondents. Assuming that the directions (intensity) of CSR activities are adopted (imposed) at the strategic level, the profitability of these activities determined at the operational level verifies the correctness of their orientation.

Suggested Citation

  • Mariusz Zielinski & Izabela Jonek-Kowalska, 2020. "Profitability of Corporate Social Responsibility Activities from the Perspective of Corporate Social Managers," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(2), pages 264-280.
    • Handle: RePEc:ers:journl:v:xxiii:y:2020:i:2:p:264-280
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.ersj.eu/journal/1593/download
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Dawkins, Cedric, 2015. "Agonistic Pluralism and Stakeholder Engagement," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 25(1), pages 1-28, January.
    2. I.A. Ivanova & M.V. Bikeeva, 2016. "Corporate Social Responsibility: Specificity, Formation Mechanism, Estimation of Management Efficiency," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(3A), pages 167-184.
    3. Eleftherios Thalassinos & Theodoros Kyriazidis & John Thalassinos, 2006. "The Greek Capital Market: Caught in Between Poor Corporate Governance and Market Inefficiency," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(1-2), pages 3-24.
    4. Aleix Calveras & Juan‐José Ganuza, 2016. "The Role of Public Information in Corporate Social Responsibility," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(4), pages 990-1017, December.
    5. Douglas A. Bosse & Robert A. Phillips & Jeffrey S. Harrison, 2009. "Stakeholders, reciprocity, and firm performance," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(4), pages 447-456, April.
    6. Izabela Jędrzejowska-Schiffauer & Peter Schiffauer & Eleftherios Thalassinos, 2019. "EU Regulatory Measures Following the Crises: What Impact on Corporate Governance of Financial Institutions?," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(3), pages 432-456.
    7. Charles W. L. Hill & Thomas M. Jones, 1992. "Stakeholder‐Agency Theory," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(2), pages 131-154, March.
    8. Robert Strand & R. Freeman, 2015. "Scandinavian Cooperative Advantage: The Theory and Practice of Stakeholder Engagement in Scandinavia," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 127(1), pages 65-85, March.
    9. 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.
    10. Ans Kolk & Marlene Vock & Willemijn Dolen, 2016. "Microfoundations of Partnerships: Exploring the Role of Employees in Trickle Effects," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 135(1), pages 19-34, April.
    11. Ki‐Hoon Lee & Beom Cheol Cin & Eui Young Lee, 2016. "Environmental Responsibility and Firm Performance: The Application of an Environmental, Social and Governance Model," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(1), pages 40-53, January.
    12. Gérard Hirigoyen & Thierry Poulain-Rehm, 2015. "Relationships between Corporate Social Responsibility and Financial Performance: What is the Causality?," Post-Print hal-01382072, HAL.
    13. Jones, Thomas M. & Felps, Will, 2013. "Shareholder Wealth Maximization and Social Welfare: A Utilitarian Critique," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 23(2), pages 207-238, April.
    14. Glavas, Ante & Kelley, Ken, 2014. "The Effects of Perceived Corporate Social Responsibility on Employee Attitudes," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 24(2), pages 165-202, April.
    15. 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.
    16. Markus Beckmann & Stefan Hielscher & Ingo Pies, 2014. "Commitment Strategies for Sustainability: How Business Firms Can Transform Trade‐Offs Into Win–Win Outcomes," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 23(1), pages 18-37, January.
    17. repec:ers:journl:v:vi:y:2018:i:1:p:61-89 is not listed on IDEAS
    18. Simon Deakin & Richard Hobbs, 2007. "False Dawn for CSR? Shifts in regulatory policy and the response of the corporate and financial sectors in Britain," Corporate Governance: An International Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 15(1), pages 68-76, January.
    19. Andreas Rasche & Frank Bakker & Jeremy Moon, 2013. "Complete and Partial Organizing for Corporate Social Responsibility," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 115(4), pages 651-663, July.
    20. Hideaki Sakawa & Naoki Watanabel, 2020. "Institutional Ownership and Firm Performance under Stakeholder-Oriented Corporate Governance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-21, January.
    21. Glen Whelan, 2013. "Corporate Constructed and Dissent Enabling Public Spheres: Differentiating Dissensual from Consensual Corporate Social Responsibility," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 115(4), pages 755-769, July.
    22. Goodman, Jennifer & Arenas, Daniel, 2015. "Engaging Ethically: A Discourse Ethics Perspective on Social Shareholder Engagement," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 25(2), pages 163-189, April.
    23. Gerard Hirigoyen & Thierry Poulain-Rehm, 2015. "Relationships between Corporate Social Responsibility and financial performance: What is the Causality?," Post-Print hal-01430986, HAL.
    24. O. V. Andreeva & N. G. Vovchenko & O. B. Ivanova & E. D. Kostoglodova, 2018. "Green Finance: Trends and Financial Regulation Prospects," Contemporary Studies in Economic and Financial Analysis, in: Contemporary Issues in Business and Financial Management in Eastern Europe, volume 100, pages 9-17, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
    25. Graham Hubbard, 2009. "Measuring organizational performance: beyond the triple bottom line," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(3), pages 177-191, March.
    26. Robert Strand & R. Freeman, 2015. "Erratum to: Scandinavian Cooperative Advantage: The Theory and Practice of Stakeholder Engagement in Scandinavia," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 127(1), pages 87-87, 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. Mariusz Zieliński & Małgorzata Adamska, 2022. "ESG Assessment from the Perspective of the Management Board and Trade Unions on the Example of the Opole Power Plant," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(21), pages 1-21, October.
    2. Tomasz L. Nawrocki & Danuta Szwajca, 2021. "A Multidimensional Comparative Analysis of Involvement in CSR Activities of Energy Companies in the Context of Sustainable Development Challenges: Evidence from Poland," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-19, July.

