International Dimensions of Sustainable Management

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is becoming more important in business practices since there is a growing demand for sustainability. However, to date the definition of CSR is still varied causing problems in its application. Therefore, it is the objective of this research to develop a CSR definition and framework for implementation. The Sufficiency Economy Philosophy proposed by His Majesty King Bhumibol of Thailand was incorporated into the study to develop a firm’s strategy in dealing with its various stakeholders. This is because the Sufficiency Economy Philosophy focuses on the good values that will promote good within the community, which promotes a viewpoint in sustainability. This unique definition and resulting model is the first contribution of this research. The second contribution is the study of how firms can collaborate with the government in creating sustainable CSR practices. The third contribution of this paper is the wide cross section of companies studied including companies listed in the Stock Exchange of Thailand to small and medium enterprises. In addition a case study was conducted to further refine the framework developed. The CSR framework developed in this study proposes three stages in the development of sustainable CSR. The first is the basic stage showing accountability for business operations with a focus on long-term planning. The second stage is the integration of CSR practices with strategy in realigning work process and maximizing utility of resources. The final stage is the best practice where innovation drives the development of new products and services setting a new direction for the firm. The Hi-Q Company case study adds the importance of the dimension of partnership with stakeholders such as the government in ensuring that the CSR initiative will be a sustainable one.

Multinational companies (MNCs) often debate whether or not corporate social responsibility (CSR) is worthwhile pursuing, whether it is a cost for mere window dressing or whether it is an investment with promising and interesting outcomes. On the other hand, governments debate whether CSR should be legislated or voluntary. Hence, while some MNCs engage in CSR voluntarily pursuing the benefits, other MNCs are ‘forced’ to engage in CSR—regardless if they believe in the concept or not. There are various examples and approaches. Among developed economies, for example, we find Sweden who does not have CSR legislation (yet the majority of Swedish MNCs are highly active in voluntary CSR) and Denmark, Germany and Canada with various degrees of industry-specific legislation. In emerging economies, we find, for instance, Mauritius, Indonesia and India legislated CSR to cover precise monetary contributions towards the social, economic and environmental development of these countries. Whether the global economy gravitates towards some degree of responsible capitalism or not, the discussion and arguments for and against mandatory CSR is likely to increase in the near future. To contribute to the debate, this chapter describes the differences between CSR among MNCs in Sweden (a developed economy believing in voluntary CSR) and India (an emerging economy) where CSR is mandatory by law. Our research indicates that MNCs in both economies (with voluntary or legislative CSR) strategically benefits from CSR and that CSR legislation positively affects MNCs in at least one emerging economy (India).

Social impact assessment is increasingly attracting the attention of scholars and businesses due to its sustainability and environmental outlook which has grown progressively. Over the years, several aspects have been studied by scholars offering different outlooks of the concept. This chapter aims to provide an understanding of the state of art of social impact assessment through a systematic literature review; add an integrated framework helpful to shed new light on the relevant dimensions of SIA and generate insights for new research streams.

Organizational resilience is defined as ability of an organization to anticipate, prepare for, respond, as well as adapt to incremental change and sudden disruptions in order to survive and prosper. In the last decade(s), organizations have often lost their “natural” resilience because there was a high priority on superficial efficiency over a long period. But an exaggerated focus on efficiency leads to brittleness and weakness in living systems. There is not enough redundancy and diversity anymore to buffer uncertainty and permanent changes. To (re)balance our organizations, we have to become more flexible and robust at the same time, and systems have to enhance diversity and be more open to different opinions and alternatives.

In the last 10 years, psychosocial diseases have grown tremendously in German-speaking countries, with days absent due to psychosocial diseases growing 100% in Germany during this time. The main reason is depression often caused by burnout syndrome. Usually burnout is treated as a personal problem. However, there is a connection between frequency of burnout and the corporate culture. Companies must therefore treat hidden conflicts and unhealthy structures in their systems. Sane leadership feels the responsibility to foster a health-conscious (salutogenesis) organization.

In German-speaking countries, more and more pioneers—often smaller- and medium-sized companies—are realizing successful businesses in connection with resilient culture and structures, a healthy work environment embedded in a trusty corporate culture, and a high-level CSR policy. In this chapter four short case studies in German-speaking countries are presented.

