Unaware corporate social responsibility: impact of firm size, motivations and external pressures

Olivier Beaumais and Mireille Chiroleu-Assouline
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Olivier Beaumais: LISA - Laboratoire « Lieux, Identités, eSpaces, Activités » (UMR CNRS 6240 LISA) - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - Università di Corsica Pasquale Paoli [Université de Corse Pascal Paoli], UNIROUEN - Université de Rouen Normandie - NU - Normandie Université, Università di Corsica Pasquale Paoli [Université de Corse Pascal Paoli]

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Abstract: We explore differences in firms' attitudes towards corporate social responsibility (CSR). Using a unique dataset covering 8,857 French firms, collected by the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE), we identify firms conducting conscious CSR and others with effective but unaware CSR activities. We then construct three CSR pillar scores for each firm, using Mokken scale analysis, a form of non-parametric item response analysis. The CSR scores, along with responses to specific questions, allow us to characterize firms that implement conscious or unaware CSR. We then estimate simple probit and count data models to show that a significant share of firms are in fact actually engaged in unaware CSR, with no monotonic size effect. Cooperation with external actors such as NGOs mitigates the effect of firm size on the likelihood of conducting unaware CSR, while the effect of NGO campaigns against large firms is mainly to increase the environmental score of small firms in the same industry.

Keywords: Corporate social responsibility; Non-parametric item response theory; SME; Stakeholders; Scoring; France (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023-03
Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://shs.hal.science/halshs-04025757v1
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Published in Applied Economics, 2023, 56 (20), pp.2386-2406. ⟨10.1080/00036846.2023.2186369⟩

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Related works:
Journal Article: Unaware corporate social responsibility: impact of firm size, motivations and external pressures (2024)
Working Paper: Unaware Corporate Social Responsibility: Impact of Firm Size, Motivations and External Pressures (2023)
Working Paper: Unaware Corporate Social Responsibility: Impact of Firm Size, Motivations and External Pressures (2023)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:pseptp:halshs-04025757

DOI: 10.1080/00036846.2023.2186369

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