Walking and Talking Corporate Social Responsibility: Implications of Firm Size and Organizational Cost

Abstract

In this paper we address two interrelated research gaps in the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) literature. The first results from a lack of understanding of different patterns of CSR engagement with respect to CSR talk (impression management and the creation of symbolic images and documentation) and CSR walk (substantive implementation of CSR policies, structures and procedures). Related to this, the second gap concerns limited knowledge about the influence of firm size on CSR engagement. We develop a conceptual model that explains differences in CSR talk versus walk based on organizational cost and firm size. This allows us to theorize the antecedents of what we call the large firm implementation gap (large firms tend to focus on communicating CSR symbolically but do less to implement it into their core structures and procedures) and vice versa the small firm communication gap (less active communication and more emphasis on implementation). Our model expands a new theoretical understanding of CSR engagement based on as yet underemphasized firm‐level antecedents of CSR, and opens up several new avenues for future, and in particular comparative, research.

Saying and doing: Social responsibility declared and applied

“…Social innovation usually rests on a normative stance that addresses societal challenges, which in turn can fulfil stakeholder concerns about transparency about social responsibility (Nekhili et al, ), which can be based on reporting on social responsibility (Osburg, ). Reporting on social responsibility reflects an instrumental stance (Brammer & Pavelin, ; Carroll & Shabana, ; Hahn, Figge, Pinkse, & Preuss, ), but the increased engagement that is likely to come about through reporting on social responsibility may drive social innovation efforts, reflecting a normative stance (Donaldson & Dunfee, ; Hahn et al, ; Kolk & Pinkse, ; Wickert et al, ). Following from these arguments, we hypothesize as follows:H2.…”

Seriously Personal: The Reasons that Motivate Entrepreneurs to Address Climate Change

“…Revealing a more differentiated understanding of entrepreneurial motivations in response to climate change is of crucial importance because entrepreneurs drive social and economic innovation (Wickert et al 2016;BaumannPauly et al 2013). They revolutionize patterns of production (Schumpeter 1934) through the acceptance of risk (Carland et al 1984;Burns 2011) and their ability to foresee socio-economic opportunities (Drucker 1988;Kirzner 1999).…”

Does involvement in corporate social irresponsibility affect the linguistic features of corporate social responsibility reports?

“…In terms of managerial implications, we recommend that stakeholders pay keen attention not only to what CSR reports say but also to how they say it. In other words, large firms can use CSR reports to “take advantage of the information asymmetry between internal processes and externally projected images” (Wickert, , 1180). Indeed, stakeholders of large and highly visible firms, such as those we considered in our study, often have relatively low proximity to firms, which makes it more difficult to assess companies' true social performances.…”

“…In terms of managerial implications, we recommend that stakeholders pay keen attention not only to what CSR reports say but also to how they say it. In other words, large firms can use CSR reports to "take advantage of the information asymmetry between internal processes and externally projected images" (Wickert, 2016(Wickert, , 1180.…”