Corporate social responsibility: The perspective of welfare economics

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) implies that corporations integrate social and environmental concerns in their business operations and in their interaction with their stakeholders on a voluntary basis. CSR’s component parts include: economic, legal, ethical and philanthropic responsibilities. Although social norms and ethics are inherent features of CSR the modern literature of economics and finance focuses mainly on CSR as a firm value-driver. Such narrow view may lead to the deterioration of CSR identity as well as underestimating the role of CSR in building welfare. Thus the purpose of the article is to show the role of CSR in achieving welfare improvements by considering social responsibility as a factor of prosperity and especially as a mechanism of ethically and institutionally anchored self-regulation supporting the organization of market failure correction reducing this welfare. The main thesis is that CSR brings about considerable benefits in terms of allocation efficiency, redistribution and stabilisation. The method employed is the analysis of international literature

Multi-criteria decision methods for CSR management – literature review

Business today faces a managerial transition to adapt a new decision-making criterion and a course of action; namely, “corporate sustainability.” Corporate social responsibility can be embedded in (or fostered by) value-based management. In any case, adopting CSR as a part of a firm’s strategy and operations requires changed standards for decision-making. Decision-makers face the challenge of following tangible and intangible goals of multiple stakeholders. This study provides insights into how multi criteria decision tools can be harnessed to operationalize CSR. The method applied in the article is a systematic international literature review. The findings suggest that papers aimed at using MCDM to enhance CSR management are mostly newer publications. Three important research avenues have emerged. In the first avenue, MCDMs are seen and used to enhance managerial decisions where a number of heterogenic goals must be achieved. The second avenue is where MCDMs are seen and used to evaluate a firm’s quantitative and qualitative outcomes in terms of values created for multiple stakeholders. The third trend is connected with sustainable supply-chain management

Implementation of modified manual lymphoedema treatment - complex physical therapy (MLT-CPT) in terminally ill patient

Lymphoedema is a common symptom of advanced cancer, which may significantly decrease the patient’s quality of life. The aim of lymphoedema treatment is to reduce swelling, prevent recurrent pooling of fluid and make the patient feel more comfortable. Lymphoedema is managed using a combination of physiotherapeutic strategies including skin care, exercise, manual lymphatic drainage, massage and support or compression therapy. In this article we present a case of advanced cervical cancer patient, whose painful tension of the skin due to lymphodema was successfully reduced by multi-layer bandaging and limbs elevation.Lymphoedema is a common symptom of advanced cancer, which may significantly decrease the patient’s quality of life. The aim of lymphoedema treatment is to reduce swelling, prevent recurrent pooling of fluid and make the patient feel more comfortable. Lymphoedema is managed using a combination of physiotherapeutic strategies including skin care, exercise, manual lymphatic drainage, massage and support or compression therapy. In this article we present a case of advanced cervical cancer patient, whose painful tension of the skin due to lymphodema was successfully reduced by multi-layer bandaging and limbs elevation

Institutional Drivers of Voluntary Carbon Reduction Target Setting—Evidence from Poland and Hungary

Governments worldwide have launched climate policies to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). These policies aim to enhance businesses to be active actors in the process of decarbonisation. Therefore, the main objective of this paper is to identify the drivers of voluntary corporate decarbonisation illustrated by climate target-setting practices. In particular, this paper aims at diagnosing whether European Union (EU)-wide and country-level policies foster material corporate commitment to mitigating the carbon footprint in two countries that are exceptionally heavily dependent on fossil fuels: Poland and Hungary, which are characterised by a specific political-economic situation. This analysis focuses on policies related to the EU sustainable finance initiative that enhances companies to voluntarily reduce their GHG emissions: (1) sustainable financial sector, (2) corporate disclosure, and (3) corporate governance policy. At the country level, the national policies for state-owned enterprises (SOEs) are analysed. The empirical research is conducted based on the financial and economic data for a group of Polish and Hungarian publicly listed companies exposed to these regulations. The exposure to certain policies is approximated through selected corporate characteristics. Logistic regression analysis is applied to firm-level data gathered from Refinitive and corporate reports. The dataset covers the period 2014 to 2021, with 214 data-points. The response variable is a binary indicator of whether a company sets emission targets. The empirical research proved that state ownership, belonging to the financial sector, and performance-oriented corporate governance factors have a significantly negative impact on the probability of a company setting target emissions. On the other hand, the company’s size and leverage have a strong positive impact on the probability of setting emission targets. Also, it was confirmed that after 2020 the frequency of corporate target-setting in Poland and Hungary increased. Additionally, it was observed that Polish firms are more willing to set climate targets than Hungarian ones. Therefore, from the analysed policies, only the corporate sustainability disclosure policy proved to have a positive impact on the practices of setting climate targets in Polish and Hungarian firms. The policies related to the sustainable financial sector and to state-owned enterprises proved to have a negative impact on the probability of setting climate targets, while for the corporate governance policy, the results are mixed. In this vein, it was shown that, by a majority, policies to stimulate voluntary corporate commitment to decarbonisation are counter-effective in countries characterised by exceptional fossil fuel dependence and particular institutional features. The original value of this study stems from the applied methodology focusing on a mix of policies addressing the deep decarbonisation process in the specific country settings. The presented research contributes to an on-going debate on the drivers of voluntary corporate decarbonisation, in particular the impact that policy mixes framed under the sustainable finance agenda may have on material commitments to GHG emission reduction targets. In this context, the main findings are important for policymakers who are responsible for creating and implementing policy measures devoted to the deep decarbonisation process. It is recommended that policymakers should consider national specificities while designing policies for a Europe-wide net-zero transition and account for potential tensions arising from different goals as they may have impact on the effectiveness of the decarbonisation process. Future research may focus on the verification of the observed relationships between variables on a larger sample of the European firms to identify the key drivers of deep corporate decarbonisation

