Characteristics of Corporate Social Responsibility Indicators

Authors: Grigoris Giannarakis, Nikolaos Litinas, Ioannis Theotokas

Abstract:

The aim of the study is to investigate a number of characteristics of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) indicators that should be adopted by CSR assessment methodologies. For the purpose of this paper, a survey among the Greek companies that belong to FTSE 20 in Athens Exchange (FTSE/Athex-20) has been conducted, as these companies are expected to pioneer in the field of CSR. The results show consensus as regards the characteristics of indicators such as the need for the adoption of general and specific sector indicators, financial and non-financial indicators, the origin and the weight rate. However, the results are contradictory concerning the appropriate number of indicators for the assessment of CSR and the unit of measurement. Finally, the company-s sector is a more important dimension of CSR than the size and the country where the company operates. The purpose of this paper is to standardize the main characteristics of CSR indicators.

Keywords: Corporate social responsibility, Greece, Indicators

Digital Object Identifier (DOI): doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1083135

References:

[1] A. Azapagic, "Developing a framework for sustainable development indicators for the mining and minerals industry," Journal of Cleaner Production, vol. 12, pp. 639-662, 2004.
[2] A. Azapagic, and S. Perdan, "Indicators of sustainable development for industry: A general framework," Process Safety and Environmental Protection, Special Issue: Sustainable Development, vol. 78(B4), pp. 243-61, 2000.
[3] A. Chatterji, and D. Levine, "Breaking Down-The Wall Of Codes: Evaluating Non-Financial Performance Measurement," California Management Review, vol. 48, pp. 29-51, 2006.
[4] A. L Coldwell, "Perception and Expectations of Corporate Social Responsibility: Theoretical Issues and Empirical Findings," Journal of Business Managerial, pp. 49- 54, 2000.
[5] A. Sundaram, and J. Black, "The Environment and Internal Organization of Multinational Enterprises," Academy of Management Review, vol. 17, no. 4, pp. 729-757, 1992.
[6] A. Waddock, and S. B. Graves, "The Corporate Social Performancefinancial Performance Link," Strategic Management Journal, vol. 18, pp. 303-319, 1997.
[7] Accountability Rating, "Greece - 2008 results," 2008. Available at: http://www.accountabilityrating.com/Latest_results_Greece.asp
[8] Advanced Sustainable Performance Indices (ASPI). Available at: http://www.vigeo.com/csr-rating-agency/en/nos-produits-isr/indiceaspi/ indice-aspi.html
[9] ASSET4. Available at: www.asset4.com
[10] Awareness & Social Behavior Index (A.S.B.I), "A.S.B.I.-2008". Available at: http://www.vprc.gr/article.php?id=279
[11] B. Carroll, "A Commentary and an Overview of Key Questions on Corporate Social Performance Measurement," Business & Society, vol. 39, no. 4, pp. 466-478, 2000.
[12] B. Carroll, "A Three-Dimensional Conceptual Model of Corporate Social Performance," Academy of Management Review, vol. 4, no. 4, pp. 497-505, 1979.
[13] B. E. Clarkson, "A stakeholder framework for analyzing and evaluating corporate social performance," Academy of Management Review, vol. 20, no. 1, pp. 92-117, 1995.
[14] B. Kytle and J. G. Ruggies, "Corporate Social Responsibility as Risk Management. A Model for Multinationals," Working Paper, Harvard University, 2005.
[15] B. Meznar, and D. Nigh, "Buffer or Bridge? Environmental and Organizational Determinants of Public Affairs Activities in American Firms," Academy of Management Journal, vol. 38, pp. 975-996, 1995.
[16] B. Tsakarestou, "First Quantitative Survey on CSR in Greece. Issues & Prospects," Athens, Greece: Hellenic Network for Corporate Social Responsibility, 2001.
[17] B. Turban, and D. W. Greening, "Corporate Social Performance and Organizational Attractiveness to Prospective Employees," Academy of Management Review, vol. 40, pp. 658-672, 1997.
[18] B. Werther, and D. Chandler, "Strategic corporate social responsibility as global brand insurance," Business Horizons, vol. 48, pp. 317-324, 2005.
[19] Business for Social Responsibility, "Overview of Corporate Social Responsibility". Available at: http://www.bsr.org.
[20] C. D. Ittner, and D. Larcker, "Non-financial Performance Measures: What Works and What Doesn-t," Financial Times- Mastering Management series, 2000.
