Publicação
The political side of CSR: The roles of corporate leadership, human resources practices, and political consequences
| Resumo: | Political Corporate Social Responsibility (PCSR) contends that responsible corporations are competent to fill government gaps, thus increasing their legitimation to perform a political role. This contention, which is widely advocated by the Habermasian perspective of PCSR has yet limited empirical evidence for its support or rejection. Building upon the notion that CSR has a political connotation, the current thesis consists of four studies to understand how far CSR can be advantageous in political endeavors. These studies aim to (i) understand the relationship between CSR criteria and political behavior in the European Union (EU), and (ii) test some key PCSR propositions. Study 1 aims to test the promising relationship between corporate political activity (CPA) and CSR within the EU, and comprises two studies (1a and 1b) that investigate how corporations leverage their (i) political embeddedness and (ii) financial performance through the joint effect of lobbying and CSR adoption. For this purpose, we drew on a multi-level model covering board members’ characteristics, lobbying expenditures, and CSR individual and macro-level criteria across foreign and non-foreign firms. Studies 2 to 4 draw on the Habermasian perspective of PCSR by examining the assumption that CSR activities legitimize corporations to perform a political role. Specifically, study 2 provides a conceptual account of PCSR considering the role of boards’ political skills. Study 3 investigates this proposition inside organizations by examining whether employees, coming from a variety of industries, perceive that their company’s CSR activities increase companies’ political legitimacy via board trust. Study 4 deploys a quasi-experimental approach to understand how far citizens trust and legitimize a hypothetic corporation to perform a political role due to its adoption of CSR practices. In a nutshell, study 1 concludes that the adoption of UN criteria is politically very important to corporations in the EU when coupled with lobbying, especially amongst foreign corporations. In the remaining studies, we conclude that CSR should be treated as a political strategy per se. Specifically, evidence suggests that CSR is a legitimate political strategy both inside and outside corporations, particularly when CSR initiatives are perceived as being altruistic and going beyond legal obligations. Overall, findings encourage a shift in CPA research by suggesting that transparency in political matters is not enough; benevolence is required to legitimately influence governmental decisions without reputational risks. |
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| Autores principais: | Pereira, Andreia Filipa Borges |
| Assunto: | Political CSR Corporate political activity Political legitimacy Corporate trust United nations RSE política Atividade política empresarial Legitimidade política Confiança empresarial Nações Unidas |
| Ano: | 2024 |
| País: | Portugal |
| Tipo de documento: | tese de doutoramento |
| Tipo de acesso: | acesso aberto |
| Instituição associada: | ISCTE |
| Idioma: | inglês |
| Origem: | Repositório ISCTE |
| Resumo: | Political Corporate Social Responsibility (PCSR) contends that responsible corporations are competent to fill government gaps, thus increasing their legitimation to perform a political role. This contention, which is widely advocated by the Habermasian perspective of PCSR has yet limited empirical evidence for its support or rejection. Building upon the notion that CSR has a political connotation, the current thesis consists of four studies to understand how far CSR can be advantageous in political endeavors. These studies aim to (i) understand the relationship between CSR criteria and political behavior in the European Union (EU), and (ii) test some key PCSR propositions. Study 1 aims to test the promising relationship between corporate political activity (CPA) and CSR within the EU, and comprises two studies (1a and 1b) that investigate how corporations leverage their (i) political embeddedness and (ii) financial performance through the joint effect of lobbying and CSR adoption. For this purpose, we drew on a multi-level model covering board members’ characteristics, lobbying expenditures, and CSR individual and macro-level criteria across foreign and non-foreign firms. Studies 2 to 4 draw on the Habermasian perspective of PCSR by examining the assumption that CSR activities legitimize corporations to perform a political role. Specifically, study 2 provides a conceptual account of PCSR considering the role of boards’ political skills. Study 3 investigates this proposition inside organizations by examining whether employees, coming from a variety of industries, perceive that their company’s CSR activities increase companies’ political legitimacy via board trust. Study 4 deploys a quasi-experimental approach to understand how far citizens trust and legitimize a hypothetic corporation to perform a political role due to its adoption of CSR practices. In a nutshell, study 1 concludes that the adoption of UN criteria is politically very important to corporations in the EU when coupled with lobbying, especially amongst foreign corporations. In the remaining studies, we conclude that CSR should be treated as a political strategy per se. Specifically, evidence suggests that CSR is a legitimate political strategy both inside and outside corporations, particularly when CSR initiatives are perceived as being altruistic and going beyond legal obligations. Overall, findings encourage a shift in CPA research by suggesting that transparency in political matters is not enough; benevolence is required to legitimately influence governmental decisions without reputational risks. |
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