Engaging firms: The global organisational field for corporate social responsibility and national varieties of capitalism

Abstract

This article examines the relationship between national varieties of capitalism and firm engagement with the norms and best practices promoted within the global organisational field for corporate social responsibility (CSR). Using a content analysis of the CSR reports of US and European firms, we show that firms from the coordinated market economies (CME) of Europe engage more substantively with labour and human rights than their US counterparts that operate in a liberal market economy (LME). The environmental commitments of firms in both regions, however, are more developed than practices related to these social issues. These findings support the view that CSR is more developed in CMEs than LMEs, but limit this support to social CSR issues. We posit that firms' higher levels of engagement with environmental CSR likely reflect the extent to which environmental norms have become embedded in global markets rather than how CSR is promoted by national capitalist systems.

Board structures, liberal countries, and developed market economies. Do they matter in environmental reporting? An international outlook

“…In line with an institutional perspective, CME countries tend to adopt fewer standards focused on CSR like environmental issues (Jackson & Apostolakou, ). Furthermore, authors such as Favotto et al () draw the same conclusion for research conducted on companies in the United States, Germany, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. The authors found that companies operating in LME countries disclosed more environmental information, whereas companies operating in CME countries reported more in the social fields of labour and human rights.…”

“…; and (c) What is the effect of board structures on environmental disclosure? Finally, existing literature is focused on the relationship between the varieties of capitalism and corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure (Favotto, Kollman, & Bernhagen, ; Gallego‐Álvarez & Quina‐Custodio, ; Gallén & Peraita, ) as a whole, but it does not analyse how the varieties of capitalism impact individually on the different dimensions of CSR information (environmental and social). In this regard, our evidence suggests that LMEs have a positive effect on the reporting of environmental information.…”

Varieties of capitalism, corporate governance mechanisms, and stakeholder engagement: An overview of coordinated and liberal market economies

“…Authors such as Kang and Moon () suggest that it is important for companies and economic agents in CMEs to maintain social cohesion—with labour and employee rights being a priority—with strong pressure to perform CSR practices (Aguilera et al, ; Campbell, ). Consequently, CSR disclosure aims to maintain the social order or the status quo necessary to sustain the business by establishing relationships among different stakeholders (Brammer, Jackson, & Matten, ; Favotto, Kollman, & Bernhagen, ). Therefore, in CMEs, companies use CSR disclosure as a form of dialogue with stakeholders and include stakeholders in the process of obtaining and communicating information.…”

Building a Trustworthy Corporate Identity: A Corpus-Based Analysis of Stance in Annual and Corporate Social Responsibility Reports

“…Thus, even though standardization is advancing, thanks to the growing acceptance of international reporting guidelines such as those promoted by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), companies have considerable discretion over their content and form. CSR reports contain information on a variety of environmental, social, and corporate governance issues, such as energy use, pollution, diversity, health and safety, and human rights (Favotto et al, 2016). The range of topics addressed has broadened over the years, reflecting an increasingly rich and multifaceted conceptualization of CSR (Catenaccio, 2011).…”