CR & Governance

Socio-economic Development and Environmental Values – Exploring Sustainability-related Media Coverage and the Human Development Index
(Barkemeyer, Ralf & Figge, Frank & Holt, Diane)

Social Responsibility as a Driver for Local Sustainable Development
(Costantino, Elena & Marchello, Maria Paola & Mezzano, Cecilia)

Can “dependent” countries implement mandatory CSR?
(Hackett, Ciara)

Trade union motivations to embrace CSR
Kazmi, Syed Sajid Hussain Shah)

CSR in the Media: Approaches and attitudes to Corporate Social Responsibility of business journals in Hungary
(Matolay, Réka & Pataki, György)

Environmental Management Practices in Portuguese Local Public Administration
(Nogueiro, Luís & Ramos, Tomás B.)

Relational governance and the development of CSR in Russia: what role for government and civil society as drivers for policy and practice?
(Zueva, Anna & Fairbrass, Jenny)

Socio-economic Development and Environmental Values – Exploring Sustainability-related Media Coverage and the Human Development Index
(Barkemeyer, Ralf & Figge, Frank & Holt, Diane)

This paper explores the relationship between levels of socio-economic development as measured by the Human Development Index (HDI), and relative levels of media coverage on environmental and socio-economic issues. The commonly proposed argument of higher values attributed to sustainability/ environmental issues associated with rising levels of development is explored in relation to media coverage on these issues, where media coverage is used as a surrogate measure of the societal awareness and importance of environmental issues and wider sustainability concepts. A number of studies have considered the quantitative rise and fall in media coverage of environmental issues as a measure of public attention and opinion, though most consider fairly restricted data sets with a geographical bias and/or limited longitudinal scope. This study utilises a worldwide sample 115 leading national newspapers across 39 different countries over an 18 year time period from January 1990 – December 2008.

In the first section, a brief overview of media coverage on sustainability-related media coverage is presented. Subsequently, a synopsis of academic literature on the impact of socio-economic development on environmental values is provided, paying particular attention to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and Inglehart’s scarcity and socialization hypotheses. In the third part of the paper, the results of a correlation analysis of HDI levels and the extent of media coverage on environmental and socioeconomic issues in sustainability are presented. The paper concludes with a discussion of the results in the context of international Corporate Social Responsibility.

Key words: Sustainability, Human Development Index, Media Representation, International CSR

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Social Responsibility as a Driver for Local Sustainable Development
(Costantino, Elena & Marchello, Maria Paola & Mezzano, Cecilia)

Abstract

The increased interconnection among local and global players induced by globalization, as well as the need for a complete application of the “subsidiary principle”, calls for a re-thinking of the “corporate social responsibility” concept. This new concept broadens the perspective of the single company interacting with its own stakeholders in relation to specific social and environmental impacts, to a network of organizations, with different aims and natures, collaborating on relevant sustainability issues.

In this paper, the authors will provide a definition of “Territorial Social Responsibility”, sustaining the multistakeholder approach as a driver toward local sustainable development. Firstly, theoretical approaches to sustainable development at the territorial level will be examined, identifying the most innovative ideas into governance, network relation and development theories. The idea of development focuses not only on the economic aspects, but on the structural and institutional factors. The existence of cooperative territorial networks is essential to fulfill the creation of tangible and intangible assets at the local level. At the same time, the effectiveness of the decision-making and rules’ system can stimulate and empower territorial networks to tackle sustainable development.

An analytical framework, scheme-shaped, will be set in order to identify the main aspects indicators and practices characterizing the territorial social responsibility concept. It will represent a first attempt to create a feasible instrument aimed at understanding how cooperative social responsible actors, operating in the same territory, could direct the path toward sustainable development.

Keywords: local sustainable development, territorial social responsibility, participation, local governance, accountability, sustainability reporting, multistakeholder approach, networks

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Can “dependent” countries implement mandatory CSR?
(Hackett, Ciara)

Research Proposal

This country looks at the potential of the resurgence of post imperial “dependency theory” of the 1960s and 1970s. Suggesting that the initial premise of the theory was just the article proposes the reworking of the theory in order to incorporate globalisation processes namely the importance of global capital generated by Multi National Corporations. By considering that capital is now the “core” we have the idea of a much wider catchment of states “dependent” on global capital. Using Ireland as an example therefore, the article pursues the idea that a dependent state's ability to implement CSR legislation is inhibited by the constraints of capital. The article concludes with the idea that CSR could potentially be enforced on a supranational level (e.g. EU in the case of Ireland) although noting the compromise of current policy that this would entail.

