THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CORPORATE VOLUNTEERING AND CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY: RESULTS OF AN EMPIRICAL STUDY

Corporate Volunteering (CV) is a phenomenon that emerged in the second half of the 20th century and began to grow and globalize at the beginning of the 21st century. There seems to be a consensus that the recent growth of Corporate Volunteering is related to the development and growing legitimacy of the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Nevertheless, the theoretical discussion on how the two concepts (Corporate Volunteering and Corporate Social Responsibility) are related is just beginning, while empirical research on how this relationship operates in corporate practice is still incipient. This paper presents preliminary results of a research on this subject carried out in Uruguay in 2016. This is a statistical study that analyses the relationship between the application of corporate volunteering activities and the incorporation of a CSR approach to the management of companies. The incorporation of both types of practices is measured by a self-assessment questionnaire that includes 81 indicators (using a Likert scale to assess them), which were designed based on ISO 26000 Guidance of Social Responsibility. The questionnaire was administered to 96 companies, using a comparative analysis between those that practice Corporate Volunteering and those which do not. The results obtained allow us to support the hypothesis that the application of Corporate Volunteering is positively associated with the incorporation of CSR when managing the relationship between the company and its employees and also with the community. Moreover, these results contribute to a better understanding on how both concepts are related

Relationship between general CSR management practices and the development of internal social responsibility

Companies that embrace corporate social responsibility (CSR) tend to adopt certain general practices, such as: establishing social responsibility areas, preparing codes of ethics, publishing social or sustainability reports, joining organizations that promote social responsibility, or starting their own foundations. The question then arises as to whether these general practices actually influence the responsible behavior of companies. This article explores the relationship between the application of these general CSR practices and the level of development of internal social responsibility (ISR). To study this relationship, information was drawn from the system of CSR indicators (CSRI) overseen by the Cristian Association of Business Managers (Asociación Cristiana de Dirigentes de Empresas, a self-evaluation system in which Uruguayan companies participate annually. The CSRI uses 25 indicators to measure the level of ISR development and record the application of eight general CSR practices. After carrying out a review of the literature, the 25 indicators were organized into nine dimensions of ISR: employees’ human rights; informing employees about issues that affect them; occupational health and safety; internal environment; personal and professional development; employment protection; voluntary provision of benefits; union relations; and fair pay. After analyzing the statistical correlation between the application of general CSR practices and the level of development of social responsibility across the nine dimensions, the results indicate the following: three general practices positively correlate with the development of ISR in all its dimensions (including CSR in strategic planning, involving the management team in CSR issues, and joining an organization that promotes CSR); one practice (preparing a code of ethics) correlates with half of the dimensions; and the other four practices (publishing a social or sustainability report, assigning a full-time employee to CSR management, having a CSR team or area, and possessing a foundation) correlate with none or almost none of the dimensions

Changes in the Importance of Bank Attributes Provoked by a Financial Crisis: A Dynamic Analysis of the Uruguayan Case

How the customers react during and before an economic and financial crisis is an important yet scantily researched issue (Zurawicki and Braidot, 2005; Lado et al, 2006). We evaluate the variations in the perceived importance of the bank quality attributes as determinated by a severe shock in the situational context. The particular episode considered here is the collapse of the financial system in Uruguay in June 2002. It was a short but profound crisis; the Uruguayan banking system became insolvent with banking holidays resulting in a significant financial system confidence crisis. The specific goals of this research are two-fold (1) to explore how a shock in the external context can affect the weight perceptions of different service quality attributes, and (2) to measure the persistence of this changes over the time. Data for this study were generated utilising a two-stage, two-period approach and analysed by mixed methodology. The results of the Correspondence analysis of square asymmetric matrices performed suggest that the financial crisis provokes changes in the relative importance of the main attributes.Marketing, consumer behavior, perceived service quality, attribute importance

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CORPORATE VOLUNTEERING AND CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY: RESULTS OF AN EMPIRICAL STUDY

