Abstract
The concept of creating company value is constantly evolving due to globalization, changing business realities, and the widely expanded idea of corporate social responsibility (CSR). The purpose of the chapter is three-fold. Firstly, it describes CSR involvement and CSR reporting practices in emerging countries. Secondly, it presents different theories related to value creation. Thirdly, it investigates CSR value creation measurement and disclosure in emerging economies (Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, Egypt, India, Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia, Peru, Russia, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, and Vietnam). The authors conducted content analysis of all publications concerning CSR issues and value creation in emerging countries over the years 1984-2019 included in Scopus database. Among publications over the years 2014-2019, several concerned strictly CSR implications to value creation in emerging economies.
TopIntroduction
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainable development (SD) are two notions that are increasingly researched all over the world. CSR can be understood as “the social responsibility of business that encompasses the economic, legal, ethical, and discretionary expectations that society has of organizations at a given point in time” (Carroll, 1979). CSR is generally considered as a firm’s obligation to protect and improve social welfare (Staples, 2004) through various business and social actions (Sen & Bhattacharya, 2001; Turban & Greening, 1997), ensuring equitable and sustainable benefits for the stakeholders. The second idea – sustainable development – represents an ethical concept related to fight against poverty and protect the environment simultaneously and on a macro-level (Baumgartner & Ebner, 2010). When incorporated by the firm, it is called corporate sustainability (CS), and it contains, like the former concept, three aspects: economic, environmental, and social (Baumgartner & Ebner, 2010).
Engagement in activities leading to sustainable development has emerged as an important dimension of corporate voluntary practice worldwide (Lacy, Cooper, Hayward, & Neuberger, 2010). Almost all business decisions involve social and environmental issues; decisions about how much to pay the executives, what technologies to install in a new manufacturing facility, as well as how and when to retire old plants – all affect the firm’s stakeholders and the natural environment (Montiel, 2008). They are frequently analyzed in the Western and US economies. Jamali and Karam (2016) note that CSR remains a concept dominated by Western frames, nuances, and connotations, as presented in mainstream management and business literature. Developed market economies demonstrate a growing interest in issues concerning CSR and its effects, as it is confirmed by the sizeable theoretical and empirical literature on that subject (Fijałkowska, Zyznarska-Dworczak & Garsztka, 2018; Jamali, Karam, Yin & Soundararajan, 2017). While ideas of sustainability and corporate social responsibility have a relatively long history in developed economies due to well-established values of business standards, stable socio-economic, and political conditions as well as strong legal systems, in practice, however, it is the emerging economies who are most in need of sustainable ways of conducting business (Voinea & Fratostiteanu, 2018).
Key Terms in this Chapter
Stakeholder: Any person, organization, social group, or society at large that has a stake (vital interest) in the business, which can include ownership and property interests, legal interests and obligations, and moral rights.
Value Creation: The performance of actions that increase the worth of goods, services or even a business. Many business operators now focus on value creation both in the context of creating better value for customers purchasing its products and services, as well as for shareholders in the business who want to see their stake appreciate in value.
CSR Report: A report published by a company or organization about the economic, environmental, and social impacts caused by its everyday activities.
Sustainable Development: Development that meets the needs of the present, without compromising the ability of future, generations to meet their own needs.
Corporate Social Responsibility: (CSR): A concept whereby companies integrate social and environmental concerns in their business operations and interactions with their stakeholders.
Shareholder: An individual, group, or organization that owns one or more shares in a company, and in whose name the share certificate is issued.
Sustainable Value: The ability to provide value that sustains the organization and the context within which it exists, that integrates the economic, environmental and social dimension of sustainability.