A Stakeholder Identity Orientation Approach to Corporate Social Performance in Family Firms

Abstract

corporate social performance, family firms, stakeholder theory,

The Corporate Social Responsibility of Family Businesses: An International Approach

“…It also qualifies the results of other empirical studies, notably those of Uhlaner et al (2012) [96], who, based on a sample of small-and medium-sized Dutch businesses, showed a conditional influence of family businesses on their commitments, which favored environmentally-friendly practices. Similarly, while the study by [13], on a sample of large, publicly-traded S&P 500 companies, partially confirms our hypotheses, it also suggests that in North America there is a positive relationship between family businesses and some dimensions of CSR-in particular those related to community initiatives and employee relations. Their results suggested that the effect increases with the level of family involvement in the business.…”

“…This addresses the psychological factors at work, through the overlap between organizational and individual identity (Hogg, 2003 [63]; Hogg and Terry, 2001 [64]). The authors of [13] use the theory of organizational identity (Albert and Whetten, 1985 [65]) to explain the CSR of family businesses: such businesses orient their identity towards their stakeholders. Non-family firms make fewer engagements to socially responsible activities and only to the extent that they match individual identities.…”

“…They consider stakeholders from a transactional perspective-in terms of the objective of creating value. In contrast, the identity of family firms is collective and relational; they create close links with stakeholders that are in line with their individual characteristics [13].…”

Sustainability Reporting in Family Firms: A Panel Data Analysis

“…This suggests that these findings could be affected by the family involvement in active management; therefore, it is of interest to estimate the effect of different levels of involvement. Several authors suggest that the extent of family involvement shape a firm's attitude towards social and environmental responsible activities and generate heterogeneity among family businesses [69][70][71]. Bingham et al [69] assert that increased levels of family involvement bring a collectivistic orientation towards stakeholders as non-economic objectives, such as endorsing the ethical values shared and perpetuated by the family members [71], become more important [30,45].…”

“…Several authors suggest that the extent of family involvement shape a firm's attitude towards social and environmental responsible activities and generate heterogeneity among family businesses [69][70][71]. Bingham et al [69] assert that increased levels of family involvement bring a collectivistic orientation towards stakeholders as non-economic objectives, such as endorsing the ethical values shared and perpetuated by the family members [71], become more important [30,45]. This transgenerational perspective is enhanced by the presence of the founder in active management [72] who plays a relevant role in the adoption of this collectivistic orientation, enhancing the firm's activism towards the community, employees and the supplying of quality products and services to consumers [69].…”