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Assessment of Leading Apparel Specialty Retailers’ CSR Practices as Communicated on Corporate Websites: Problems and Opportunities

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  • Manveer Mann
  • Sang-Eun Byun
  • Hyejeong Kim
  • Kelli Hoggle

Abstract

Despite the increased attention to corporate social responsibility (CSR) and regulatory changes in recent years, little is known about how apparel companies are implementing and communicating CSR practices to their stakeholders. To fill the gap, this study investigated the range and strategies of leading apparel specialty retailers’ CSR practices as communicated on their websites over a longitudinal period of 1 year. In total, 17 apparel specialty retailers were included in the analysis. The companies’ websites were content-analyzed in-depth using the coding criteria focusing on labor and environmental issues developed for this study. The initial data were collected in November 2011 and the study was replicated in December 2012 to examine any changes in the CSR practices. As of 2011 only nine companies addressed CSR issues on their websites at different degrees despite their leadership positions in the industry. Environmental issues were addressed by only five companies, with different ranges of practices. In 2012, all 17 companies addressed labor issues on their websites with varying degrees of specificity. In terms of environmental issues, six companies (an increase of one company from 2011) addressed environmental initiatives on their websites with wider ranges of practices. Discussed are problems and opportunities, as well as the role of the government and stakeholders, for the effective communications of CSR policies and initiatives for the apparel industry. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014

Suggested Citation

  • Manveer Mann & Sang-Eun Byun & Hyejeong Kim & Kelli Hoggle, 2014. "Assessment of Leading Apparel Specialty Retailers’ CSR Practices as Communicated on Corporate Websites: Problems and Opportunities," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 122(4), pages 599-622, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:122:y:2014:i:4:p:599-622
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-013-1766-3
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    2. Abbate, Stefano & Centobelli, Piera & Cerchione, Roberto, 2023. "From Fast to Slow: An Exploratory Analysis of Circular Business Models in the Italian Apparel Industry," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 260(C).
    3. 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.
    4. Mia Mahmudur Rahim, 2017. "Improving Social Responsibility in RMG Industries Through a New Governance Approach in Laws," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 143(4), pages 807-826, July.
    5. Penglan Feng & Cindy Sing-bik Ngai, 2020. "Doing More on the Corporate Sustainability Front: A Longitudinal Analysis of CSR Reporting of Global Fashion Companies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-18, March.
    6. Thorey S Thorisdottir & Lara Johannsdottir, 2020. "Corporate Social Responsibility Influencing Sustainability within the Fashion Industry. A Systematic Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-64, November.
    7. Candace L. White & Anne Ellerup Nielsen & Chiara Valentini, 2017. "CSR research in the apparel industry: A quantitative and qualitative review of existing literature," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 24(5), pages 382-394, September.
    8. Chan, Hau-Ling & Wei, Xiaoyong & Guo, Shu & Leung, Wing-Hong, 2020. "Corporate social responsibility (CSR) in fashion supply chains: A multi-methodological study," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 142(C).
    9. Floritzel Moreno & Jiyun Kang, 2020. "How to alleviate consumer skepticism concerning corporate responsibility: The role of content and delivery in CSR communications," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(6), pages 2477-2490, November.
    10. Domenico Sardanelli & Francesca Conte & Agostino Vollero & Alfonso Siano, 2021. "CSR signals: exploring their use in controversial industries," Italian Journal of Marketing, Springer, vol. 2021(3), pages 249-266, September.
    11. Venkatesh, V.G. & Zhang, Abraham & Deakins, Eric & Mani, Venkatesh, 2021. "Antecedents of social sustainability noncompliance in the Indian apparel sector," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 234(C).

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