IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/jbuset/v117y2013i2p313-331.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Driven to Be Good: A Stakeholder Theory Perspective on the Drivers of Corporate Social Performance

Author

Listed:
  • Jacob Brower
  • Vijay Mahajan

Abstract

Despite growing evidence of the benefits to a firm of improving corporate social performance (CSP), many firms vary significantly in terms of their CSP activities. This research investigates how the characteristics of the stakeholder landscape influence a firm’s CSP breadth. Using stakeholder theory, we specifically propose that several factors increase the salience and impact of stakeholders’ demands on the firm and that, in response to these factors, a firm’s CSP will have greater breadth. A firm’s CSP breadth is operationalized as the number of different sub-domains of CSR for which a firm has taken positive actions and is captured using a unique dataset from Kinder, Lydenburg, and Domini (KLD). This data set includes positive and negative firm actions across more than 35 different dimensions of socially responsible behavior. Findings based on a longitudinal, multi-industry sample of 447 US firms during the period from 2000 to 2007 demonstrate that firms which: (1) have greater sensitivity to stakeholder needs as a result of the firm’s strategic emphasis on marketing and/or value creation, (2) face greater diversity of stakeholder demands, and (3) encounter a greater degree of scrutiny or risk from stakeholder action have a greater breadth of CSP in response to the stakeholder landscape that they face. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2013

