Institutional Environments, Logics And CSR

• In Event: Public Interest 4

Abstract

Global firms operate in the larger institutional environment, where changing institutional logics impact the environment for corporate social responsibility (CSR). This paper addresses this broader question of these exogenous factors that influence the global CSR environment in which firms operate. The paper first provides a theoretical framework to integrate the logics (Thornton and Ocasio 1999) that shape CSR engagement and reporting in different institutional environments. Specifically, it portrays the implications of varying influence of markets and regulation in creating institutional environments, ranging from low emphasis on CSR in both controlled and capitalist systems to greater compliance from an integration of market and regulatory forces. To illustrate CSR implementation globally, the paper considers cases of firms in the oil industry from two different institutional environments, specifically BP (UK) and CNPC (China), and their approach to CSR reporting in the aftermath of oil spills.

Authors

• George Joseph, University of Massachusetts-Lowell

• Khondkar E Karim, University of Massachusetts-Lowell