Corporate Volunteering (CV) is a phenomenon that emerged in the second half of the 20th century and began to grow and globalize at the beginning of the 21st century. There seems to be a consensus that the recent growth of Corporate Volunteering is related to the development and growing legitimacy of the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Nevertheless, the theoretical discussion on how the two concepts (Corporate Volunteering and Corporate Social Responsibility) are related is just beginning, while empirical research on how this relationship operates in corporate practice is still incipient. This paper presents preliminary results of a research on this subject carried out in Uruguay in 2016. This is a statistical study that analyses the relationship between the application of corporate volunteering activities and the incorporation of a CSR approach to the management of companies. The incorporation of both types of practices is measured by a self-assessment questionnaire that includes 81 indicators (using a Likert scale to assess them), which were designed based on ISO 26000 Guidance of Social Responsibility. The questionnaire was administered to 96 companies, using a comparative analysis between those that practice Corporate Volunteering and those which do not. The results obtained allow us to support the hypothesis that the application of Corporate Volunteering is positively associated with the incorporation of CSR when managing the relationship between the company and its employees and also with the community. Moreover, these results contribute to a better understanding on how both concepts are related

Voluntariado corporativo: definición y relación con la Responsabilidad Social Empresarial

el objetivo de este trabajo es la construcción de una definición de voluntariado corporativo útil para analizar cómo este concepto puede vincularse con el de Responsabilidad Social Empresarial. Se recurrió a la investigación bibliográfica mediante la consulta de diversas bases de datos. Se analizó un amplio espectro de interpretaciones teóricas e investigaciones empíricas, lo que sirvió para identificar cada uno de los componentes de la definición propuesta y para fundamentar que esa definición es funcional a las principales formas de definir la Responsabilidad Social Empresarial. La definición combina características específicas del voluntariado corporativo, elementos relacionados a su gestión y una síntesis de los beneficios que esta actividad genera para los actores involucrados. Este trabajo contribuye al desarrollo teórico del voluntariado corporativo, a la construcción de herramientas útiles para realizar investigaciones empíricas y a la elaboración de estrategias y metodologías de gestión para la implementación de programas de voluntariado corporativo que funcionen efectivamente como herramientas de Responsabilidad Social Empresarial. // the objective of this work is to build a definition of corporate volunteering, which is useful to analyze how this concept can be linked to that of Corporate Social Responsibility. Bibliographical research was used, by consulting various databases. A broad spectrum of theoretical interpretations and empirical research was analyzed, which served to identify each of the components of the proposed definition and to support that this definition is functional to the main ways to define Corporate Social Responsibility. The definition combines specific characteristics of corporate volunteering, elements related to its management and a summary of the benefits that this activity generates for the stakeholders involved. This article contributes to the theoretical development of corporate volunteering, to the construction of useful tools for conducting empirical research, and for the development of management strategies and methodologies for the implementation of corporate volunteering programs, that operate effectively as tools of Corporate Social Responsibility

El Voluntariado corporativo como práctica de responsabilidad social empresaria hacia los empleados y la comunidad

There is some consensus that the Corporate Volunteer (CV) has evolved from a philanthropic activity practice towards Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). This consensus is based primarily on the fact that, generally, companies frame their activities and volunteer programs in the framework of their social actions, managed from their areas of CSR and inform on them in their social or sustainability reports. Since CSR is a business philosophy based on the management of impacts on stakeholders, all conceptualization of CV as a tool for CSR implementation requires associating their application with stakeholders on which seeks to generate positive impacts through it. The review of the literature on VC shows that this activity is associated almost exclusively with two stakeholders: the employees and the community. This article presents the preliminary results of a quantitative study that correlates the application of CV activities with the incorporation of CSR practices towards these stakeholders. To measure this incorporation a questionnaire designed based on the orientations of the ISO 26000 Social Responsibility guide was used. The questionnaire was applied to a group of 96 companies, performing one comparative analysis between companies that practice corporate volunteering and those who do not practice. The results obtained support the hypothesis that the application of corporate volunteering is positively associated with the incorporation of CSR policies towards both stakeholders.Existe cierto consenso acerca de que el Voluntariado Corporativo (VC) ha evolucionado de una práctica filantrópica hacia una actividad de Responsabilidad Social Empresarial (RSE). Este consenso se apoya principalmente en el hecho de que, por lo general, las empresas encuadran sus actividades y programas de voluntariado en el marco de sus acciones sociales, los gestionan desde sus áreas de RSE e informan sobre ellos en sus reportes sociales o de sustentabilidad. Dado que la RSE es una filosofía empresarial basada en la gestión de los impactos sobre los stakeholders, toda conceptualización del VC como herramienta de RSE requiere asociar su aplicación con los stakeholders sobre los que se procura generar impactos positivos mediante ella. La revisión de la literatura sobre VC pone de manifiesto que esta actividad se relaciona casi exclusivamente con dos stakeholders: los empleados y la comunidad. En este artículo se presentan los resultados preliminares de un estudio cuantitativo que correlaciona la aplicación de actividades de VC con la incorporación prácticas de RSE hacia estos stakeholders. Para medir esta incorporación se utilizó un cuestionario diseñado en base a las orientaciones de la guía ISO 26.000 de Responsabilidad Social. El cuestionario se aplicó a un conjunto de 96 empresas, realizándose una análisis comparativo entre las empresas que practican el voluntariado corporativo y las que no lo practican. Los resultados obtenidos permiten sostener la hipótesis de que la aplicación del voluntariado corporativo se asocia positivamente con la incorporación de políticas de RSE hacia ambos stakeholders

