Consequences of Social and Environmental Corporate Responsibility Practices: Managers’ Perception in Mozambique

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to analyze the relationship between the social and environmental practices of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), and the economic–financial, social, and environmental performance in Mozambican companies, from the managers’ perspectives. The data were collected from a sample of 227 companies through a survey questionnaire. We used structural equation modelling to analyze how the managers correlate the different social and environmental practices with performance at the financial, social, and environmental levels. The results showed that the relationship between all major components of the social and environmental practices, and the economic–financial, social, and environmental performance is positive but insignificant with the exception of the social practices of community support, which has a weak relationship with the economic–financial performance, environmental performance, and social performance, as well as the environmental practices. The data indicate that there is a need for strengthening the appropriate economic–financial incentive policies and strategies for the agents who promote good CSR practices in the country, in order to obtain satisfactory, measurable, and comparable economic–financial, social, and environmental performance.

Determining Factors For Social and Environmental Practices of Corporate Responsibility in Mozambique

“…Legitimation strategies, if employed, may vary between countries, and analysis about how managers react to certain events have to explicitly consider the specific national, historical and cultural context (Deegan, 2002;Hossain et al, 2016;Hunjra et al, 2021). This contextual specificity leads to the interest of focusing new research on emerging economies, where scientific production is still scarce and the institutional and regulatory context is weak, as in the case of Mozambique (Madime and Gonçalves, 2022).…”

“…3 In this new approach to the concept, it is understood that companies are inserted in a complex environment, where their activities have an impact on various social agents, the local community and society in general. Therefore, the orientation of the business that aims to meet only the production of profit for shareholders, as advocated by Adam Smith, becomes insufficient, and it is necessary to incorporate social and environmental objectives in the business plan, as a way to integrate companies into society (Madime & Gonçalves, 2022;Baldarelli et al , 2017). In this sense, the focus of companies is no longer merely economic, taking into account social and environmental aspects, as a way to make their contribution to a more sustainable world and to guarantee their reputation to their stakeholders (Cho et al, 2009).…”

“…Mozambique is no exception. The current awareness of the environment and sustainable development in Mozambique results from the contribution of national and international environmental movements and the existence of a normative and regulatory framework on various environmental issues, influenced by the decisions of the main conferences and international studies (Madime & Gonçalves, 2022). However, according to Sitoe (2011), it is not clear how companies are operational about CSR.…”

Gender Diversity on the Board and Firms’ Corporate Social Responsibility

“…Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has progressively assumed a strategic role in corporate business. A socially responsible company more easily obtains the trust of its employees, consumers, and citizens; therefore, relying on a sustainable business basis and top management is especially focused on this issue (Orlitzky et al 2003;Blomgren 2011;Ducassy 2013;Michelon et al 2013;Madime and Gonçalves 2022). In fact, companies have increasingly committed themselves to CSR practices, and environmental management, solidarity, customer loyalty, and business ethics have gained prominence, leading to competitive advantages (López et al 2007;Gonçalves et al 2020).…”

Corporate Social Responsibility and Product Market Power

“…Some studies have investigated the impact of CSR on financial performance (Cochran and Wood 1984;Ramzan et al 2021;Tsoutsoura 2004;Uyar et al 2020;Saeidi et al 2015;Peloza 2009;Madime and Gonçalves 2022), firm value (Gregory et al 2014;Qiu et al 2020), corporate innovation (Gallego-Álvarez et al 2011;Chkir et al 2020), and reputation (Eberle et al 2013;Fombrun and Shanley 1990;Fombrun 2005;Sánchez-Torné et al 2020). However, few studies have examined the relationship between CSR and product market power.…”