Core statement of this chapter: Sane leadership and organizational resilience are the basis of widespread and all-embracing corporate social responsibility (CSR).

Increasing sustainability in tourism is one of the most important challenges in the light of the steady growth of international tourism arrivals. In this context, forest-based tourism products have gained growing attention. Forest-based tourism products relate to all three dimensions of sustainability: they reconnect human beings to nature and they promote generation of sustainable income. Furthermore the social dimension is addressed by the health effects of nature on humans. However, very little research has been published concerning forest-based tourism. Most publications in the field of health-related forest research concentrate on biomedical evidence. In the field of nature-based tourism, most research focusses around water-based products like spas. Furthermore, the majority of publications are driven by the customer’s point of view. Little research concerns the supply side and the question of what supply factors may further the development of nature-based tourism. The paper cites empirical research based on a set of qualitative interviews of public and private authorities and businesses in the region of the Northern Black Forest. It provides insight on natural and human resources and competencies which are crucial for an increase in sustainability by producing forest-based tourism products.

This chapter illustrates a conceptual method of valuing a firm that reflects corporate social responsibility. According to this method, a firm conforming more to environmental standards than others has ceteris paribus a higher firm value. This method combines the ethical aspects of a firm’s activities and the taxation as public policy institution while respecting the cash value of a firm.

This chapter reviews the evaluation of definitions of financial, corporate social responsibility, and integrated reporting (IR) used over time to reveal points of understanding what quality of these reporting means. Management literature uses many terms to refer social and environmental reporting (e.g., corporate social responsibility reporting (CSRR), sustainability reporting (SR), social and environmental reporting (SER), and corporate accountability (CA)), but there is no clear distinction between these terms. First, the author summarizes definitions of CSRR, SR, SER, and CA to identify the definitional differences between the various types of reporting. Second, the author quantifies the articles published about financial, CSR, and integrated reporting in general management, accounting, and specialized journals to analyze the evaluation of reporting. Finally, the author analyzes differences in understanding what quality of reporting means and identifies opportunities to improve the quality with multi-stakeholder network.

The chapter focuses on several major concerns in modern stakeholder management literature through relating CSR policies and business risk, including financial, credit, reputation and strategic risks, with stakeholder behaviour. CSR is perceived as a tool to combine the requirements of various stakeholder groups, which leads to the positive impact on companies’ performance. Positive impact is perceived as employee loyalty, good reputation and financial and credit risk reduction. In many cases it is argued that stakeholders react positively to CSR policies and it leads to potential positive effect–cost reductions or reputation gain. In spite of important insights gained from past research on changing stakeholders’ behaviour, increasing negative pressures and aggressive actions (including strikes, protest, boycotts and legal actions) in particular, their links to CSR policies and their effects on financial risks remain underexplored.

We argue that company’s financial risks depend upon the capacity to manage CSR policies under stakeholder aggressive actions. Empirical random effect panel data regression model to assess the impact of CSR on financial risk, including mediating stakeholders’ behaviour effect, was developed and tested for a cross-sectional data panel of 1047 European listed companies. CSR was measured by Bloomberg ESG—environmental, social and governance—indicator, while financial risk was measured by downside beta. In order to assess the aggressive stakeholders’ actions, quantitative content analysis was used.

The empirical research results show that the stakeholders’ aggressive actions are more intense in case of high CSR level. By adding a temporal dimension, the influence on CSR-level dynamic change on the financial risk, under aggressive stakeholders’ actions, was tested, assessing whether the decreased level of CSR increases company financial risk, under stakeholders’ aggressive actions. The chapter concludes that changes in CSR level effect the changes in the intensity of the stakeholders’ aggressive actions, which effect financial risk. It was observed that the decrease in CSR level causes the increase of stakeholders’ aggressive actions and its influence on financial risk.

This research aimed to study the factors that affected the level of corporate governance disclosure by 360 companies listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand, through statistical analysis of the level of disclosure of information in each company’s annual report (form 56-1), annual financial statement, and notes accompanying the financial statement. Descriptive statistics (including average standard errors) and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data for statistical correlations.