Análisis de la relación entre aplicación de la Responsabilidad Social y existencia de gerentes para liderarla

Es creciente el número de empresas que crean gerencias (altas o medias) para liderar los temas Responsabilidad Social Empresarial. Pese a la importancia que tiene esta innovación organizacional, falta evidencia acerca de si estas gerencias contribuyen efectivamente a la aplicación de la responsabilidad social. El objetivo de este documento es estudiar este problema. Se estudia si las empresas con Gerentes de Responsabilidad Social tienen más desarrollada su responsabilidad social que las que no cuentan con ellos. Se utilizó una base de datos deempresas uruguayas, que incluye información sobre 107 prácticas relativas a las diferentes dimensiones de la responsabilidad social y sobre el uso de cinco herramientas de soporte a su gestión (planificación estratégica, código de ética, reporte de sostenibilidad, voluntariado y alianzas intersectoriales). Mediante test estadísticos se encontró que la aplicación de la responsabilidad difiere en pocos aspectos entre empresas con gerente y sin gerente. Este resultado cuestiona la utilidad de estos gerentes

Interpretar el concepte de RSE en estudiants de postgrau: repte per a la RSU

Les universitats que adopten seriosament la Responsabilitat Social Universitària (RSU) assumeixen la responsabilitat de formar professionals compromesos amb la societat en què viuen, dotats de competències ètiques i amb un fort sentit de ciutadania. En el cas dels postgraus que formen els futurs líders empresarials, aquestes universitats han d’atorgar a la Responsabilitat Social Empresarial (RSE) un lloc central i n la seva malla curricular. Comptar amb informació sobre el coneixement i interpretació d’aquest concepte que posseeixen els nous estudiants és una entrada crític per al disseny adequat de programes acadèmics orientats a aquest fi. En aquest document es presenten els resultats d’una investigació sobre la forma com interpreten el concepte de rse dels estudiants acabats d’ingressar a cursos de mba i Màster en Marketing en una universitat privada. Es va aplicar una guia d’entrevista, basada en preguntes obertes, a la totalitat d’alumnes que van començar a cursar aquests postgraus en el període 2017-2018. Les seves respostes van ser interpretades i classificades mitjançant anàlisi de contingut, realitzant posteriorment una anàlisi estadística de les variables construïdes. La conclusió general és que la majoria d’aquests estudiants ingressen amb una idea equivocada del concepte de rse. La major part d’ells entenen la rse com a contribució de l’empresa a la societat i no com una filosofia de management basada en la gestió dels impactes de l’activitat empresarial que considera les expectatives dels stakeholders, tal com se l’entén majoritàriament després de publicada la Guia ISO 26.000 sobre Responsabilitat Social.Universities that seriously adopt University Social Responsibility (USR) assume the responsibility of training professionals committed to the society in which they live, endowed with ethical competences and a strong sense of citizenship. In the case of postgraduate courses that train future business leaders, these universities must give Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) a central place in their curriculum. Have information about the knowledge and interpretation of this concept that the new students possess is a critical input for the adequate design of academic programs oriented to that end. This document presents the results of a research on how students newly admitted to mba courses and Masters in Marketing at a private university interpret the concept of csr. An interview guide was applied, based on open questions, to the totality of students who began to take these postgraduate courses in the period 2017-2018. Their responses were interpreted and classified by content analysis, followed by a statistical analysis of the constructed variables. The general conclusion is that most of these students come in with a misconception of the concept of csr. Most of them understand csr as a contribution of the company to society and not as a management philosophy based on managing the impacts of the business activity that considers the expectations of the stakeholders, as it is mostly understood after published the iso 26,000 Guide on Social Responsibility

