AIB 2012 Conference Proceedings - Academy of International ...

SUNDAY
Session: 1.3.7 - Competitive
Track: 1 - Institutions, Governance, and CSR
Corporate Social Responsibility and International Business
Presented On: July 1, 2012 - 13:00-14:15
Chair: Rafael Lucea, George Washington University
Adoption of CSR Practices in Global Production Networks: An Embeddedness Perspective
Valentina Marano, University of South Carolina
Tatiana Kostova, University of South Carolina
We examine the diffusion of CSR practices within a firm's global production networks (GPNs). We do so by
explaining a firm's decision to engage in CSR through the lenses of its GPN-related complex embeddedness,
which reflects the patterns of focal firm's inter- and intra-firm ties, and the multiple institutional pressures the
firm is exposed to through these ties. In the proposed conceptualization, a GPN spans multiple countries, and
entails different types of economic ties between the focal firm and its business partners. These economic ties
are interpreted both as channels through which resources and information can be accessed, and networks of
meanings, in which focal firms are socialized into certain institutional arrangements, including CSR-related
matters. We hypothesize that, as focal firms become increasingly involved in these networks, they develop
understandings and views about appropriate courses of action concerning CSR. Based on longitudinal data on
861 U.S. corporations, our study finds support for our general model. Results indicate that firms' decisions to
engage in CSR are influenced by the patterns of inter- and intra-firm ties within their GPNs, as well as by the
multiple institutional pressures concerning CSR that they are exposed to through these ties. (For more
information, please contact: Valentina Marano, University of South Carolina, USA:
valentina.marano@gmail.com)
Behind the Variation of Corporate Social Responsibility Practices in Emerging Economies
Weichieh Su, University of Texas at Dallas
Mike Peng, University of Texas at Dallas
Weiqiang Tan, Hong Kong Baptist University
Yan-Leung Cheung , Hong Kong Baptist University
Why do firms respond to corporate social responsibility (CSR) differently across emerging economies Drawing
from the institution-based view and signaling theory, we propose that the variation of CSR practices in emerging
economies can be explained by national culture and market reaction. Specifically, due to the deficiency of
formal regulations on CSR, firms resort to societal norms to make decisions regarding social issues.
Furthermore, because the availability of information varies in different capital markets, CSR may send different
strengths of signal to investors and result in different degrees of market reactions. Based on a sample of firms
from ten Asian emerging economies, we find that national culture is associated with CSR practices. We also find
that the positive relationship between CSR practices and firm performance is stronger in less developed capital
markets than in more developed capital markets. (For more information, please contact: Weichieh Su, University
of Texas at Dallas, USA: weichieh.su@gmail.com)
Corporate Social Responsibility, Smoking Bans and Market Seeking FDI in the Tobacco Industry
Nigel Driffield, Aston University
Crotty Jo, Salford University
Chris Jones, Aston University
AIB 2012 Conference Proceedings
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