The hypothesis testing in this study found that the size of the organization affected the level of corporate governance disclosure by resource, service, and technology industry companies listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand; and that the age of the organization affected the level of disclosure by companies in the manufacturing and service industries. However, the ownership structure did not affect the level of disclosure in any of the industries that were studied.

This chapter discusses the results of this study regarding factors affecting the level of corporate governance disclosure by companies listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand and summarizes the findings for development of disclosure policy changes to ensure transparency and establish mechanisms for good governance that stakeholders or investors can apply for decisions on investment.

The formulation of corporate governance standards in People’s Credit Banks (PCBs) has taken a long time. In its development, after the 1997 Indonesian financial crisis, from 1998 to 2014, a number of acts and regulations that directly or indirectly govern corporate governance standards in PCBs were promulgated by Indonesian authorities. Nevertheless, the standards in PCBs are still poor. Just recently, in March and December 2015, the Indonesian Financial Services Authority (IFSA) issued two more main regulations concerning corporate governance standards in PCBs. As a result, the standards have become more complex and need to be further studied.

The purpose of this chapter is to analyze the market situation of socially responsible investment (SRI) in Korea. The author investigates the purpose and process of investment decision-making of all the public offering funds and pension funds available in Korea as of 31 December 2015 and figures out the size and distribution by investment strategy. And I will try to identify what are the major obstacles to promotion of SRI in Korea and conclude with some proposals for the market, policy-makers, and legislators.

Whistleblowing is a powerful tool to tackle corrupt practices, thus contributing to an ethical organizational culture. We elaborate on a case study from Malawi, Africa, in which a private organization established an external whistleblowing system in 2009/2010 and attracted more than 50 clients from the private and the public sectors. We find that (1) individuals still hesitate to report misconduct but they are strongly encouraged to do so by extrinsic motivators (monetary incentives). (2) Malpractices including financial rewards are more likely to be reported, while nonfinancial malpractices play a minor role for potential informants. (3) Private companies, especially those headquartered abroad, are seriously concerned with the investigation of incoming reports. (4) Public entities exhibit lower degrees of commitment to whistleblowing systems and are regarded less serious in the follow-up process. On institutional level we conclude that strict governance processes are strong facilitators for effective whistleblowing and consequently for corporate social responsibility. These findings could be the basis for a systematic approach to enhance the effectiveness of whistleblowing systems in the private and public sector in Malawi and help in building hypotheses for quantitative testing in future research.

Corporations are seeking new frameworks, practices, and tools for socially responsible management in their business operations. Restaurantes TOKS, which sells over half a million cups of coffee per month in their 134 restaurants in Mexico, is developing a project in Chiapas, Mexico, to improve productivity and address child labor practices and living wages for local coffee farmers in the village of Talquian. This case study presents TOKS’ Chiapas coffee project and its relationship to evolving principles of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in developing markets, sustainable supply chain management, and new sustainable business models.

Ocean Park Hong Kong was established in 1977 and is operating in a unique business model: incorporated as a nonprofit organization while adopting commercial principles. Since its inception, Ocean Park’s mission—to provide recreational and educational services for all guests—aligns the organization in a common direction and serves as a rubric for strategy and decision-making. Ocean Park strives to maintain its commercial viability with the strategy of embedding education within recreation. The seeds of CSR as an explicit strategy that includes a publicity and marketing focus are being sown since day 1, as Ocean Park argues that it would educate visitors in the value and diversity of nature. The gradual but consistent and rewarding success of this strategy provides for a positive feedback loop, in which CSR contributes to rising visitor numbers and customer satisfaction, which in turn makes the case for still more prominent CSR strategies and programs. In this case study, we discuss the driving forces of Ocean Park’s CSR initiatives and its operational approach to CSR based on primary data collected from site visit and interview with its Deputy Chief Executive and CFO. Ocean Park’s CSR initiatives in terms of social programs, edutainment, conservation, and corporate partnerships are examined in the context of ISO 26000 reporting framework. This showcases a successful operating model of putting rent-seeking after corporate mission, in which CSR principles are embedded.

