National CSR and institutional conditions: an exploratory study

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) footprints in terms of relevant policies, plans and programs are evident at a global scale, but the level of national uptake and penetration differs, as countries differ considerably in terms of institutional efficiency. With this in mind, the purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between CSR penetration and institutional conditions that shape and define the macroeconomic environment and development dynamics of countries. Building on Campbell's seminal propositions on institutional parameters that facilitate effective CSR management, the study's results lend partial support to his conceptual framework as it was operationalized in our assessment. Civic engagement, regulatory effectiveness and competitive conditions appear to be very significant factors influencing CSR penetration with macroeconomic conditions and industrial self-regulation to play a less significant role on national CSR penetration. These findings provide fertile ground to theorists and researchers for a deeper investigation of the impact of institutional arrangements that define the national specificity of CSR and act as moderators of responsible business behavior

Corporate social responsibility and innovative capacity: intersection in a macro-level perspective

This study explores the link between macro (country-level) corporate social responsibility penetration and innovative capacity presenting new findings on the potential influence that various elements shaping innovation have on the endorsement of social responsibility among national business systems. Relying on cross-sectional data, a composite index for quantifying the proliferation of corporate social responsibility is employed and well-established innovation metrics are utilized. Findings do not contradict the preceding but limited evidence on corporate social responsibility practices considering innovation, nevertheless, the negative relationships found in our empirically supported and internally consistent proposed models merit supplementary consideration and examination. The paper offers new insights to innovation theorists and political economy researchers for more detailed investigations of critical drivers, such as innovation, which shape country-level corporate social responsibility specificities of and potentially encapsulate a critical parameter in the self-regulation agenda-setting of business entities. In these lines the study indicates that innovation, as moderator of corporate social responsibility adoption, has to be included in empirical models where measures of corporate social responsibility penetration and innovative potential are employed

Revisiting the relationship between corporate social responsibility and national culture: a quantitative assessment

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) at the macro-level and well-established dimensions of national culture offered by Hofstede’s framework. Design/methodology/approach: The authors employ a composite index for quantifying CSR proliferation and present new findings on the role of cultural specificity – proxied by Hofstede’s dimensions – on CSR endorsement among national business sectors. Findings: Results indicate that cultural perspectives pertaining to “long-term vs short-term orientation” as well as “indulgence vs restraint” affect positively the composite CSR index, while “uncertainty avoidance” has a negative impact. In contrast, the effect of “power distance,” “individualism” and “masculinity” is found to be insignificant. Originality/value: The study offers new insights to institutional theorists as well as political economy researchers for a deeper investigation of informal institutions, such as culture, which shape national or regional specificities of CSR and retain a moderating effect on the voluntary/self-regulation activities of business entities

In-situ and Remote Sensing Networks for Environmental Monitoring and Global Assessment of Leptospirosis Outbreaks

AbstractLeptospirosis is a disease that affects human population and can claim many victims with large outbreaks associated with natural disasters. This work focuses on the technological aspects for inexpensive climate monitoring techniques based on ground and satellite sensors for obtaining information prior to disease outbreaks in under-developed regions and on water-quality sensors that can lead to radical changes in our ability to detect and abate this disease. The remote deployment of such sensors in areas where outbreaks can occur can help in enhancingin real-time the spatial and temporal resolution of information and allows unattended operation that will be particularly useful for monitoring under extreme climate events. Such types of monitoring advancements, when coupled with regular geographical, population and habitat monitoring can assess the hazards and risks to local population prior to a disease outbreak. Then in the eventual aftermath, it can assist in identification of affected geographical locations where abatement solutions will be required, and eventually in the assessment of the effectiveness of control measures. This work explores recent releases of open global observation data and a range of in-situ environmental monitoring tools of increasing complexity for measuring several parameters andfor detecting contaminants and pathogens that were previously irresolvable due to the high degree of complexityinthe diagnosis of this disease

Revisiting the national corporate social responsibility index

This research note relies on Gjølberg’s (2009) national corporate social responsibility (CSR) index while its purpose is twofold. First, it seeks to extend the methodological instrument for assessing national CSR and, second, it applies the new approach to a much larger pool of countries (n=86) in an attempt to provide a global CSR outlook. The emergent picture from the study is one of deficient CSR penetration and wide variation among countries where most of the assessed countries are still lagging in the endorsement of international CSR initiatives and schemes. Findings offer fertile ground to theorists and researchers for a deeper investigation of the national specificity of CSR and to further identify the institutional determinants that shape the social responsiveness and self-regulation of business entities

Revisiting the national corporate social responsibility index

This research note relies on Gjølberg’s (2009) national corporate social responsibility (CSR) index while its purpose is twofold. First, it seeks to extend the methodological instrument for assessing national CSR and, second, it applies the new approach to a much larger pool of countries (n=86) in an attempt to provide a global CSR outlook. The emergent picture from the study is one of deficient CSR penetration and wide variation among countries where most of the assessed countries are still lagging in the endorsement of international CSR initiatives and schemes. Findings offer fertile ground to theorists and researchers for a deeper investigation of the national specificity of CSR and to further identify the institutional determinants that shape the social responsiveness and self-regulation of business entities

A hierarchical multilevel approach in assessing factors explaining country-level climate change vulnerability

Assessing vulnerability is key in the planning of climate change adaptation policies and, more importantly, in determining actions increasing resilience across different locations. This study presents the results of a hierarchical linear multilevel modeling approach that utilizes as dependent variable the Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative (ND-GAIN) Climate Change Vulnerability Index and explores the relative impact of a number of macro-level characteristics on vulnerability, including GDP, public debt, population, agricultural coverage and sociopolitical and institutional conditions. A 1995–2016 annual time series that yields a panel dataset of 192 countries is employed. Findings suggest that country-level climate change vulnerability is responding (strongly) to the majority of the explanatory variables considered. Findings also confirm that less-developed countries demonstrate increased vulnerability compared to the developed ones and those in transition stages. While these results indeed warrant further attention, they provide a background for a more nuanced understanding of aspects defining country-level patterns of climate vulnerability.</jats:p

Corporate responsibility and national institutions: A quantitative assessment

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) footprints in terms of relevant policies, plans and programs are evident at a global scale, but the level of national uptake and penetration differs, as countries differ considerably in terms of institutional efficiency. With this in mind, the purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between CSR penetration and institutional conditions that shape and define the macroeconomic environment and development dynamics of countries. Building on Campbell's (2007) seminal framework on institutional parameters that facilitate effective CSR management, we offer new findings on the national specificity of CSR and additional perspectives for future research on the political economy of responsible business conduct

Corporate responsibility and national institutions: A quantitative assessment

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) footprints in terms of relevant policies, plans and programs are evident at a global scale, but the level of national uptake and penetration differs, as countries differ considerably in terms of institutional efficiency. With this in mind, the purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between CSR penetration and institutional conditions that shape and define the macroeconomic environment and development dynamics of countries. Building on Campbell's (2007) seminal framework on institutional parameters that facilitate effective CSR management, we offer new findings on the national specificity of CSR and additional perspectives for future research on the political economy of responsible business conduct