Modelos para el análisis de los negocios inclusivos: construcción mediante el estudio de casos

The concept of inclusive businesses (IB) with the base of the pyramid (BOP) has been developed to describe and systematize a set of experiences that emerged in the 2000s, aimed at generating social inclusion by creating associative enterprises for poor people, incorporated into the value chain of businesses. The theoretical development and empirical research on this strategy for economic and social inclusion are still emerging. Nevertheless, the analysis of a wide range of experiences has permitted developing some useful conceptual tools for guiding theoretical reflection, empirical research and strategic analysis of this type of business. This document aims to present some of these tools that have been designed based on the study of IB cases in Uruguay. The document begins with a literature review on the subject, which covers the main theoretical approaches (Prahalad and Hammond, 2005; Austin and Chu, 2006; AVINA, 2010; Casado, 2011; Simanis et al, 2008) and empirical research based on case studies (UNDP, 2008; Marquez et al, 2010). Then, it establishes the relevance of the IB approach as a new strategy to address the problem of poverty; it makes a brief summary of the concept’s evolution and ends with the description of five conceptual tools drawn from the study of 16 cases in Uruguay. This study was conducted through interviews with different actors involved in the process of creating each of the enterprises, the analysis of internal documents and websites, and a review of newspaper articles.El concepto de Negocios Inclusivos (NI) con la Base de la Pirámide (BDP) ha sido formulado para describir y sistematizar un conjunto de experiencias surgidas en los años 2000, orientadas a generar inclusión social mediante la creación de emprendimientos asociativos de personas pobres, incorporados a la cadena de valor de empresas. El desarrollo teórico y la investigación empírica sobre esta estrategia de inclusión económica y social son todavía incipientes. No obstante ello, el análisis de un amplio abanico de experiencias ha permitido elaborar algunas herramientas conceptuales útiles para orientar la reflexión teórica, la investigación empírica y el análisis estratégico de este tipo de negocio. Este documento tiene como objetivo presentar algunas de esas herramientas que han sido diseñadas en base al estudio de casos de NI en Uruguay. El documento parte de una revisión bibliográfica sobre el tema, que recorre los principales abordajes teóricos (Prahalad y Hammond, 2005; Austin y Chu, 2006; AVINA, 2010; Casado, 2011; Simanis et al., 2008) e investigaciones empíricas basadas en el estudio de casos (PNUD, 2008; Marquez et al., 2010). Luego, fundamenta la pertinencia del enfoque de NI como nueva estrategia para abordar el problema de la pobreza, formula una breve reseña de la evolución del concepto y culmina con la descripción de cinco herramientas conceptuales elaboradas a partir del estudio de 16 casos en Uruguay. Este estudio se realizó mediante entrevistas a distintos actores que participaron en el proceso de creación de cada uno de los emprendimientos, el análisis de documentos internos de los emprendimientos y páginas web y la revisión de artículos de prens

Voluntariado corporativo: definición y relación con la Responsabilidad Social Empresarial

el objetivo de este trabajo es la construcción de una definición de voluntariado corporativo útil para analizar cómo este concepto puede vincularse con el de Responsabilidad Social Empresarial. Se recurrió a la investigación bibliográfica mediante la consulta de diversas bases de datos. Se analizó un amplio espectro de interpretaciones teóricas e investigaciones empíricas, lo que sirvió para identificar cada uno de los componentes de la definición propuesta y para fundamentar que esa definición es funcional a las principales formas de definir la Responsabilidad Social Empresarial. La definición combina características específicas del voluntariado corporativo, elementos relacionados a su gestión y una síntesis de los beneficios que esta actividad genera para los actores involucrados. Este trabajo contribuye al desarrollo teórico del voluntariado corporativo, a la construcción de herramientas útiles para realizar investigaciones empíricas y a la elaboración de estrategias y metodologías de gestión para la implementación de programas de voluntariado corporativo que funcionen efectivamente como herramientas de Responsabilidad Social Empresarial