Drivers and Barriers of Corporate Social Responsibility

Dear Colleagues,

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is one of the main considerations in the field of contemporary organizational management. Its potential benefits are widely known—not only its effect on economic performance, but also in reducing environmental impacts and developing the wellbeing of employees (Crane et al. 2019; Carroll and Shabana, 2010). As a consequence, the implementation of CSR practices helps to enhance the reputation and competitive positioning of companies.

Regarding the human resources area, there are numerous studies that place special emphasis on analyzing the potential consequences of the development of a social orientation in human resource management (HRM) for such areas as the economy, environment, and society. However, these studies establish their main focus as employee performance and behavior, showing that HRM with a social orientation has a significant influence both on individual and organizational behavior (Snape and Redman, 2010).

However, not all companies are able to obtain benefits from the integration of social responsibility in their business management approach. Works such as Laudal (2011), Arevalo and Aravind (2011), and recently Agudo-Valiente et al. (2017), and Barrena-Martinez et al. (2018) show through the consideration of stakeholders and institutional theory, as well as other approaches in the field of management, the existence of a set of drivers and barriers that affect the implementation of socially responsible practices and that enhance or reduce the effects that these practices could have at the economic, social, and environmental level. Among these drivers and barriers, the main catalysts were found to be the perceptions that the HR manager may have of socially responsible HRM (SR-HRM); the degree of commitment to the improvement of the work environment; the sense of belonging of the employees; or the achievement of greater wellbeing for the employees and their families (Barrena-Martinez et al. 2018). On the other hand, the differences in decisions or other discrepancies between the HRM and the general management of the company, and the resources or the time available to implement these practices are identified as important barriers to carrying out an SR-HRM. However, these are just some of the factors to consider. It should not be ignored that there are contingent variables (e.g., business size, the country where the company operates, or the sector in which it operates), which determine the motivations and barriers to the development and implementation of CSR—hence the interest in providing a greater body of evidence, both at a theoretical and empirical level, that will allow the promotion of CSR implementation in companies (Velenturf et al. 2019).

This Special Issue invites authors to send theoretical and empirical proposals which contribute to a greater understanding of the correct implementation of a CSR framework, focusing on, but not limited to, contributions which:

• Examine the drivers of and barriers to CSR and SR-HRM in different contexts, as well as their effects on organizational performance;
• Explore those CSR suitable practices and their contingent variables which are able to affect and build socially responsible patterns for companies;
• Analyze how to balance the expectations of different stakeholders from a management perspective and through different CSR policies and practices;
• Identify how local and international institutions build social, economic, legal, and environmental practices able to integrate and properly implement CSR in society;
• Study the existence of mediating and moderating variables in the relationship between socially responsible practices and sustainable (economic, social and environmental) performance;
• Research the new theoretical foundations and integrative approaches which allow the correct identification and measurement of CSR at the organizational level, and, through this process, help to meet current social challenges.
• Examine the effects of Covid-19 in the Corporate Social Responsibility process and practices, as well as to analyze the mechanism of organizational adaptation to this pandemic.

All manuscripts will be reviewed by experts in the field and must be submitted no later than the 30th of November 2020.

References

Agudo-Valiente, José, Garcés-Ayerbe, Concepción and Salvador-Figueras, Manuel. 2017. Corporate social responsibility drivers and barriers according to managers’ perception; Evidence from Spanish firms. Sustainability, 9: 1821.

Arevalo, Jorge and Aravind, Deepa. 2011. Corporate social responsibility practices in India: approach, drivers, and barriers. Corporate Governance: The international journal of business in society, 11: 399-414.

Barrena-Martinez, Jesus, López-Fernández, Macarena and Romero-Fernandez, Pedro Miguel. 2018. Drivers and barriers in socially responsible human resource management. Sustainability, 10: 1532.

Carroll, Archie and Shabana, Kareem. 2010. The business case for corporate social responsibility: A review of concepts, research and practice. International journal of management reviews, 12: 85-105.

Crane, Andrew, Matten, Dirk and Spence, Laura (Eds.). (2019). Corporate social responsibility: Readings and cases in a global context. Routledge.

Laudal, Thomas. 2011. Drivers and barriers of CSR and the size and internationalization of firms. Social Responsibility Journal, 7: 234-256.

Snape, Ed and Redman, Tom. 2010. HRM practices, organizational citizenship behaviour, and performance: A multi‐level analysis. Journal of management studies, 47: 1219-1247.

Velenturf, Anne, Jensen, Paul, Purnell, Phil, Jopson, Juliet and Ebner, Norman 2019. A Call to Integrate Economic, Social and Environmental Motives into Guidance for Business Support for the Transition to a Circular Economy. Administrative Sciences, 9: 92.

Dr. Jesus Barrena-Martínez
Dr. Macarena Lopez-Fernandez
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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