Public policy for corporate social responsibility support: motives, tools, evolution in the XXI century

W najnowszej literaturze następuje ewolucja w podejściu do społecznej odpowiedzialności biznesu (CSR). W drugiej dekadzie XXI uznaje się już, że odpowiedzialność ta nie jest wyłącznie wyrazem autoregulacji, lecz że jest potrzebna polityka państwa w tym zakresie. W artykule wskazano, że przesłanki polityki publicznej w ramach CSR wiążą się z promowaniem prywatnego dostarczenia dóbr publicznych, dążeniem do internalizacji negatywnych efektów zewnętrznych, promowania wartości, redukcji wykorzystywania CSR jako metody arbitrażu regulacyjnego oraz z dążeniem do kodefiniowania kierunków społecznej odpowiedzialności. Na podstawie analizy danych zastanych wykazano, że po 2010 roku nastąpił gwałtowny rozwój polityki wspierania CSR w Polsce. Obecnie narzędzia wykorzystywane w tej polityce to narzędzia uprawniania, ułatwiania, partnerowania i popierania. Ułatwiają one budowanie wartości przedsiębiorstw na podstawie CSR oraz uznanie CSR za istotny czynnik legitymizacji.In the newest literature corporate social responsibility (CSR) is seen more than self-regulation of businesses. It is acknowledged, that state policy to support CSR is necessary. Motives for public policy to support CSR are: promoting private provisioning of public goods, promoting voluntary internalisation of negative externalities, promoting values, reducing CSR as a way to avoid regulatory pressures and governments striving for co-defining CSR directions. In Poland the rapid evolution of state policy for CSR can be observed. The policy now is complex and it includes tools supporting investing comapny’s resources in CSR and tools developing formal and informal institutions which make CSR an important element of business legitimisation

Catastrophic Risk From Public Finance Perspective

Państwo jest odpowiedzialne za zarządzanie ryzykiem katastroficznym, które zagraża zasobom alokowanym zarówno w sektorze prywatnym, jak i w publicznym. Zarządzanie ryzykiem katastroficznym wymaga podjęcia kroków w kierunku rozpoznania tego ryzyka, zapobiegania jego realizacji, minimalizowania konsekwencji i organizowania funduszy koniecznych dla restytucji utraconych zasobów, co jest szczególnie istotne w kontroli ryzyka katastroficznego. Rozważenie źródeł finansowania ryzyka katastroficznego dostępnych dla państwa ukazuje, że wartościowym rozwiązaniem są rezerwy. Rezerwy zapewniają potrzebne środki, można je zorganizować w sposób, który zminimalizuje hazard moralny, i wykorzystywać jako swoistą "trampolinę" w kierunku rynków kapitałowych, a tym samym stwarzać dostęp do dodatkowych środków

Developing sustainable healthcare governance mechanisms to manage public-private partnerships