[21] C. Mills, C. Siriopoulos, R. N. Markellos, and D. Harizanis, "Seasonality in the Athens stock exchange," Applied Financial Economics, vol. 10, pp. 137-42, 2000.
[22] Calvert Index. Available at: www.calvert.com
[23] Commission of the European Communities, Green Paper: Promoting a European framework for Corporate Social Responsibility, Brussels, 2001.
[24] Commission of the European Communities, Corporate social responsibility: A business contribution to sustainable development, Brussels, 2002.
[25] D. Ittner, and D. F. Larcker, "Innovations in Performance Measurement: Trends and Research Implications," Journal of Management Accounting Research, vol. 10, 1998.
[26] D. Perez-Sanchez, J. R. Barton, and D. Bower, "Implementing environmental management in SMEs," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 67-77, 2003.
[27] D. Secchi, "Corporate Social Responsibility in Europe: Analyzing Business in Transnational Contexts", Università degli Studi dell'Insubria, 2004. Available at: http://eco.uninsubria.it
[28] D. Turker, "Measuring Corporate Social Responsibility: A Scale Development Study," Journal of Business Ethics, 2008. Available at: http://www.springerlink.com/content/r755k13g7058282x/
[29] D. Vogel, The Market For Virtue: The Potential and Limits of Corporate Social Responsibility, Brookings Institution Press, 2005.
[30] Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes (DJSI). Available at: http://www.sustainability-index.com
[31] E. Drimbetas, N. Sariannidis, and N. Porfiris, "The Effect of Derivatives Trading on Volatility of the Underlying Asset: Evidence from the Greek Stock Market," Applied Financial Economics, vol. 17, pp. 139-148, 2007.
[32] E. Freeman, Stretegic Management: A Stakeholder Approach, Pitman: London, 1984.
[33] E. Joyner, and C. W. Hofer, (1992), "The Key Tasks of Successful Venture Creation and Development", in Douglas Naffziger and Jeffrey Hornsby (eds.), Emerging Entrepreneurial Strategies in the 1990s, Conference Proceedings of the Seventh Annual National USASBE Conference, Chicago, IL, Ball State University, pp. 239-253.
[34] E. Joyner, D. Payne, and C. E. Raibom, "Building Values, Business Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility into the Developing Organization," Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship, vol. 7, pp. 113-13, 2002.
[35] Ethibel Sustainable Index. Available at: www.ethibel.org
[36] Ethos Institute. Available at: http://www.ethos.org.br/desktopdefault.aspx?alias=ethosenglish&lang=e n-us
[37] European Multistakeholder Forum on CSR, (2004), "Corporate Social Responsibility-Final results & recommendations," Final Report. Available at: http://circa.europa.eu/irc/empl/csr_eu_multi_stakeholder_forum/info/dat a/en/CSR%20Forum%20final%20report.pdf
[38] Fafaliou, M. Lekakou, and I. Theotokas, "Corporate social responsibility in Greek Shipping," IAME Panama Conference Proceedings, 13-15 November, 2002.
[39] FTSE4Good. Available at: http://www.ftse.com/Indices/FTSE4Good_Index_Series/index.jsp
[40] G. F├╝löp, R. D. Hisrich, and K. Szegedi, "Business ethics and social responsibility in transition economies," Journal of Management Development, vol. 19, no. 1, pp. 5-31, 2000.
[41] G. Hofstede, Culture-s Consequences: International Differences in Work-related Values, Sage, Beverly Hills, CA, 1980.
[42] G. Moore, "Corporate social and financial performance: An investigation in the UK supermarket industry," Journal of Business Ethics, vol. 34, no. 3-4, pp. 299-315, 2001.
[43] G. Simpson, and T. Kohers, "The link between corporate social and financial performance: Evidence from the banking industry," Journal of Business Ethics, vol. 35, pp. 97-109, 2002.
[44] Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). Available at: http://www.globalreporting.org/Home
[45] Globescan, "Definition of CSR in Different Countries," 2005. Available at: http://www.globescan.com/rf_csr_definition_02.htm
[46] H. Blumberg, C. Fuller, and A. Hare, "Response rates in postal survey," Public Opinion Quarterly, vol. 38, no. 1, pp. 113-123, 1974.
