The Sustainable Approach to Corporate Social Responsibility: A Global Analysis and Future Trends

Due to the process of globalization, companies are obligated to observe corporate social responsibility and best practices from a sustainability approach towards their stakeholders and society. The explicit aim is to determine the relevance of the corporate social responsibility (CSR) and its relationship with sustainability, in order to establish trends and future lines of research. The evolution of global research on this subject has been studied from 2001 to 2018. For this purpose, a bibliometric analysis of 1832 articles has been applied, obtaining results of the scientific productivity of the journals, authors, institutions, and countries that contribute to this research. Evidence shows a growing interest in studying the relationship between socially responsible practices and the dimension of sustainability. The main category is Business, Management, and Accounting. The most productive journals are the Journal of Business Ethics and Sustainability. The authors with the most articles are García-Sánchez, Moneva, and Moratis, while Kolk is the most cited. The most prolific institution is the University of Salamanca. The United States is the country with the most publications and quotes. France and China are the countries with the largest number of international collaborations in their work. Global research has been on an upward trend with optimal publication rates in recent years

The Relationship between Social Responsibility and Business Performance: An Analysis of the Agri-Food Sector of Southeast Spain

This study aims to contribute to the existing debate on the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) orientation on different measures of business performance through the proposal of a conceptual model. Drawing on stakeholder theory, we conceptualize CSR as a broad and multidimensional construct with seven dimensions: employees, partners, customers, farmers, environment, community, and competition. We also extend the concept of business performance, which includes tangible variables, namely financial performance (FP) and export performance (EXP), as well as intangible variables, namely image and reputation (IR) and the satisfaction of relevant stakeholders (SS). The research context of this study is the agri-food sector in southeastern Spain. This sector has been the focus of attention of numerous researchers due to the relevance that social and environmental aspects have had in its development. To test the proposed model, the partial least-squares technique (PLS-SEM) was applied to data collected by means of a survey from a sample of 107 companies, which represent 81.4% of the turnover of the sector analyzed. The results show that CSR has a positive effect on financial performance, improves the volume and performance of exports, positively affects the corporate image and reputation, and increases the level of satisfaction of relevant stakeholders. Further research should examine the model from the perceptions of other stakeholders (e.g., customers, employees, and suppliers), using a longitudinal research design and exploring other contexts

Ciencia, revolución y nacimiento de la sociología

The École Polytechnique was an academic, revolutionary and scientific institution founded at the end of the 18th century in France. The school brought together the leading scientists of the time and used revolutionary principles to establish the profession of engineer, the current concept of the scientific community and the modern link between knowledge and the state apparatus. Within the educational institution sociology emerged as a science, under a positivist conception. In this article we analyze the close links between the creation of the École Polytechnique and its importance in the birth of sociology.La École Polytechnique fue una institución académica, revolucionaria y científica fundada a finales del siglo XVIII en Francia. La escuela reunió a los principales científicos de la época y utilizó los principios revolucionarios para instaurar la profesión del ingeniero, del concepto actual de comunidad científica y de la moderna vinculación entre el saber y el aparato del Estado. En el seno de dicha institución educativa surgió la sociología como ciencia, bajo una concepción positivista. En este artículo analizamos los estrechos vínculos entre la creación de la École Polytechnique y su importancia en el nacimiento de la sociología

The Use of Led Technology and Biomass to Power Public Lighting in a Local Context: The Case of Baeza (Spain)

The impact of public lighting on consumed energy, financial cost, use of raw materials, and the environment is a major concern nowadays. The high amounts of energy needed to satisfy the increasing demands of cities around the world has led researchers to look for alternatives to classical fossil sources, with low implementation in public lighting up to date. In this context, circular economy (CE) proposes a new perspective of engineering based on smart design for the future life of products where even wastes have an added value as technological nutrients for other applications. A convergent consideration of CE and the urgent necessity of more sustainable public lighting leads to this proposal. The ad hoc use of a local biomass plant for powering the public lighting of one small city is considered, and important conclusions reinforcing the link between lighting and CE are presented.This research was supported by the European Regional Development Fund (European Union), the Government of Spain (Research Project ECO2013-47027-P and ECO2017-84138-P), the Regional Government of Andalusia (Research Project P11-SEJ-7294), and SEJ 232 Research Group Management and Organization for Competitiveness

Prediction of the impact on air quality of the cities receiving cruise tourism: the case of the Port of Barcelona

Supplementary content related to this article has been published online at https://doi. org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2019.e01280.The cruise tourism industry has experienced significant growth in recent years and has a very positive outlook for the future. However, its environmental impact requires a review of its sustainability, including the analysis of its social, economic and environmental balance, and the evaluation of its impact on port cities receiving cruise ships. The purpose of this document is twofold: First, to analyze the relationship between air quality, as an environmental variable, and the volume of cruise ships and passengers that visit a port with the aim of generating information. Secondly, it is intended to develop an index, based on the information already available that allows cities to predict the impact of this activity, so that decisions are made to alleviate these effects. Methods: The primary data taken monthly for the period 2006–2017, related to the level of emissions and the number of cruises and passengers, are used as a basis. A regression analysis is performed to determine the relationship between air pollution and the number of tourists coming from the cruise ships. As a contribution, the results show the influence of this type of tourism on environmental indicators. In addition, in an original way, a regression function is established that allows estimating the future impact of the cruise industry in the ports cities. So that, cities can prevent this type of environmental impact. This will make it easier for the cruise tourism industry to develop more sustainable models in the long term.This work was supported by Research Project ECO2017-84138-P MINECO , AGENCIA ESTATAL DE INVESTIGACIÓN and FEDER (EU)