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Trade union motivations to embrace CSR
Kazmi, Syed Sajid Hussain Shah)

Abstract

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has voluntary basis of corporate support to stakeholders and community, which is in contrast to the European tradition of legally binding rules on employee welfare and participation in corporate decision-making. Trade unions cannot ignore the phenomenon of corporate social responsibility. CSR is both a challenge and a chance for improving labour conditions and nurturing community. According to some, it is one of the most important trends in global economy in recent years, which might answer negative consequences of globalization. As of now, trade unions in Europe have showed a mixed response to this phenomenon and have adopted a broad spectrum of positions on CSR.

These responses vary from total antagonism to the idea to complete internalization of the concept by presenting themselves as drivers of CSR. The key argument is that the whole process is linked to Neoliberalism. The outcome of neoliberal approach is deregulation, not only of financial market, but labour market also. Withdrawal of state from regulation of multinational corporations has created a vacuum. This vacuum has been filled by self-regulation and CSR has emerged as a concept or an alternative. Trade unions lack state support and the alternatives could be statutory and voluntary codes of conduct. The proposed research analyses the positions adopted by those trade unions in Europe that see CSR as an opportunity. On the basis of this analysis, it tries to explain various motivations for trade unions to embrace the concept of CSR.

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CSR in the Media: Approaches and attitudes to Corporate Social Responsibility of business journals in Hungary
(Matolay, Réka & Pataki, György)

Research aim: To explore approaches and attitudes to understanding of CSR in the Hungarian economic and business media.

Research method: Internet archives of eight printed and online economic and business journals were screened by a set of pre-tested search terms. The journals (2-2 daily newspapers, weekly journals, monthly magazines and online sources) cover all major, established economic and business media in Hungary except television and radio channels. A database of articles was built and studied by qualitative (discourse analysis) and quantitative (content analysis) research methods.

Findings: Besides having a timeline of CSR topics in the Hungarian business media, approaches to CSR have been mapped. Marketing-PR and win-win strategic streams of CSR explanations have gathered the most ground, though interpretations of responsibility and sustainability based exclusively on ethical considerations were also available. There was a tendency to introduce CSR-activities mainly in the face of the CSR definition of the European Committee. Cited actors in the field of CSR belonged to a relatively small set of international corporations with few local initiatives included. International aspects of CSR were intensified by not only the overwhelming presence of MNC-s but generally there was a strong focus on CSR activities in Europe and US. Regarding stakeholders a rather narrow view was transmitted by the business media, highlighting the relevance of only four stakeholder groups (shareholders, employees, consumers, natural environment). On a positiveneutral- negative scale media attitudes toward CSR were mostly positive with rare exceptions of doubters.

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Environmental Management Practices in Portuguese Local Public Administration
(Nogueiro, Luís & Ramos, Tomás B.)

Abstract

The adoption of environmental management practices in the overall management is a rising reality in business sector. Also, local public institutions are shifting their management towards sustainability. Local governments are moving faster than the remaining public sector levels regarding the integration of environmental and sustainability operations and strategies. The main goal of this research is to identify the environmental profile of the Local Public Administration, using the Portuguese municipalities as a case study.

This paper assesses how environmental practices have been adopted in this sector, based on a self-assessment by the local public services. To accomplish this, a survey questionnaire was forwarded to all municipalities in the country in order to identify and analyse the environmental practices in the public sector.

The evaluation of the degree of implementation of some environmental management practices was based on the Municipality Environmental Performance Evaluation (MEPE) index, which was developed on the basis of the data obtained in ten selected variables of the national survey. . The overall results demonstrate a low adoption level of environmental management practices. One concludes that new practices and public policies need to be adopted to invert the current trend. This research can support municipalities to introduce environmental management practices in order to enhance the environmental performance of these organizations.

Keywords: Local public sector; environmental management practices; questionnaire survey; Portuguese municipalities

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Relational governance and the development of CSR in Russia: what role for government and civil society as drivers for policy and practice?
(Zueva, Anna & Fairbrass, Jenny)

Scholars have had an interest in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) for over five decades. Part of the research undertaken into CSR has concerned itself with the relations with, and impact of, stakeholders on the policy and practice of firms in terms of their social, economic and environmental obligations to society. Some recently published work has focused particularly on the significance of two key sets of stakeholders: the government and civil society. This paper contributes to that debate exploring the impact of government and civil society as drivers for CSR among Russian firms. This paper draws on a number of data sources and types of analysis. Firstly, documentary analysis reveals the shape of Russian central government policy. Postal survey data indicate the values and practices espoused by the largest Russian companies. Finally, stakeholder influence is also further examined at the micro-level in the form of a case study. It concerns the building of a hydroelectric dam in northeastern Siberia. Interviews with corporate representatives and government officials combined with documents from NGOs, involved corporations, the Russian government and the press, allow us to assess the impact of the two highlighted sets of stakeholders on the firms at the centre of the case study.

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