[47] H. Chen, and R. W. Metcalf, "The Relationship between Pollution Control Record and Financial Indicators Revisited," Accounting Review, vol. 55, no. 1, pp. 168-177, 1980.
[48] H. Lee, "Corporate Social Responsiveness in the Korean Electronics Industry," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, vol. 14, pp. 219-230, 2007.
[49] H. Maskell, Performance Measurement for World Class Manufacturing, Productivity Press, Cambridge, MA, 1991.
[50] Institution of Communication in Greece, "Survey for the CSR and responsible consumption CSR 2008,". Available at: http://www.instofcom.gr/?bGFzdF9tZW51X2NsaWNrZWQ9bWFpbl9t ZW51Jm1haW5fbWVudV9pdGVtX2lkPTE1NCZwYWdlX2lkPTczJmx hbmc9R1Im
[51] J. Donaldson, and I. Fafaliou (2002) "Business ethics, corporate social responsibility and corporate governance: a review and summary critique", European Research Studies Journal (to be published).
[52] J. Graafland, B. van de Ven, and N. Stoffele, "Strategies and Instruments for Organising CSR by Small and Large Businesses in the Netherlands," Journal of Business Ethics, vol. 47, pp. 45-60, 2003.
[53] J. Graafland, S. C. W. Eijffinger, and H. Smid, "Benchmarking of Corporate Social Responsibility: Methodological Problems and Robustness," Journal of Business Ethics, vol. 53, pp. 137-152, 2004.
[54] J. Graafland, S. C. W. Eijffinger, N. C. G. M. Stoffele, H. Smid, and A. M. Coldeweijer, "Corporate social responsibility of Dutch companies: Benchmarking and Transparency," 2003. Available at: http://www.uvt.nl/faculteiten/fww/cmo.
[55] J. McNair, R. L. Lynch, and K. F. Cross, "Do financial and nonfinancial performance measures have to agree?," Management Accounting, vol. 72, no. 5, pp. 28-36, 1990.
[56] J. Wood, "Corporate Social Performance Revisited", Academy of Management Review, vol. 16, pp. 691-718, 1991.
[57] Jantzi Social Index. Available at: www.jantzisocialindex.com
[58] JSE SRI Index. Available at: http://www.jse.co.za/sri
[59] K. Aravossis, A., Panayiotou, and K., Tsousi, "A Proposed Methodological Framework for the Evaluation of Corporate Social Responsibility," Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Environmental Economics and Investment Assessment, Mykonos, Greece, 13-15/09/2006,
[60] K. Buckholtz, A. C. Amason and M. A. Rutherford, "Beyond Resources: The Mediating Effects of Top Management Discretion and Values on Corporate Philanthropy," Business & Society, vol. 38, no. 2, pp. 167- 187, 1999.
[61] K. Hino, "Tokyo: Corporate Social and Financial Performance: An Empirical Studyon a Japanese Company," IFSAM VIIIth World Congress, Berlin, Germany, September 28-30, 2006.
[62] K. Udayasankar, "Corporate Social Responsibility and Firm Size," Journal of Business Ethics, vol. 83, no. 2, pp. 167-175, 2008.
[63] KLD. Available at: www.kld.com
[64] L. Fitzgerald, R. Johnston, S. Brignall, R. Silvestro, and C. Voss, Performance Measurement in Service Business, CIMA, London, 1991.
[65] L. Mbugua, P. T. Harris, G. D. Holt, and P. O. Olomolaiye, "A framework for determining critical success factors influencing construction business performance," Proceedings of the Association of Researchers in Construction Management 15th Annual Conference, Vol. 1, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, 15-17 September, pp. 255-64, 1999.
[66] L. Spence, and R. Rutherfoord, "Social responsibility, profit maximisation and the small firm owner-manager," Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, vol. 8, no. 2, pp. 126-39, 2001.
[67] L. Spence, R. Schmidpeter, and A. Habisch, "Assessing social capital: small and medium sized enterprises in Germany and the UK," Journal of Business Ethics, vol. 47, no. 1, pp. 17-29, 2003.
[68] L. Stainer, "Performance management and corporate social responsibility: the strategic connection," Strat. Change, vol. 15, pp. 253- 64, 2006.
[69] Levy, and G. Shatto, (1980) "Social responsibility in large electric utility firms: the case of philanthropy", in Preston, L.E. (Ed.), Research in Corporate Social Performance and Policy, vol. 2, JAI Press, Greenwich, CT, pp. 237-49.