Suggested Citation

  • Jacob Brower & Vijay Mahajan, 2013. "Driven to Be Good: A Stakeholder Theory Perspective on the Drivers of Corporate Social Performance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 117(2), pages 313-331, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:117:y:2013:i:2:p:313-331
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-012-1523-z
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1007/s10551-012-1523-z
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10551-012-1523-z?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. Iyer, Easwar S. & Bhattacharya, C.B., 2011. "Marketing and society: Preface to special section on volunteerism, price assurances, and direct-to-consumer advertising," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 64(1), pages 59-60, January.
    2. Richard L Daft & Juhani Sormunen & Don Parks, 1988. "Chief executive scanning, environmental characteristics, and company performance: An empirical study," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 9(2), pages 123-139, March.
    3. Jaepil Choi & Heli Wang, 2009. "Stakeholder relations and the persistence of corporate financial performance," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(8), pages 895-907, August.
    4. Daniel Sullivan, 1994. "Measuring the Degree of Internationalization of a Firm," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 25(2), pages 325-342, June.
    5. Abagail McWilliams & Donald Siegel, 2000. "Corporate social responsibility and financial performance: correlation or misspecification?," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(5), pages 603-609, May.
    6. 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.
    7. Natalie Mizik & Robert Jacobson, 2007. "Myopic Marketing Management: Evidence of the Phenomenon and Its Long-Term Performance Consequences in the SEO Context," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 26(3), pages 361-379, 05-06.
    8. Fama, Eugene F, 1970. "Efficient Capital Markets: A Review of Theory and Empirical Work," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 25(2), pages 383-417, May.
    9. Villalonga, Belen, 2004. "Intangible resources, Tobin's q, and sustainability of performance differences," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 54(2), pages 205-230, June.
    10. 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.
    11. Amy J. Hillman & Gerald D. Keim, 2001. "Shareholder value, stakeholder management, and social issues: what's the bottom line?," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(2), pages 125-139, February.
    12. Paul C. Godfrey & Craig B. Merrill & Jared M. Hansen, 2009. "The relationship between corporate social responsibility and shareholder value: an empirical test of the risk management hypothesis," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(4), pages 425-445, April.
    13. Shantanu Dutta & Om Narasimhan & Surendra Rajiv, 1999. "Success in High-Technology Markets: Is Marketing Capability Critical?," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 18(4), pages 547-568.
    14. Jay J. Janney & Steve Gove, 2011. "Reputation and Corporate Social Responsibility Aberrations, Trends, and Hypocrisy: Reactions to Firm Choices in the Stock Option Backdating Scandal," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(7), pages 1562-1585, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items 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. Jacob Brower & Peter A. Dacin, 2020. "An Institutional Theory Approach to the Evolution of the Corporate Social Performance – Corporate Financial Performance Relationship," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 57(4), pages 805-836, June.
    2. Franck Brulhart & Sandrine Gherra & Bertrand V. Quelin, 2019. "Do Stakeholder Orientation and Environmental Proactivity Impact Firm Profitability?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 158(1), pages 25-46, August.
    3. Christopher Groening & Vamsi K. Kanuri, 2018. "Investor Reactions to Concurrent Positive and Negative Stakeholder News," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 149(4), pages 833-856, June.
    4. Francesco Perrini & Angeloantonio Russo & Antonio Tencati & Clodia Vurro, 2011. "Deconstructing the Relationship Between Corporate Social and Financial Performance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 102(1), pages 59-76, March.
    5. Iftekhar Hasan & Nada Kobeissi & Liuling Liu & Haizhi Wang, 2018. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Firm Financial Performance: The Mediating Role of Productivity," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 149(3), pages 671-688, May.
    6. repec:zbw:bofrdp:2016_007 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Hasan, Iftekhar & Kobeissi, Nada & Liu, Liuling & Wang, Haizhi, 2016. "Corporate social responsibility and firm financial performance: the mediating role of productivity," Bank of Finland Research Discussion Papers 7/2016, Bank of Finland.
    8. Saridakis, Charalampos & Angelidou, Sofia & Woodside, Arch G., 2023. "How historical and social aspirations reshape the relationship between corporate financial performance and corporate social responsibility," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    9. Bill Francis & Iftekhar Hasan & Liuling Liu & Haizhi Wang, 2019. "Employee Treatment and Contracting with Bank Lenders: An Instrumental Approach for Stakeholder Management," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 158(4), pages 1029-1046, September.
    10. Javier Aguilera-Caracuel & Jaime Guerrero-Villegas & María Dolores Vidal-Salazar & Blanca L. Delgado-Márquez, 2015. "International Cultural Diversification and Corporate Social Performance in Multinational Enterprises: The Role of Slack Financial Resources," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 55(3), pages 323-353, June.
    11. Price, Joseph M. & Sun, Wenbin, 2017. "Doing good and doing bad: The impact of corporate social responsibility and irresponsibility on firm performance," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 82-97.
    12. Iftekhar Hasan & Nada Kobeissi & Liuling Liu & Haizhi Wang, 2018. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Firm Financial Performance: The Mediating Role of Productivity," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 149(3), pages 671-688, May.
    13. Saurabh Mishra & Sachin Modi, 2013. "Positive and Negative Corporate Social Responsibility, Financial Leverage, and Idiosyncratic Risk," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 117(2), pages 431-448, October.
    14. Wenbin Sun & Shanji Yao & Rahul Govind, 2019. "Reexamining Corporate Social Responsibility and Shareholder Value: The Inverted-U-Shaped Relationship and the Moderation of Marketing Capability," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 160(4), pages 1001-1017, December.
    15. Shao‐Chi Chang & Heng‐Yu Chang, 2015. "Corporate Motivations of Product Recall Strategy: Exploring the Role of Corporate Social Responsibility in Stakeholder Engagement," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 22(6), pages 393-407, November.
    16. Hans B. Christensen & Luzi Hail & Christian Leuz, 2021. "Mandatory CSR and sustainability reporting: economic analysis and literature review," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 26(3), pages 1176-1248, September.
    17. Tai-Hsi Wu & Hsiang-Lin Chih & Mei-Chen Lin & Yi Hua Wu, 2020. "A Data Envelopment Analysis-Based Methodology Adopting Assurance Region Approach for Measuring Corporate Social Performance," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 148(3), pages 863-892, April.
    18. Eduardo Duque-Grisales & Javier Aguilera-Caracuel, 2021. "Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Scores and Financial Performance of Multilatinas: Moderating Effects of Geographic International Diversification and Financial Slack," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 168(2), pages 315-334, January.
    19. Hasan, Iftekhar & Karavitis, Panagiotis & Kazakis, Pantelis & Leung, Woon Sau, 2019. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Profit Shifting," MPRA Paper 91580, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    20. Weichieh Su & Mike W. Peng & Weiqiang Tan & Yan-Leung Cheung, 2016. "The Signaling Effect of Corporate Social Responsibility in Emerging Economies," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 134(3), pages 479-491, March.
    21. Ilya R. P. Cuypers & Ping-Sheng Koh & Heli Wang, 2016. "Sincerity in Corporate Philanthropy, Stakeholder Perceptions and Firm Value," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 27(1), pages 173-188, February.

    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:kap:jbuset:v:117:y:2013:i:2:p:313-331. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.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.