This chapter analyzes the cases of Huawei’s CSR program and the Society of Entrepreneurs and Ecology, a NGO organized by a group of companies, to explore the recent development of CSR in China. Three actors of central importance for recent trends are identified: the government, NGOs, and Chinese MNCs. An updated timeline is brought forward, which separates the introduction of CSR to China into a period of passive acceptance (1990s), learning and adoption (2000s), and active engagement (2010s). A promising trend is identified, with the limitation that second element of CSR, reducing the adverse effects of the company’s commercial activities, is not getting enough attention.

Globalization, financial crises, and relations with stakeholders have forced businesses to sustainable and energy-efficient approaches in management. Depletion of natural resources and fierce competition are also driving forces for sustainable management. Businesses that internalize sustainability and use it as a strategic tool are more likely to have a competitive advantage. Compared to research on sustainability management practices of firms in developed countries, research on developing countries is limited. Moreover, there is a significant gap in the literature on sustainability policies and strategy at business groups. This research analyzes corporate governance structure and sustainability practices of OYAK (Armed Forces Pension Fund in Turkey) and provides an inspiring framework for sustainability management in group companies.

Domestic energy systems are created and operate independently of the daily life of regular citizens. This helps minimise the risk related to new technologies and work performance. However, they affect the lifestyle of citizens and energy consumption structures. The energy policy is usually conducted in a paternalistic and centralised way, away from the social environment. Often times, rights of local communities are passed over during execution of energy projects. The objective of the chapter is to show importance of social acceptance in execution of new energy projects in the example of shale gas output in Poland and active opposition against it. The chapter is aimed at showing that local community becomes the key stakeholder in initiating local projects, and community consultations and dialogue with stakeholders become a determinant of success for innovative energy projects. Moreover, the author will attempt to defend the thesis that irrespective of the origin of the primary sources of energy fossil (nuclear or renewable), social acceptance is often the barrier for effective and efficient implementation of energy projects.

Corporate social responsibility is one of the most important concepts of our times. More and more companies recognise their responsibility towards their stakeholders, and the implementation of CSR has been proved to have several advantages. One of its benefits is the positive impact on job satisfaction. Studies on the topic have shown that this positive effect works in practice, in various sectors including tourism, but little information is available on the Hungarian hotel sector. Therefore, the aim of this research was to find out how CSR affects job satisfaction and how job satisfaction affects employee retention in Hungarian hotels. The research was conducted from April to June 2015 with 189 employees from front office, reservation and sales departments of Hungarian hotels filling out a questionnaire. The first part of the questionnaire measured the employees’ perceptions of the hotel’s CSR activities; the second part measured the job satisfaction and the intention of the respondents to remain the employee of the hotel. After reducing the large number of CSR and job satisfaction indicators used in the questionnaire, regression analysis was carried out to reveal the connection between CSR factors and job satisfaction factors and the connection between job satisfaction factors and employee retention. Based on the responses, CSR activities of Hungarian hotels could be categorised into four groups, namely, employee-centred CSR, consumer-centred CSR, social and environmental CSR and legal CSR. Analysis of the data showed that employee-centred CSR has the biggest positive impact on job satisfaction by affecting all of its aspects. However, the other three types also have a significant positive impact on certain elements of job satisfaction. The data also proved that employees with a higher level of job satisfaction are more likely to remain the employee of the hotel. As a conclusion, the results confirmed that CSR has significant positive impact on the job satisfaction of Hungarian hotel employees and indirectly, CSR activities can help retain employees. The findings show that CSR is worth to be dealt with seriously. Whether started in-house by introducing measures in favour of the employees or putting the emphasis on external issues, CSR is clearly beneficial for hotels in terms of employee retention.

Most companies realize some form of corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities with increasing pressure to deliver business results. These companies are usually looking for CSR as a tool to recognize and develop initiatives that align with their business purpose and core values, but also usually to mitigate risk or promote philanthropy and ethical behaviors. However, for some CSR programs, companies refocus their activities to create CSR-driven innovations that produce real shared value. The purpose of this chapter is to define the nature of the link between CSR and innovation, with special attention to increasing awareness of responsible innovations as sources of real value to the business and their stakeholders. The chapter presents findings from theoretical and desk research on innovative practices of responsible corporations and small and medium-sized enterprises in the Polish market, and some propositions to introduce successful and sustainable CSR innovations with higher value.