[70] M. Bourn, Designing and implementing a balanced performance measurement system, University of Cambridge, July/August, 1999.
[71] M. E. Porter, and M. R. Kramer, "Strategy and Society - The Link Between Competitive Advantage and Corporate Social Responsibility," Harvard Business Review, HBR Spotlight, 2006.
[72] M. Goldratt, and J. Cox, The Goal: Beating the Competition, Creative Output Books, Hounslow, 1986.
[73] M. Longo, M. Mura and A. Bonoli, "Corporate social responsibility and corporate performance: the case of Italian SMEs," CORPORATE GOVERNANCE, vol. 5, no. 4, pp. 28-42, 2005.
[74] M. Mudzamir, and B. S. Norfaiezah, "CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (CSR) ACTIVITIES IN MOBILE TELECOMMUNICATION INDUSTRY: CASE STUDY OF MALAYSIA," European Critical Accounting Conference, 18-20 July 2007. Available at: http://www.standrews. ac.uk/management/ecas/7/papers/ECAS-Mudzamir.pdf
[75] M. Palazzi, and G. Starcher, "Corporate Social Responsibility and Business Success," 2000. Available at: http://www.ebbf.org
[76] M. T. Jones, "The Institutional Determinants of Social Responsibility," Journal of Business Ethics, vol. 20, pp. 163-179, 1999.
[77] M. Useem, "Market and Institutional Factors in Corporate Contributions," California Management Review, vol. 30, no. 2, pp. 77- 88, 1988.
[78] Maala Index. Available at: http://www.maala.org.il/eng/tools/index/01/default.asp?ContentID=338
[79] N. Sariannidis, E. Drimbetas and G. Konteos "Impact of International Volatility, the Euro, and Derivatives on a Small Stock Market," International Review of Applied Economic Research, vol.1, pp. 1-22, 2006.
[80] N. Slack, S. Chambers, and R. Johnston, Operations Management, 3rd edition, Pearson Education Limited, U.K., 2001.
[81] N. Whooley, (2004), Social Responsibility in Europe. Available at: www.pwc.com/extweb/newcolth.nsf/0/503508DDA107A61885256F350 05C1E35?
[82] OWW Consulting. Available at: www.oww-consulting.com
[83] P. Alexakis, and M. Xanthakis, "Day of the week effect on the Greek stock market," Applied Financial Economics, vol. 5, pp. 43-50, 1995.
[84] P. White, "A survey and taxonomy of strategy-related performance measures for manufacturing," International Journal of Operations & Production Management, vol. 16, no. 3, pp. 42, 1996.
[85] R. Gray, R. Kouhy, and S. Lavers, "Methodological themes: constructing a research database of social and environmental reporting by UK companies," Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal, vol. 2, pp. 78-101. 1995.
[86] R. H. Hayes, and D. A. Garvin, "Managing as if tomorrow mattered," Harvard Business Review, May/June, pp. 70-9, 1982.
[87] R. H. Hayes, and W. J. Abernathy, "Managing our way to economic decline," Harvard Business Review, July-August, pp. 67-77, 1980.
[88] R. L. Banks, and S. C. Wheelwright, "Operations versus strategy - trading tomorrow for today," Harvard Business Review, May-June, pp. 112-20, 1979.
[89] R. Richardson, and J. R. M. Gordon, "Measuring total manufacturing performance," Sloan Management Review, Winter, pp. 47-58, 1980.
[90] R. S. Dooley, and L. D. Lerner, "Pollution, Profits, and Stakeholders: The Constraining Effect of Economic Performance on CEO Concern With Stakeholder Expectations," Journal of Business Ethics, vol. 13, pp. 701-711, 1994
[91] R. S. Kaplan, "Accounting lag - the obsolescence of cost accounting systems," California Management Review, vol. 28, no. 2, pp. 174-99, 1986.
[92] R. S. Kaplan, "Measuring manufacturing performance: a new challenge for managerial accounting research", The Accounting Review, vol. 58, no. 4, pp. 686-705, 1983.
[93] R. S. Kaplan, and D. P. Norton, The Balanced Scorecard - Translating Strategy into Action, Harvard Business School Press, Boston, MA, 1996.