    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. Mariusz Zieliński & Izabela Jonek-Kowalska, 2021. "Does CSR Affect the Profitability and Valuation of Energy Companies? An Example from Poland," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1-24, June.
    2. Mariusz Zieliński & Małgorzata Adamska, 2022. "ESG Assessment from the Perspective of the Management Board and Trade Unions on the Example of the Opole Power Plant," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(21), pages 1-21, October.
    3. Araniyar C. Isukul & John J. Chizea, 2017. "Corporate Governance Disclosure in Developing Countries: A Comparative Analysis in Nigerian and South African Banks," SAGE Open, , vol. 7(3), pages 21582440177, July.
    4. Izabela Delabre & Joss Lyons‐White & Clara Melot & Eirik Ingwardo Veggeberg & Anthony Alexander & Martin C. Schleper & Robert M. Ewers & Andrew T. Knight, 2023. "Should I stay or should I go? Understanding stakeholder dis/engagement for deforestation‐free palm oil," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(8), pages 5128-5145, December.
    5. Veronica, Scuotto & Alexeis, Garcia-Perez & Valentina, Cillo & Elisa, Giacosa, 2020. "Do stakeholder capabilities promote sustainable business innovation in small and medium-sized enterprises? Evidence from Italy," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 131-141.
    6. Kim, Rebecca Chunghee & Yoo, Kate Inyoung & Uddin, Helal, 2018. "The Korean Air nut rage scandal: Domestic versus international responses to a viral incident," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 61(4), pages 533-544.
    7. Izabela Jonek-Kowalska & Mariusz Zielinski, 2020. "How CSR Affects Polish Enterprises," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(4), pages 785-803.
    8. Elena Candelo & Cecilia Casalegno & Chiara Civera & Fabrizio Mosca, 2018. "Turning Farmers into Business Partners through Value Co-Creation Projects. Insights from the Coffee Supply Chain," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-21, March.
    9. Steve Evans & Doroteya Vladimirova & Maria Holgado & Kirsten Van Fossen & Miying Yang & Elisabete A. Silva & Claire Y. Barlow, 2017. "Business Model Innovation for Sustainability: Towards a Unified Perspective for Creation of Sustainable Business Models," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(5), pages 597-608, July.
    10. N. V. V. Satyanaryana Puchakayala & Udaya Bhaskar Nallamalli & Visalakshi Narapareddi, 2023. "Corporate social responsibility: a way of enhancing financial performance—evidence from select NSE listed companies," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 3(7), pages 1-31, July.
    11. Maha Faisal Alsayegh & Rashidah Abdul Rahman & Saeid Homayoun, 2020. "Corporate Economic, Environmental, and Social Sustainability Performance Transformation through ESG Disclosure," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-20, May.
    12. Hildegunn Mellesmo Aslaksen & Clare Hildebrandt & Hans Chr. Garmann Johnsen, 2021. "The long-term transformation of the concept of CSR: towards a more comprehensive emphasis on sustainability," International Journal of Corporate Social Responsibility, Springer, vol. 6(1), pages 1-14, December.
    13. Daniel Kiel & Julian M. Müller & Christian Arnold & Kai-Ingo Voigt, 2017. "Sustainable Industrial Value Creation: Benefits And Challenges Of Industry 4.0," International Journal of Innovation Management (ijim), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 21(08), pages 1-34, December.
    14. Rui Coelho & Shital Jayantilal & Joao J. Ferreira, 2023. "The impact of social responsibility on corporate financial performance: A systematic literature review," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(4), pages 1535-1560, July.
    15. Kahloul, Ines & Sbai, Hicham & Grira, Jocelyn, 2022. "Does Corporate Social Responsibility reporting improve financial performance? The moderating role of board diversity and gender composition," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 305-314.
    16. Mähönen Jukka, 2020. "Integrated Reporting and Sustainable Corporate Governance from European Perspective," Accounting, Economics, and Law: A Convivium, De Gruyter, vol. 10(2), pages 1-40, July.
    17. Zhenghui Li & Gaoke Liao & Khaldoon Albitar, 2020. "Does corporate environmental responsibility engagement affect firm value? The mediating role of corporate innovation," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(3), pages 1045-1055, March.
    18. Misani, Nicola, 2020. "Sustainability and Implicit Contracts," MPRA Paper 104963, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    19. Ramin Bashir Khodaparasti & Hooshmand Bagheri Garabollagh & Reza Mohammadpour, 2020. "Engagement in Green Procurement: Antecedents and Outcomes on Manufacturing Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises from Iran," The AMFITEATRU ECONOMIC journal, Academy of Economic Studies - Bucharest, Romania, vol. 22(53), pages 102-102, February.
    20. Francisco Javier Forcadell & Antonio Lorena & Elisa Aracil, 2023. "The firm under the spotlight: How stakeholder scrutiny shapes corporate social responsibility and its influence on performance," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(3), pages 1258-1272, May.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    CSR in managers’ perspective; stakeholders in CSR policy.;

    JEL classification:

    • M10 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - General
    • M14 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - Corporate Culture; Diversity; Social Responsibility
    • L25 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Firm Performance

    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:ers:journl:v:xxiii:y:2020:i:2:p:264-280. 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: Marios Agiomavritis (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://ersj.eu/ .

    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.