Stakeholder perception on corporate reputation and management efficiency: Evidence from the Spanish Defence sector

Abstract

This article examines the relationship between the concepts of efficiency and corporate social responsibility (CSR). The main aim is to discuss if CSR policy has an effective influence which leads to a high degree of technical efficiency. Accordingly, the image projected to society should be strengthened. Under this scenario, an equivalent level of confidence in the public sector should be expected. Otherwise public decision‐makers should reformulate their SR strategy, since the impact would not only be economic but would also lead to a negative externality in relation to the image that the sector projects to society. Accordingly, a case study for the Defence sector in Spain is part of this article. Given a set of discretionary variables, the Spanish Defence Delegations efficiency for the 2015–2017 period is assessed by means of data envelopment analysis technique. A bootstrap procedure is used to eliminate the bias of the estimates and obtain a robust ranking. The results show that efficient management does not have the expected positive effect on the Army's corporate reputation as measured by the image perceived by the stakeholders. Implications for practice and limitations of this study conclude the article.

Stakeholder engagement and corporate social reputation: The influence of exogenous factors on efficiency performance (stakeholder engagement and exogenous factors)

“…The results offered remarkable excellence with high average efficiency, raising from 68.5% on average in 2015 and 2016 to 75.6% in 2017. The aim of the extension of the SCT empirical application presented here is the second part of that European statement, which argues that the quality of the public services, i.e., the efficiency, also correlates with the level of trust in the Public Administration, but, as noted by Solana Ibáñez et al (2020, p. 2394): “ However, this work obtains, as a more outstanding and main result that, in the case of Spain, the superior distrust in the Army is not the result of a low quality of the services provided ”.…”

“…Before drawing early conclusions, it is appropriate to explore further a methodological issue that was in fact pointed out in the concluding remarks of the pioneering work by Solana Ibáñez et al (2020, p. 2394): “ the units performance may be determined by the possible influence of non‐controllable variables but influencing the distance to the efficient boundary. Consequently, an efficiency determinants analysis would be mandatory in strictly financial or cost control studies .”…”

“…The current article is therefore framed within the third line, which, in sum, tackles the topic of how the SCR influences the RC. In Solana Ibáñez et al (2020), hereinafter referred to as SCT, authors present a pioneering link between CSR and the degree of technical efficiency. The efficiency of a leading exponent in Spanish CSR public sector policy, the 19th Spanish Defense Delegations (SDD), were assessed for the 2015–2017 period by means of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) technique.…”

“…Third, on the basis of works such as that of Heikkurinen (2010), Shauki (2011), Benoit (2013), Stacks et al (2013), Ozdora Aksak et al (2016), Javed et al (2020), or Solana Ibáñez et al (2020), a research line investigates whether involvement in CSR activities increases stakeholder confidence building a positive corporate image, and from that, enhances reputation.…”

Gestão Sustentável na Cadeia de Suprimentos da Indústria do Tabaco

“…Sua proposta principal é a mensuração dos resultados de uma organização partir dos pilares econômico, social e ambiental (Elkington; 2012) e a clareza do conceito de sustentabilidade é alcançada a partir da estruturação destes três pilares (Barbieri & Cajazeira, 2010). Deste modo, a sustentabilidade envolve a atividade economicamente viável, socialmente justa e ecologicamente correta, implicando em uma nova cultura corporativa (Solana-Ibáñez, Caravaca-Garratón & Teruel-Sánchez, 2020).…”