[94] R. S. Kaplan, and D. P. Norton, The Strategy-Focused Organisation, How Balanced Scorecard Companies Thrive in the New Business Environment, Harvard Business School, Cambridge, MA, 2001.
[95] R. Simons, Performance Measurement and Control Systems for Implementing Strategy Text and Cases, Prentice-Hall: Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 2000.
[96] R. Spiller, "Ethical business investment a model for business and society," Journal of Business Ethics, vol. 27, pp. 149-160, 2000.
[97] R. W. Hall, H. T. Johnson, and P. B. B. Turney, Measuring Up: Charting Pathways to Manufacturing Excellence, Business One Irwin, Homewood, IL, 1991
[98] R. W. Hall, Zero Inventories, Dow-Jones Irwin, Homewood, IL, 1983.
[99] R. Wolfe, and K. Aupperle, "Introduction to Corporate Social Performance: Methods for Evaluating an Elusive Construct," 1991, in L. E. Post (ed.), Research in Corporate Social Performance and Policy V12, 265-268.
[100] R., Dixon, A. J. Nanni, and T. E. Vollmann, The New Performance Challenge - Measuring Operations for World-Class Competition, Dow Jones-Irwin, Homewood, IL , 1990.
[101] S. Brammer and A. Millington, "Corporate Reputation and Philanthropy: An Empirical Analysis," Journal of Business Ethics, vol. 61, pp. 29-44, 2005.
[102] S. Brammer, and A. Millington, "Firm Size, Organizational Visibility and Corporate Philanthropy: An Empirical Analysis," Business Ethics: A European Review, vol. 15, pp. 6-18, 2006,
[103] S. D. P. Flapper, L. Fortuin, and P. P. M. Stoop, "Towards consistent performance management systems," International Journal of Operations and Production Management, vol. 18, pp. 604-625, 1996.
[104] S. Kaplan, and P. D. Norton, "The Balanced Scorecard-Measures That Drive Performance," Harvard Business Review, January-February, 1992.
[105] S. Lewis, "Reputation and Corporate Responsibility," Journal of Communication Management, vol. 7, pp. 356-364, 2003.
[106] S. S. Cowen, L. B. Ferreri and L. D. Parker, "The Impact of Corporate Characteristics on Social Responsibility Disclosure: A Typology and Frequency- Based Analysis," Accounting, Organizations and Society, vol. 12, pp. 111-122, 1987.
[107] S. Sachs, M. Maurer, E. R├╝hli, and R. Hoffmann, "Corporate Social Responsibility for a ÔÇÿÔÇÿstakeholder view-- perspective: CSR implementation by a Swiss mobile telecommunication provider," Corporate Governance, vol. 6, no. 4, pp. 506-15, 2006.
[108] S. T. Cavusgil, and L. A. Elvey-Kirk, "Mail Survey Response Behavior; A Conceptualization of Motivating Factors and Empirical Study," European Journal of Marketing, vol. 32, no. 11/12, pp. 1165-1192, 1998.
[109] SAM Group. Available at: http://www.sam-group.com
[110] Sustainable Business Institute. Available at: www.sustainableinvestment. org (16/11/2008)
[111] T. D. Fry, and Cox, J.F., "Manufacturing performance: local versus global measures," Production and Inventory Management Journal, vol. 30, no. 2, pp. 52-6, 1989.
[112] T. Johnson, and R. S. Kaplan, Relevance Lost: The Rise and Fall of Management Accounting, Harvard Business School Press, Boston, MA., 1987.
[113] T. Kippenberger, "Taking the stakeholder view," The Antidote, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 14 - 15, 1996.
[114] T. Kitchin, "Corporate social responsibility - a brand explanation," Brand Management, vol. 10, no. 4/5, pp. 312-326, 2002.
[115] Talaei, and M. Nejati, "CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IN AUTO INDUSTRY: AN IRANIAN PERSPECTIVE," Lex et Scientia, No. XV, vol. 1, 2008.
[116] The Social and Economic Committee of Greece. The Corporate Social Responsibility. Opinion of S.E.C. No. 95. Athens, Greece, 2003.
[117] W. Edson, "Performance measurement: key to world class manufacturing," APICS Conference Proceedings, 1988, pp. 629-32.
[118] W. Schiebel, and S. Pöchtrager, "Corporate ethics as a factor for success - the measurement instrument of the University of Agricultural Sciences (BOKU), Vienna," Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, vol. 8, pp. 116-121, 2003.