Main Factors for Understanding High Impacts on CSR Dimensions in the Finance Industry

Abstract

The objective of this study is to explore empirically the dimensions that generate high impact in the finance industry to better understand its contribution from a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) perspective. We analyze data concerning impacts of finance sector firms certified by B Corp in order to identify the combinations that are necessary and/or sufficient to obtain a recognition of their high impact generation. The methodology followed to identify the impact dimensions is fsQCA, (fuzzy set Qualitative Comparative Analysis), a qualitative comparative analysis method applied to a sample of finance firms (n-181). The results indicate that financial sector firms exhibited four combinations focusing on different impact dimensions. Specifically, the first route indicates that a high degree of focus on customers and communities is sufficient to obtain a high impact score. The second path signals that the combination of the impacts on customers and corporate governance could lead to the same result, while in the third pathway the focus would be on the employees. Finally, the fourth route indicates that some financial firms focus strongly on their communities, corporate governance and their employees, but very weakly on the environmental dimension. Consequently, diverse combinations of CSR dimensions characterize financial sector contributions to impact generation and sustainable development.Sustainability 2020, 12, 2395 2 of 17 particular, the finance industry, related to their corporate sustainability strategies [7]. Thereby, as B Corp firms gain recognition for their high impact on their CSR dimensions, this also represents an opportunity to balance their business activities in order to pursue financial, social and environmental positive contributions [8]. Furthermore, as companies can create an impact in several ways, it is useful for academics and practitioners to analyze the different routes followed by companies in the finance sector certified as high-impact firms, showing which dimensions are relevant for firms. Moreover, to explore these dimensions, we analyze the literature concerning impacts in the finance sector, which has shown an increasing interest in CSR and sustainable development in recent years [9].Therefore, this study aims to study the necessary and/or sufficient combinations of dimensions for the finance industry, in order for them to be recognized for their high impact generation using the B Corp dimensions. The methodology followed was fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA), and we analyzed the impact of B-Corp dimensions in a sample based on financial sector firms (n=181) in the B-Corp 2018 database, which includes the scores resulting from the certification process of these firms related to the five dimensions. This exploratory study is the first study analyzing the B Corp database with the fsQCA method, which facilitates the identification of causal relationships within the results [10]. Moreover, it provides useful information for strategic decisions of companies regardin...

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