Background: Despite a growing body of research literature focused on public-private partnerships (PPPs) in healthcare, some critical issues still seem to be insufficiently investigated, especially due to the frequent lack of clarity in defining the goals for healthcare management and to an oversimplified framework for analysing PPPs. Resolving conf licts of interest between diverse PPP stakeholders in healthcare requires special attention. Effective solutions in this area are not well known in Central and Eastern Europe countries, which are trying to modernise their healthcare systems. Aims: The purpose of this article is threefold. Firstly, it is to establish an appropriate understanding of healthcare sustainability, currently understood as the ultimate goal for healthcare management. Secondly, it is to shift the context for analysing the performance of PPPs from a purely financial to a wider and well-framed one, comprising the pillars of healthcare sustainability. Thirdly, it is to identify the governance mechanisms intended to improve the impact of PPPs on healthcare sustainability. Methods: The methods employed include a broad conceptual analysis of the international literature as well as external online desk research of the materials published by PPP consortia, financial institutions and public authorities engaged in managing PPPs for healthcare in Europe. Results: Healthcare sustainability is a complex, multifaceted and multi-pillar problem. PPPs can enhance, or damage, all healthcare sustainability pillars due to a complex conf lict of interest between the parties involved. Embedding certain governance mechanisms in PPP contracting and management is necessary to foster both financial and nonfinancial sustainability in healthcare provided via PPPs. Some countries and some PPPs have managed to develop suitable mechanisms to govern the conf licting goals in healthcare management. Conclusions: The mechanisms governing PPPs can be programmed as sustainability drivers to improve the resilience of healthcare to the benefit of all stakeholder groups, including capital providers, society and the government. The experiences of PPPs in healthcare operating in the European context may inspire an appropriate design of the PPP framework and PPP contracts.Niejasne definiowanie celów w zarządzaniu ochroną zdrowia oraz zbyt uproszczone podejście do analizy projektów w formule partnerstwa publiczno-prywatnego (dalej: PPP) utrudniają formułowanie mechanizmów zapobiegania i rozwiązywania konfliktów interesów w ramach PPP w sektorze ochrony zdrowia. Efektywne rozwiązania w tym zakresie są słabo znane w krajach Europy Środkowo-Wschodniej. Celem tego artykułu jest w pierwszej kolejności ustalenie poprawnego rozumienia zrównoważonego systemu ochrony zdrowia, następnie przesunięcie kontekstu analizy PPP z perspektywy czysto finansowej w kierunku poprawnie określonej perspektywy filarów zrównoważonego rozwoju ochrony zdrowia i ostatecznie zidentyfikowanie mechanizmów zarządzania PPP wspierających zrównoważoną ochronę zdrowia. Zastosowanymi metodami badawczymi są: szeroka analiza koncepcyjna literatury światowej oraz zewnętrzna, internetowa, analiza danych zastanych publikowanych przez konsorcja PPP, instytucje finansowe i agencje publiczne zaangażowane w zarządzanie PPP w ochronie zdrowia w Europie. Określono, że zrównoważona ochrona zdrowia jest problemem złożonym i wieloobszarowym. PPP mogą wspierać albo hamować rozwój każdego z obszarów zrównoważonej ochrony zdrowia. Jakość oddziaływania PPP na zrównoważoną ochronę zdrowia wynika ze złożonych konfliktów interesów. Wykorzystanie określonych mechanizmów zarządzania w kontraktowaniu i zarządzaniu PPP jest niezbędne do wspierania finansowego i pozafinansowego obszarów zrównoważonej ochrony zdrowia. Bez tych mechanizmów niemożliwe jest zapewnienie trwałości ochrony zdrowia z korzyścią dla dawców kapitału, społeczeństwa i sektora publicznego. Doświadczenie zdobyte w ramach niektórych projektów PPP w ochronie zdrowia inspiruje projektowanie systemu mechanizmów zarządczych

Motywy inwestowania społecznie odpowiedzialnego – przegląd wybranych badań

Inwestycje społecznie odpowiedzialne definiowane są jako długoterminowa strategia inwestowania środków (osób fizycznych lub instytucji), która dąży zarówno do maksymalizacji zysku, jak i poprawy dobrobytu społecznego. Są one coraz szybciej rosnącym segmentem rynku finansowego. Rozpowszechnione w literaturze modele inwestora: model Markowitza i koncepcje behawioralne są niewystarczające, aby wyjaśnić skłonność inwestorów do lokowania środków w sposób społecznie odpowiedzialny. Celem artykułu jest identyfikacja i klasyfikacja motywów inwestowania społecznie odpowiedzialnego. Przyjętą metodą jest szeroka analiza literatury światowej. Uzyskane rezultaty wskazują, że wśród motywów inwestowania społecznie odpowiedzialnego dostrzega się motywy finansowe, inne motywy gospodarcze, motywy psychologiczne, etyczne, aksjologiczne, religijne, związane z budowaniem swojego wizerunku przez inwestora oraz chęcią oddziaływania na system społeczno-ekonomicznego. Potwierdza to niewystarczalność znanych modeli inwestora i inspiruje do dalszych badań interdyscyplinarnych koniecznych do predykcji zachowania inwestorów na rynkach kapitałowych

The Effect of Business Legal Form on the Perception of COVID-19-Related Disruptions by Households Running a Business

Recent studies uncover the lack of symmetry in COVID-19-related economic shock distributions among households. Thus, questions arise about the appropriateness of diverse risk-coping mechanisms by households. We add to this strand of research by focusing on households running a business. In particular, we analyze the role of basic legal aspects of running a business by individuals, specifically a legal form of business activity in shaping COVID-19-related business risk perception. We posit that the different legal forms allow for different risk-coping mechanisms. We incorporate analysis of variance (ANOVA) on data obtained via a survey distributed among households running a business in Poland, a country where the pandemic threatens poverty-reducing growth. We confirm that between the groups of households running a business in various legal forms, there are statistically significant differences regarding the impact of COVID-19. Thus, we conclude that the choice of business legal form affects vulnerability to COVID-19-related interruptions among households running a business