Cultural and contextual influences on corporate social responsibility

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of managerial cultural values and the contextual environment (country of origin and country of operation) on corporate social responsibility (CSR) investments in three Asian countries. Design/methodology/approach A total of 150 questionnaires were collected from 150 companies located in Taiwan, Malaysia and Singapore. The potential influence of ethnicity on cultural values was controlled by collecting data from ethnic Chinese managers. Findings The results show that senior managers, especially their cultural values, play a crucial role in directing Asian companies’ CSR investments. In addition, the context (a firm’s country of origin and country of operation) also differentiates the cultural values and CSR investments in these three countries. Originality/value The study adds to the understanding of the influence of managerial cultural values and context on various aspects of CSR. Especially, the study offers valuable managerial implications for CSR implementation from the Chinese management perspective. Considering the fast global expansion of Chinese companies, the results concerning how Chinese managers’ cultural values influence their CSR investments priority offer valuable managerial implications. The comparisons of cultural values and CSR investments priority among ethnic Chinese managers in different contextual environments also serve as good starting points for future studies.