As cooperativas de crédito espanholas e a luta contra a exclusão financeira

The aim of this study is to show the importance of Spain’s credit cooperative sector, while also offering a brief view of how families’ savings patterns have evolved. The second section describes the origins of the sector in Spain, emphasizing the relationship between these entities and the primary sector, which is the main source of finance. Later, by describing the features of the credit cooperative sector, as well as offering a profile of its members and its advantages over other forms of banking, some causes are presented for the transformation of these cooperatives, a change they have undergone without losing their focus on members. Accordingly, the third section of this study presents the benefits that credit cooperatives can offer when it comes to financial exclusion, especially when they have become the only social bank in Spain due to the planned demutualization of the savings bank sector.El objetivo de este trabajo consiste en presentar la importancia del sector de cooperativas de crédito en España, al tiempo que se ofrece una breve visión de la evolución de las pautas de ahorro financiero de las familias. En concreto, el segundo apartado describe los orígenes del sector en España, haciendo énfasis en la relación que existe entre estas entidades y el sector primario, al que financia de manera preferente. Posteriormente, tras describir las características del sector de cooperativas de crédito, el perfil de sus socios y las ventajas sobre otras formas bancarias, se exponen algunas causas que están provocando su transformación, sin perder de vista su orientación hacia el socio. Es por ello que, en la tercera sección de este trabajo se plantean las bondades que las cooperativas de crédito pueden ofrecer a la hora de limitar la exclusión financiera, máxime cuando se han convertido en el único exponente de la banca social en España, tras la desmutualización planificada del sector de cajas de ahorros.O objetivo deste trabalho consiste em apresentar a importância do setor de cooperativas de crédito na Espanha, ao mesmo tempo em que se oferece uma breve visão da evolução das pautas de poupança financeira das famílias. Em concreto, a segunda seção descreve as origens do setor na Espanha e enfatiza a relação existente entre essas entidades e o setor primário, ao qual financia de maneira preferente. Em seguida, após descrever as características do setor de cooperativas de crédito, o perfil dos seus sócios e as vantagens sobre outras formas bancárias, expõem-se algumas causas que estão provocando sua transformação, sem perder de vista sua orientação ao sócio. Na terceira seção deste texto, apresentam-se os benefícios que as cooperativas de crédito podem oferecer na hora de limitar a exclusão financeira, principalmente quando se converteram no único expoente da banca social na Espanha, depois da des- mutualização planejada do setor de caixas de poupança

Family Businesses Transitioning to a Circular Economy Model: The Case of “Mercadona”

Sustainability addresses environmental and social issues affecting this and future generations. When family businesses perceive that the community is disrupted, recognize an environmental problem and respond by implementing new environmental policies or regulations, the family business’s socio-emotional values press to transition to a more sustainable production system, such as the ‘Circular Economy.’ Drawing on the Dubin (1978) methodology—a paradigm for building models through deduction—we design a sustainable model, which shows family businesses’ responses to changes in the environment. It explains the reasons why family firms transition to the Circular Economy, based on the theory of Socio-EmotionalWealth (SEW).We check the model through the case study of the food retail leader in the Spanish market—Mercadona—which applies policies about energy, resources and waste to become a Circular Economy business model. Because of the strong family character of Mercadona, this case can be useful for the decision-making of other family businesses.Research Group SEJ 232 Direction and Organization for Competitiveness. Jaen University. Research Group SEJ 478 Advanced Research in Business Addressing. Granada University

Corporate social responsibility and export performance under stakeholder view: The mediation of innovation and the moderation of the legal form

Prior confronting findings on the association between corporate social responsibility and profitability show that some aspects remain to be clarified about this binomial. Contributing to this body of research is particularly interesting in the case of the exporters to understand the role that corporate social responsibility may play in improving export performance. This study aims to determine the impact of firms' corporate social responsibility efforts on their export performance by examining innovation and the legal form of the organization as factors that could affect this relationship. Using data from 107 agri-food companies, we found that corporate social responsibility has no direct effect on export performance. However, our results show that innovation serves as a mediator in this relationship. It was also found that companies that adopt associative legal forms (i.e., cooperatives) benefit more from their social responsibility practices than companies that adopt non-associative legal forms

An Evolutionary Approach on the Framework of Circular Economy Applied to Agriculture

In this current and global context led by scarcity of resources, environmental degradation, global climate change, and a progressive demand for food, the circular economy (CE) represents a key economic model or framework for sustainable, restorative, and regenerative agriculture. Hence, CE applied to agriculture seeks to close the life cycle of products, services, waste, water, and energy to obtain a better use of resources and a reduction of the ecological impact. An initial review of the literature corroborates the hypothesis that the CE framework has not yet been comprehensively adapted to the field of agriculture. This research seeks to overcome this gap in relation to the performance of the circularity of agricultural production systems in support of decision-making processes. A bibliometric analysis of 1060 documents was carried to synthesize the knowledge base on this topic. The results show recent studies that identify weaknesses derived from food production, such as waste generation, biomass, water pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions. It has been identified how their analysis has developed to date and what terms allow us to visualize new approaches; consequently, it is a useful tool for researchers and sponsors who provide financial resources for the development of new lines of research