Corporate social responsibility practices and motivations in a peripheral country: two Portuguese illustrative cases

An Empirical Analysis of the Dimensions of Corporate Social Responsibility in Portugal

Revista Mexicana de Economía y Finanzas, 2012

This paper investigates factors that can explain the motivations of Portuguese companies to a social performance. The study was based on a sample of nineteen large Portuguese companies, listed on the PSI 20 index, for a period of five year, since 2005 to 2009. A Factorial Analysis was applied to identify the dimensions of Portuguese Corporate Social Responsibility using variables reference on the Green Book of European Community Commission (ECC, 2001). The results produced two dimensions that may explain Portuguese corporate motivation social performance: (1) Standards and Legal Requirements and (2) Ethic and social conduct. Further research may be done to find correlations with these dimensions and financial and economic corporate performance.

Social responsibility in Spain : Practices and motivations in firms

Management Decision, 2008

Purpose -The purpose of this study is to analyse CSR practices implemented by Spanish companies and the relationship between such practices and corporate financial performance. Design/methodology/approach -The empirical analysis carried out was performed in two phases or stages: analysis of the data obtained through content analysis; and analysis of the motivations behind CSR practices using a dependency model, multiple linear regression, enabling their effect on corporate performance to be explained. Several control variables were introduced to represent the size of the companies, expressed in terms of total assets, and the industry in which the firm operates. Findings -The paper underpins the fact that in Spain there has been a significant increase in practices favouring the reduction of environmental impact, as well as the creation of comfortable workplaces, especially promoting workers' rights. Several of these corporate practices associated with social responsibility in Spanish firms show a positive and significant impact on the rate of sales growth but there is a lack of impact on productivity or market value. Moreover, other responsible practices are not related to short-run improvements in companies' performance. Practical implications -The findings allow the authors to conclude that CSR practices in Spanish firms are geared towards social welfare, and that they are mainly associated with differentiation with regard to competitors and improving the company image, which lead to performance-linked economic advantages (such as sales increases). Originality/value -The paper has analysed corporate practices in a specific country separately (Spain) and has determined the relationship between CSR and firm performance.

On reasons of corporate social responsibility:an integrative perspective

The article aims to obtain answers on the level of knowledge and way of perceiving social responsibility, practices and actions, differences between activity sectors, procedures’ application and quantification of CSR effects for the Romanian firms. In this article are grouped, sorted and systemized a part of the outcomes of the documentation process, related to assigned meanings, types of activities and CSR practices. Both the interest for this concept in the literature and its place and support in reality outlined the importance of this area, as an argument to the initiated approach.

A Multidimensional Corporate Social Responsibility Study

This paper intends to contribute to a better understanding of the corporate social responsibility (CSR) in Portuguese Small and Medium Enterprises (SME)1 . In the Portuguese context, where SME represent the majority of companies in the country, the social responsibility is many times confused with philanthropy or patronage, being an occasional practice and not aligned with the company‟s business. Some authors question themselves if some types of actions can be called CSR or if they are only to be seen as altruism or even political actions in order to achieve business success. Supported by several case studies in Portuguese SME2 , some of the questions that led this research were: Do the SME studied have CSR practices? If so, what kind of practices? Which is the content and scope of these practices? Are they integrated with the SME business strategies?

Dimensions of portuguese corporate social responsibility: a multivariate analysis

Corporate social responsibility for the PSI 20 portuguese companies

In Europe, the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) issue was boosted by Jacques Delors in the Green Paper on social responsibility. Two dimensions were defined, the internal and the external ones, which include several aspects of what should be considered in the CSR performance assessment. Following the global market trend, Portuguese companies are also aware of these issues and report their social responsibility activities, although currently there are no social and sustainable indicators to assess the Portuguese CRS performance. The purpose of this paper is to present a multivariate analysis and to verify homogenous groups of companies with identical social responsibility. The study focused on 19 of companies in the Portuguese Stock Index PSI 20 and the analysis covered a period of five years, between 2005 and 2009. The results showed that 3 clusters were identified.

Strategic and Moral Motivation for Corporate Social Responsibility

Journal of Corporate Citizenship, 2006

This article examines the relationship between management's view on corporate social responsibility (CSR) and firms' actual CSR efforts. It focuses on the practices of 111 Dutch firms with respect to five stakeholder groups-employees, supplies, customers, competitors and society at large-and their use of organisational instruments. We find that the moral (intrinsic) motive, which holds that CSR is a moral duty of companies towards society, induces a stronger involvement in CSR than the strategic (extrinsic) motive, which holds that CSR contributes to the financial success of the company in the long run. This particularly applies to ethical aspects of employee relations and the use of instruments to integrate CSR in the company's organisation. With respect to consumer relations, the strategic and moral motives are equally important. As for relations with suppliers and competitors and society at large, we do not find a significant relationship between management's strategic and moral view on CSR and actual CSR performance.

Corporate social responsibility practices at brazilian firms

Revista de Administração de Empresas, 2014

Prácticas de responsabilidad social corporativa en empresas brasileñas ABSTRACT Corporate Social Responsibility practices have been on the rise in recent years in firms all over the world. Brazil, as one of the most important countries emerging on the international scene, is no exception to this, with more and more firms taking up these practices. The present study focuses on analyzing the corporate social responsibility practices that Brazilian companies engage into. The sample used is comprised of 500 firms grouped by geographical area; the theoretical framework is based on stakeholder and institutional theories; and the technique used for the analysis is the biplot, more specifically the HJ Biplot and cluster analysis. From the results obtained it is possible to infer that the CSR variables corresponding to environmental practices are more closely linked to companies located in the northern areas of Brazil. Social and community practices are related to companies primarily in the southern and northeastern regions of the country.

Corporate Social Responsibility: A Case Study in Subsidiaries from Brazil and China

Journal of technology management & innovation, 2015

Corporate Social Responsibility refers to the business' role in providing Sustainable Development through fair and appropriate relationships with its stakeholders. This study aimed to describe and analyze the CSR evolution in two subsidiaries within the same group, one located in Brazil and other in China. In general, observed similarities in CSR evolution. In both companies, the order in which the dimensions received incentives was the same, first the economic, then the environmental and lastly the social dimension. However, some differences were noted, such as the initial situation of dimensions and the time to consolidate the pillars. In Chinese company, the inicial situation about environmental and social dimension was worst. Other point refers to time toward CSR. In Brazilian' subsidiary, the CSR evolution occurredrslower. The last point refers to requirements of second order, given the non-observance of these in both subsidiaries.

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