Institutional drivers for corporate social responsibility in the utilities sector

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to examine the influence of characteristics of the institutionalenvironment on the disclosure of corporate social responsibility (CSR).Design/methodology/approach – This is a quantitative and descriptive research. The dependent variablesused were environmental dimension (ED) and social dimension (SD) that together compose the corporate socialperformance (CSP). The independent variables that will be used are the characteristics of the institutionalenvironments of Brazil and the UK. Thus, for this end, variables of the national business system of both countrieswill be used: corruption transparency, access to credit by countries, quality of the education system and laborrelations. After their collection, the data were submitted to descriptive and inferential statistics and hierarchicalregression.Findings – Data show that UK companies make more disclosure in CSR than Brazilian companies. Throughlinear regression, it can be seen that the institutional environment affects disclosure in CSR. In the UK, a countrywith better educational, labor, political and financial indicators than Brazil, it presented better CSR practices. Thefindings reveal that the better an institutional environment, the more firms act in CSR. The findings of the researchconfirm the premise of institutional theory: different institutional fields can modify business performance.Research limitations/implications – The study analyzed only the disclosure practices of companies in thepublic sector. Thus, the results should be carefully analyzed, without generalizations for all industry sectors.Therefore, it is suggested that future research looks at other industry sectors as well as other institutionalcontexts, i.e. other countries.Practical implications – Multinational companies may have different CSR practices according to theinstitutional environment in which they operate. For example, companies in developed countries, such as theUK, have greater stakeholder pressure. Given this, managers must adapt their environmental strategiesaccording to the institutional environment in which they operate.Originality/value – This research contributes to CSR studies in various institutional contexts. There is aconsensus in the literature that institutional environments affect firms' CSR practices. However, few empiricalstudies show results between the national business system and CSR. Thus, the present study intends to fill thisresearch gap. ; Purpose – The purpose of this study is to examine the influence of characteristics of the institutionalenvironment on the disclosure of corporate social responsibility (CSR).Design/methodology/approach – This is a quantitative and descriptive research. The dependent variablesused were environmental dimension (ED) and social dimension (SD) that together compose the corporate socialperformance (CSP). The independent variables that will be used are the characteristics of the institutionalenvironments of Brazil and the UK. Thus, for this end, variables of the national business system of both countrieswill be used: corruption transparency, access to credit by countries, quality of the education system and laborrelations. After their collection, the data were submitted to descriptive and inferential statistics and hierarchicalregression.Findings – Data show that UK companies make more disclosure in CSR than Brazilian companies. Throughlinear regression, it can be seen that the institutional environment affects disclosure in CSR. In the UK, a countrywith better educational, labor, political and financial indicators than Brazil, it presented better CSR practices. Thefindings reveal that the better an institutional environment, the more firms act in CSR. The findings of the researchconfirm the premise of institutional theory: different institutional fields can modify business performance.Research limitations/implications – The study analyzed only the disclosure practices of companies in thepublic sector. Thus, the results should be carefully analyzed, without generalizations for all industry sectors.Therefore, it is suggested that future research looks at other industry sectors as well as other institutionalcontexts, i.e. other countries.Practical implications – Multinational companies may have different CSR practices according to theinstitutional environment in which they operate. For example, companies in developed countries, such as theUK, have greater stakeholder pressure. Given this, managers must adapt their environmental strategiesaccording to the institutional environment in which they operate.Originality/value – This research contributes to CSR studies in various institutional contexts. There is aconsensus in the literature that institutional environments affect firms' CSR practices. However, few empiricalstudies show results between the national business system and CSR. Thus, the present study intends to fill thisresearch gap.