Special Issue "Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and CSR Implementation"

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2021.

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Wen-Hsien Tsai
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Distinguished Professor of Information & Accounting Systems, Department of Business Administration, National Central University, Jhongli, Taoyuan 32001, Taiwan
Interests: sustainability; green production decision model; Industry 4.0; corporate social responsibility (CSR); activity-based costing (ABC); enterprise resource planning (ERP); carbon emission cost; energy saving and carbon emission reduction; international financial reporting standards (IFRS)
Special Issues and Collections in MDPI journals
Dr. Cheng-Tsu Huang
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Business Administration, National Central University, Jhongli, Taoyuan 32001, Taiwan
Interests: sustainability; corporate social responsibility (CSR); financial accounting; earnings management; financial analyst behavior; corporate finance

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) means that companies are responsible for the effects of their activities on society and the environment. CSR should be integrated in all of a company’s segments and strategies and should ideally become part of its corporate culture. A consistent and broad implementation of CSR plays a key role in improving sustainable development and providing solutions to social challenges. It can also considerably improve companies’ competitive position. The commitment shown by a company’s management and shareholders is a key factor of CSR implementation. To implement CSR, companies need to take stakeholder interests into account (e.g., shareholders, employees, consumers, local communities, and non-government organizations). Companies usually prepare their CSR/sustainability reports following Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards, which include economic, environmental, and social dimensions. Their implementation should cover the whole range of effects of corporate activities, including the value-added chain, and take stakeholders’ requirements into account. Transparency and a readiness to engage in dialogue are at the core of CSR and contribute to its successful implementation. The question of how to strategically implement CSR on an overall company level and in different managerial areas is turning out to be a crucial success factor.

For this Special Issue, we would like to invite researchers and professionals from universities, enterprises, and governmental units to share new ideas, innovations, trends, and experiences concerning any issues related to CSR and CSR implementation. Both original research articles and review articles are welcome. In this Special Issue, the subtopics may include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • CSR implementation;
  • CSR and business performance;
  • CSR and corporate governance;
  • CSR and sustainable development;
  • CSR and earnings management;
  • CSR and financial risk;
  • CSR in various industries;
  • CSR disclosure and business performance;
  • Strategic CSR;
  • Environmental, social, and governance (ESG);
  • GRI economic dimension and business performance;
  • GRI environmental dimension and business performance;
  • GRI social dimension and business performance;
  • Socially responsible investing;
  • Social return on investment;
  • Renewable energy policy and planning;
  • Green innovation and green marketing;
  • Green supply chain management;
  • Internal corporate governance mechanisms and CSR reporting;
  • External corporate governance mechanisms and CSR reporting;
  • CSR disclosure and firm/market value;
  • CSR disclosure and competitive advantages;
  • CSR disclosure and enterprise resource planning (ERP)
  • CSR assurance;
  • CSR decoupling;
  • Voluntary/mandatory CSR disclosure and business performance;
  • Big data and corporate sustainability;
  • Internet of things (IoT) and corporate sustainability;
  • Artificial intelligence (AI) and corporate sustainability.

Prof. Dr. Wen-Hsien Tsai
Dr. Cheng-Tsu Huang
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All papers will be peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Corporate social responsibility (CSR)
  • Corporate engagement
  • Strategic CSR
  • CSR implementation
  • CSR disclosure
  • Environmental, social, and governance (ESG)
  • Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards
  • GRI economic dimensions
  • GRI environmental dimensions
  • GRI social dimensions
  • Socially responsible investing
  • Social return on investment
  • Renewable energy policy
  • Green innovation
  • Green marketing
  • Green supply chain management
  • CSR reporting
  • Internal corporate governance mechanisms
  • External corporate governance mechanisms
  • Firm/market value
  • Competitive advantages
  • Corporate performance
  • Risk taking
  • CSR assurance
  • CSR decoupling
  • CSR networks
  • Ethics
  • Voluntary/mandatory CSR disclosure
  • Corporate sustainability
  • Big data
  • Internet of things (IoT)
  • Artificial intelligence (AI)
  • Enterprise resource planning (ERP)

