Outsourcing mandated corporate social responsibility in India: risks and performance

Nava Subramaniam, Monika Kansal, Dessalegn Getie Mihret and Shekar Babu

Journal of Accounting & Organizational Change, 2019, vol. 15, issue 3, 453-472

Abstract: Purpose - This paper aims to assess the risks and challenges of corporate social responsibility (CSR) management in the Indian-mandated CSR ecosystem from a service purchaser–supplier dualistic perspective and the role management control systems (MCS) and social capital play in managing such risks and challenges. Design/methodology/approach - This study undertook a qualitative approach that involved in-depth interviews of 22 CSR directors, managers or chief executive officers from 13 central public sector enterprises (CPSEs) that had purchased CSR services and nine managers of non-government organisations (NGOs) serving as CSR suppliers. Data analysis was founded on the principal–agent and social capital theoretical perspectives. Findings - A highly bureaucratic, time-pressured mandated environment poses several goal congruence and adverse selection threats to outsourced CSR project arrangements. A mix of formal and informal control mechanisms is critical for enhancing trust or bonding between service purchasers and service providers and enriching bridging capital or access to resources derived from interpersonal connections between NGOs and communities. Practical implications - NGOs and CPSEs may benefit from understanding each other’s goals and culture and using appropriate formal and informal MCS for managing CSR expectations and outcomes. Originality/value - Drawing on a unique mandatory CSR regime, this study offers principal–agent and social capital perspectives on CSR programme delivery, highlighting the importance of various formal and informal MCS in lowering agency costs in outsourced CSR relationships.

Keywords: India; Management control systems; Social capital theory; Non-government organizations; Outsourcing corporate social responsibility; Principal–agent theory (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.110 ... d&utm_campaign=repec (text/html)
https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.110 ... d&utm_campaign=repec (application/pdf)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eme:jaocpp:jaoc-07-2018-0061

DOI: 10.1108/JAOC-07-2018-0061

Access Statistics for this article

Journal of Accounting & Organizational Change is currently edited by Prof Zahirul Hoque

More articles in Journal of Accounting & Organizational Change from Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Emerald Support ().