Corporate Social and Environmental Responsibility in an Emerging Economy: Through the Lens of Legitimacy Theory

Abstract

Efforts to promote Corporate Social and Environmental Responsibility (CSER) require an understanding of stakeholder attitudes toward enhanced responsibility. However, little is known about current attitudes on this subject, or the determinants of these attitudes. This study presents a survey of the attitudes of Indian managers, toward 18 social and 16 key contemporary environmental management issues. The findings indicate that respondents are concerned about a range of issues surrounding social responsibility. With respect to environmental responsibilities, Indian respondents were also strong in their support, and identified a select few issues to be more important over other environmental factors. Results indicated a positive attitude of Indian managers towards CSER. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) confirmed three distinct social and environmental factors for the respondents and provided a model of managerial attitudes towards CSER. AbstractEfforts to promote Corporate Social and Environmental Responsibility (CSER) require an understanding of stakeholder attitudes toward enhanced responsibility. However, little is known about current attitudes on this subject, or the determinants of these attitudes. This study presents a survey of the attitudes of Indian managers, toward 18 social and 16 key contemporary environmental management issues. The findings indicate that respondents are concerned about a range of issues surrounding social responsibility. With respect to environmental responsibilities, Indian respondents were also strong in their support, and identified a select few issues to be more important over other environmental factors. Results indicated a positive attitude of Indian managers towards CSER. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) confirmed three distinct social and environmental factors for the respondents and provided a model of managerial attitudes towards CSER. JEL Classification: M48, N55, Q20

Sustainability reporting adoption in developing countries: managerial perception-based determinants evidence from Uganda

“…Finally, the organisation can attempt, again through communication, to become identified with symbols, values or institutions which have a strong base of social legitimacy. However, Bhattacharyya (2015) suggests that organisational legitimacy is not a universal concept, and that whether an organisation and its actions are perceived as legitimate is socially created, and therefore subject to change in the social environment in which the organisation operates.…”

Role of CSR in the consumer decision making process – The case of India

“…The information provided by firms should be thorough and adequate for CSR to be considered as a purchase criterion. Efforts to promote CSR activities involve a thorough understanding of stakeholder attitudes toward CSR activities (Bhattacharyya, 2015). In this case, there were consumers who were willing to purchase from a responsible firm, provided they had enough information:…”

Editorial Volume 9, Issue 2

“…That is, some studies have claimed that it pays to be green and at the same time, other studies have observed that it does not pay to be green. Bhattacharyya (2015) in his paper argues that India, although enjoying a high economic growth rate similar to other BRIC and emerging economies, is not doing enough in terms of its responsibility with respect to sustainable development. Like many other emerging economies, India is also highly vocal against adopting regulatory measures to contribute to sustainable development citing the negative financial impacts of such measures in its corporate and business sectors.…”

“…Like many other emerging economies, India is also highly vocal against adopting regulatory measures to contribute to sustainable development citing the negative financial impacts of such measures in its corporate and business sectors. However, Bhattacharyya (2015) provides evidence that the Indian corporate sector will welcome mandatory corporate social responsibility reporting which indicates that Indian regulators should not be shying away from implementing stringent regulations promoting the sustainable development of India.…”