The Dynamics of the South Korean National Business System and the Changing Spirit of CSR

Shin, Hyemi

doi:10.5465/ambpp.2016.12951abstract

Cited by 3 publications

(6 citation statements)

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“…By contrast, the CS managers in Korean MNCs reacted to their societal‐commercial tensions through soft activism , that is, by growing increasingly vocal about their top management's decision of implementing global standards. Soft activism seemed to be influenced by a quickly mutating corporate culture in Korean MNCs after the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis (Kim et al, 2004; Shin, 2016), which produced a progressively more outspoken body of CS managers. The majority upheld the belief that, because they saw global standards as being “all about for money” (KMNC‐S), “we do them at a very low level, just as others do” (KMNC‐R).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Their governance style and framing of CS fell under scrutiny due to poor transparency and lack of disclosure (Kim et al, 2013; Kim & Kim, 2010). Under pressure from the government to align with the guidelines of the International Monetary Fund (Froese, 2020; Kim et al, 2004; Shin, 2016), Korean MNCs reformulated their CS as a conflation of philanthropic activities for the environment and people (Chang et al, 2017; Chapple & Moon, 2005; Lee et al, 2009) with the adoption of global standards (Yang & Rhee, 2020). Two scholarly narratives have since evolved.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Tensions in the strategic integration of corporate sustainability through global standards: Evidence from Japan and South Korea

et al. 2021

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Despite the importance of the conflicting dimensions of corporate sustainability for business strategy, little is known about the tensions that derive from adopting global environmental and social standards in East Asia. Through 65 in‐depth interviews conducted in Tokyo and Seoul, this article examines the tensions—and reactions to these tensions—of corporate sustainability managers tasked with the implementation of such standards in Japanese and South Korean multinational corporations. These represent key contexts of inquiry because of their normative tradition of corporate sustainability and geographical closeness. While elucidating that corporate sustainability managers in both countries encounter societal‐commercial, traditional‐modern, and individual‐collective tensions, the article describes the ways they react differently to these tensions. This article contributes to the literature on corporate sustainability and tensions and the contextual literature on corporate sustainability in Japan and South Korea, ultimately offering takeaways for the strategic planning of multinational corporations.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tensions in the strategic integration of corporate sustainability through global standards: Evidence from Japan and South Korea

et al. 2021

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“…However, social and environmental contributions by Korean companies already existed well before the importing of “CSR.” The pre-explicit CSR period in Korea can be characterized by (a) the environmental management system and policy from the government and (b) the “social contribution” activities of chaebols—family-owned conglomerates— in the early 1990s. Corporate environmental responsibility was managed through the policies of the Ministry of Environment from 1994 to push Korean firms to meet international requirements (Shin, 2016). 3 In the early 1990s, chaebol companies established corporate foundations and/or philanthropic programs to address severe public criticism of the chaebol structure, in which such companies were strengthened through accumulating wealth and passing it on to their descendants (Shin, 2016).…”

Section: Context Methods and Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Corporate environmental responsibility was managed through the policies of the Ministry of Environment from 1994 to push Korean firms to meet international requirements (Shin, 2016). 3 In the early 1990s, chaebol companies established corporate foundations and/or philanthropic programs to address severe public criticism of the chaebol structure, in which such companies were strengthened through accumulating wealth and passing it on to their descendants (Shin, 2016). Chaebols should share their wealth with society and show paternalistic care for their employees and local citizens were considered self-evident and expected to compensate for the hard work and sacrifices made by Korean citizens.…”

Section: Research Context: the Professional Csr Field In Koreamentioning

confidence: 99%

The Moral Relationality of Professionalism Discourses: The Case of Corporate Social Responsibility Practitioners in South Korea

et al. 2021

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Building a coherent discourse on professionalism is a challenge for corporate social responsibility (CSR) practitioners, as there is not yet an established knowledge basis for CSR, and CSR is a contested notion that covers a wide variety of issues and moral foundations. Relying on insights from the literature on micro-CSR, new professionalism, and Boltanski and Thévenot’s (1991/2006) economies of worth framework, we examine the discourses of 56 CSR practitioners in South Korea on their claimed professionalism. Our analysis delineates four distinct discourses of CSR professionalism— strategic corporate giving, social innovation, risk management, and sustainability transition—that are derived from a plurality of more or less compatible moral foundations whose partial overlaps and tensions we document in a systematic manner. Our results portray these practitioners as compromise makers who selectively combine morally distant justifications to build their own specific professionalism discourse, with the aim to advance CSR within and across organizations. By uncovering the moral relationality connecting these discourses, our findings show that moral pluralism is a double-edged sword that can not only bolster the justification of CSR professionalism but also threaten collective professionalism at the field level. Overall, our study suggests paying more attention to the moral relationality and tensions that underlie professional fields.

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“…In addition, Choi et al (2013) show that Chaebols use CSR activities to mask earnings management activities. Shin (2016) examine public perception of Chaebols' CSR activities based on interviews with the responsible CSR managers and newspapers.…”

Section: B Corporate Social Responsibilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Control–Ownership Wedge and Corporate Social Responsibility

Ryu¹,

Chae²,

Cho³

2017

Glob Bus Financ Rev

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We examine the effect of the control-ownership wedge (the difference between voting rights and cash flow rights) in Korean business groups (Chaebols) on corporate social responsibility activities. The results of our analyses show that on corporate social responsibility activities decrease as the control-ownership wedge increases. This result remains consistent when on corporate social responsibility scores are used. This study provides evidence that a greater control-ownership wedge decreases engagement in corporate social responsibility activities in the context of Korean business groups (Chaebols), with their unique ownership structure.

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The Dynamics of the South Korean National Business System and the Changing Spirit of CSR

Cited by 3 publications

References 0 publications

Tensions in the strategic integration of corporate sustainability through global standards: Evidence from Japan and South Korea

Tensions in the strategic integration of corporate sustainability through global standards: Evidence from Japan and South Korea

The Moral Relationality of Professionalism Discourses: The Case of Corporate Social Responsibility Practitioners in South Korea

The Control–Ownership Wedge and Corporate Social Responsibility

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