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What's in it for me?: owner-CEO-driven CSR : how formative experiences shape corporate social responsibility
Dissertation   Open access

What's in it for me?: owner-CEO-driven CSR : how formative experiences shape corporate social responsibility

Simon Nijnens
Doctor of Business Administration (D.B.A.), Drexel University
Mar 2024
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17918/00001958
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Abstract

Business enterprises--Management Chief executive officers Social responsibility of business CSR ESG Owner-CEO Sustainability
This qualitative grounded theory study reveals new insights by exploring how the formative experiences of owner-CEOs shape the corporate social responsibilities (CSR) practices of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Despite SMEs representing over 90% of all companies in OECD countries, research on their CSR practices has been rare. In addition, the research that has been done was predominantly outcome focused. This dissertation addresses this gap by exploring the antecedents of CSR, particularly the role of the underlying personal experiences of the most important actor in an SME: its owner-CEO. It also introduces a new classification of CSR initiatives based on a company's underlying motives and level of engagement. This innovative classification, comprised of neglecting, calculative, and aspirational CSR, provides a fresh perspective on how companies approach CSR. The findings indicate that, although some companies neglected CSR and some other companies tried to make an impact through aspirational CSR, most companies in this study engaged in calculative CSR. Most owner-CEOs approached CSR with the practical mindset of "What's in it for me? They engaged in calculative CSR to achieve certain specific goals, such as accumulating financial wealth or seeking respect and admiration. To enable a deeper, more nuanced understanding of how owner-CEOs arrive at these different positions, it became clear that a new framework was needed. This study provides just that: a new process-oriented model to help academic researchers, as well as employees, investors, consumers, regulators, and other stakeholders, better understand and assess a company's approach to CSR. This process-oriented model reveals the relationships among (a) CEOs' personal motives and perceptions of CSR, shaped by their formative experiences, (b) the influence of key stakeholders on the scope of CSR, and (c) the subsequent translation of this CSR scope into CSR actions. Overall, these new frameworks contribute to the leadership and CSR literature and various theories, such as shareholder theory, stakeholder theory, upper echelon theory, and socioemotional wealth theory. Using this new framework revealed several insights. First, neither CEOs nor stakeholders see CSR as one singular construct; they see social, economic, ethical, voluntary, and environmental issues as distinctly different issues that might need a response. Viewing these CSR dimensions as distinctly separate issues influences how CEOs (as well as stakeholders) conceptualize and define CSR. Second, CSR changes from personal and informal in smaller companies to strategic and formal in large companies. The fewer stakeholders, the more important and pronounced the personal characteristics of the main decision-makers become. Third, the ambiguity of the CSR concept, along with vague timelines and vague objectives such as improving customer or employee relations, combined with the challenge of quantifying results, allows SME owner-CEOs to proclaim success in CSR if they choose to do so. These findings culminate in a new understanding. The perceptions of CSR and personal motivations of the most important stakeholders, including the CEO, significantly impact a company's CSR. These perceptions and motivations are heavily influenced by the stakeholders' formative experiences. The impact of these experiences becomes more pronounced as the number of stakeholders decreases. Understanding the profound impact of owner-CEOs' formative experiences on a company's social responsibility provides a new lens through which to view companies and their role in building a more equitable and sustainable society.

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