The level of compliance with the International Code of marketing of breast-milk substitutes: does it matter to stock markets?

The present paper explores, theoretically, and empirically, whether compliance with the International Code of marketing of breast-milk substitutes impacts on financial performance measured by stock markets. The empirical analysis, which considers a 20-year period, shows that stock markets are indifferent to the level of compliance by manufacturers with the International Code. Two important issues emerge from this result. Based on our finding that financial performance as measured by stock markets cannot explain the level of compliance, the first issue refers to what alternative types of mechanisms drive manufacturers who comply the least with voluntary codes such as the International Code. Conversely, from our finding that stock markets do not reward the most compliant, the second issue raised is an inherent weakness of stock markets to fully incorporate social and environmental values

Converged Approach in Regulation for Socializing Transnational Corporations

The prolonged attempt to create a global code for TNCs was ultimately unsuccessful, yet the simultaneous rise of global frameworks and guidelines by various private bodies highlight the need for monitoring of the performance of TNCs in addition to evaluation of their accountability practice. But none of the current frameworks and guidelines has been successful in laying down a clear way forward for the creation of an accepted global code of conduct for TNCs. The corporate social responsibility movement is a reaction to this need; it assists the shift of the market centred focus of global regulatory framework initiatives to ‘people centred’ (as opposed to country-centred) concerns. Accordingly, the core CSR principles urge that TNCs must not only be compliant but also responsible to their wider stakeholders and the environment. This chapter presents how the implementation of CSR principles in corporations can be an alternative to a global code of conduct for socialising TNCs

Opening the Black Box of CSR Decision Making:A Policy-Capturing Study of Charitable Donation Decisions in China

This policy-capturing study, conducted in China, investigated the cognitive basis of managerial decisions to make a corporate charitable donation, a global issue in the context of corporate social responsibility (CSR) research and practice. Participants (N = 376) responded to a series of scenarios manipulating pressure from the five stakeholders (government, customers, competitors, employees, and shareholders) most commonly addressed by CSR research. The independent variables examined included organizational factors (industry, ownership, previous company donation, firm size, firm age, and perceived CEO attitudes toward charity) and the participants’ personal values. Results indicate a large positive effect of shareholder and governmental pressure on the decision with lesser positive effects from customers and competitors. Surprisingly, employee pressure had a negative effect on the decision to make a charitable donation. Further, personal values and perceived CEO attitudes toward charity were significantly related to the decisions participants made. In line with our theorizing, the findings indicate that a combination of personal, organizational, and institutional factors was salient in the minds of decision makers

Strategic CSR and the competitive advantage of franchise firms

Although corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a widely researched topic, there is a lack of its application in the franchise literature. The integration of CSR into the franchise business model is vital as it affects the franchise firm\u2019s growth and survival. Based on resource-based and organizational capabilities theories, our study explains how CSR strategy impacts the creation of intangible brand name assets as critical source of sustainable competitive advantage and, hence, increased financial performance. We adopt a multi-stakeholder-oriented CSR construct of economic, legal, ethical, and philanthropic responsibility dimensions. Using data from Austrian franchise firms, our results show that those CSR dimensions have a positive impact on brand name asset creation. Specifically, philanthropic responsibility strategy has the greatest impact on brand name assets, followed by legal, ethical, and economic responsibility strategies. Overall, this is the first study in franchising which explains the strategic role of CSR