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

Article
Impact of Women and Independent Directors on Corporate Social Responsibility and Financial Performance: Empirical Evidence from an Emerging Economy
Sustainability 2021, 13(11), 6053; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13116053 - 27 May 2021
Viewed by 713
Abstract
The purpose of our study is to investigate the impact of women and independent directors on corporate social responsibility and financial performance. We use the fixed effect regression model as a baseline methodology. The data set includes information from 2010 to 2019 regarding [...] Read more.
The purpose of our study is to investigate the impact of women and independent directors on corporate social responsibility and financial performance. We use the fixed effect regression model as a baseline methodology. The data set includes information from 2010 to 2019 regarding Chinese non-financial companies, from which we use yearly information. The RSK rating is used for the assessment of corporate social responsibility reporting, ranging from 0 to 100, and other data are taken from the China stock market and accounting research (CSMAR) database. We use a two-stage least square (TSLS) regression model to control the possible problem of endogeneity. The empirical results show that gender diversity in boards significantly and positively affects CSR reporting. We do not find an effect due to non-executive directors on CSR reporting. The presence of non-executive directors on a board is mostly trivial in the case of China, as they do not have much influence with regard to decision making, especially related to CSR reporting. The control variables, such as board size, board member meeting frequency and leverage, are also found to have a significant effect on CSR reporting. Therefore, our results add a new aspect to the emerging literature on CSR reporting, especially in China. Furthermore, our results are robust with regard to the alternative variables under consideration. Our study has important implications. Our research enriches the existing literature on CSR and highlights the importance of female and independent directors having an impact on decisions related to the increased reporting of CSR activities. Our study contributes to the existing literature by presenting a pioneering investigation of the effect of female and independent directors on CSR reporting, as well as shedding light on the relationship in the context of an emerging economy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and CSR Implementation)
Article
The Relationship of Corporate Social Responsibility on Digital Platforms, Electronic Word-of-Mouth, and Consumer-Company Identification: An Application of Social Identity Theory
Sustainability 2021, 13(9), 4700; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13094700 - 22 Apr 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 753
Abstract
The concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) is an ever-evolving concept in the field of business management. Even in 2021, its boundaries are evolving and researchers are linking the concept of CSR to different variables to achieve different outcomes. However, the concept of [...] Read more.
The concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) is an ever-evolving concept in the field of business management. Even in 2021, its boundaries are evolving and researchers are linking the concept of CSR to different variables to achieve different outcomes. However, the concept of CSR in the healthcare sector is not well-explored in prior literature. The current study is an application of social identity theory to induce electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) from consumers for a specific brand, through its CSR engagement on social media (CSRS) and consumer-company identification (CCI) in the healthcare sector of an emerging economy. The data of the current survey were collected from different patients of four large hospitals in a large city through a self-administered questionnaire (paper-pencil technique). To validate different hypotheses of the current study, the authors employed the structural-equation-modeling (SEM) technique using AMOS software. The output of SEM analysis confirmed that CSRS positively influences eWOM, and CCI mediates this relationship. The findings of the current study will be helpful for policymakers in the healthcare industry to improve their understanding of CSRS and CCI, inducing eWOM through the lens of social identity theory. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and CSR Implementation)
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Planned Papers

The below list represents only planned manuscripts. Some of these manuscripts have not been received by the Editorial Office yet. Papers submitted to MDPI journals are subject to peer-review.

Title: Short -selling and firm financial performance of SMEs in China- mediating role of CSR performance

Authors: Wenzhen Mai; Dr Nik Intan Norhan binti Abdul Hamid

Abstract: This study analyzes the mediating effect of CSR performance on the relationship of short selling and firm financial performance of listed SMEs in China. Adopting novel panel data of Chinese SMEs listed in the Shenzhen Stock Exchange from 2013 to 2019, this paper constructs a PSM-DID model to analyse whether short-selling ban lifting improves firm financial performance. Additionally, the three-step model proposed by Baron and Kenny (1986) is used to test the mediating effect of CSR performance. Further analysis of family ownership and degree of real short-selling are conducted to hypothesize whether the relationships of variables are affected by family business or high degree of real short-selling threats. The robust test is also adopted to substitute CSR performance by ESG indexes. This study expands the research fields of short-selling and CSR performance to the SMEs in developing countries, which could provide insights for policymakers to consider further relax short-selling constraints as alternative corporate governance to provide independent monitoring on corporate sustainability and financial performance.

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