Doing well by doing good in Thailand

Abstract

Purpose-This paper seeks to explore whether strategic corporate social responsibility (CSR), the latest stage of conceptual development in CR, is evident in real business practices. Design/methodology/approach-Using Thailand as a context, the paper responds to the call for study beyond the developed economic regions. With a limited number of proactive companies in CSR in the country, this qualitative study employs in-depth interviews supplemented with reviews of sustainability reports and other available corporate documents to explore the frontier of CSR practices in Thailand. The informants include key executives directly in charge of CSR and corporate direction in the organizations. Findings-The assessment finds that a small group of recognized CSR leaders have started integrating CSR into their corporate strategy to gain competitive advantages, suggesting a gradual emergence of strategic CSR with various benefits. However, a mixed response from the market implies conditions for management consideration. Practical implications-CSR can be viable in competitive strategy particularly in gaining a social license to operate and for corporate reputation. Nevertheless, balancing stakeholder interests should be managed with extra care. Positive stakeholder reaction in one issue may alleviate but cannot offset deeply rooted problems in another. Originality/value-Based on the synthesis of several CSR models, this paper proposes a new stratification scheme to identify the stage of CSR development. The empirical results also indicate the development of strategic CSR in the context of emerging economy.

Can Environmental and Social Performance of Thai-listed Companies Create Sustainable Value?

“…In addition, little research has been undertaken on the linkage between environmental and social information in financial/annual reports and corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosures. Although some previous studies examined environmental and social aspects in Thai context, an integration of environmental and social accounting in a company's financial report has not been widely explored in the literature, particularly in relation to the linkage between information in annual reports and CSR disclosure (Kuasirikun, 2005;Kuasirikun & Sherer, 2004;Suthisak Kraisornsuthasinee & Swierczek, 2009).…”

“…Thai companies are aiming to implement and demonstrate greater concerns and responsibility for environmental and social problems (Ratanajongkol et al, 2006). Environmental and social information has been attempted to incorporate in annual reports and voluntary disclosures to add shareholder value in the eye of stakeholders and public (Prayukvong & Olsen, 2014;Suthisak Kraisornsuthasinee & Swierczek, 2009). With this greater business opportunity, this study examined the environmental and social data integrated in annual reports CSR disclosures of listed companies in Thailand for sustainable value creation in the eye of stakeholders and users.…”

L’acceptabilité sociale : une notion en consolidation

“…D'un point de vue théorique, l'acceptabilité sociale renvoie à deux traditions dans la littérature de gestion (Raufflet et al, 2012), soit une extension des recherches sur la responsabilité sociale des entreprises (RSE) qui se concentre sur les entreprises qui adoptent des pratiques pour le bénéfice de leurs communautés au-delà de la conformité aux lois et règlements en vigueur ou soit la théorie des parties prenantes (TPP), qui s'intéresse à la recherche de légitimité des entreprises à travers une gestion de leurs relations avec leurs parties prenantes. Alors que la première tradition présente l'acceptabilité sociale comme le résultat immédiat des efforts des entreprises en matière d'activités RSE (Kraisornsuthasinee et Swierczek, 2009), la seconde tradition conçoit plutôt l'acceptabilité sociale comme un contrat social qui lie l'entreprise à ses parties prenantes.…”

“…La confiance est en effet la base de toute relation entre une entreprise et des communautés locales; elle nécessite du temps et des efforts continus qui résultent en des expériences partagées. Kraisornsuthasinee et Swierczek (2009) indiquent ainsi que l'acceptabilité sociale se nourrit principalement de la confiance entre la firme et ses parties prenantes. Selon ces auteurs, cette confiance permet non seulement d'éviter des malentendus entre les parties prenantes, mais surtout d'offrir « an essential sup port for the company particularly in difficult situations.…”

CSR Analysis: A Reflection from Businesses and the Public in Thailand

“…It was reported that the key driver of Thai CSR is for the purpose of "tax relief". Many research point out key problematic areas in CSR development in Thailand that with different interpretations of CSR and its priorities, it causes CSR to be anything ranging from simply donation, legal compliance, or corporate governance (Kraisornsuthasinee and Swierczek, 2009;Wottrich and Sastararuji, 2007). Also there is a rising concern on the way companies conduct their CSR -whether they could be call CSR?…”