The relationship between firm complexity and corporate social responsibility: International evidence from 2010–2019
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In: Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, Vol. 29, No. 3, 01.05.2022, p. 549-560.
Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - The relationship between firm complexity and corporate social responsibility: International evidence from 2010–2019
AU - Läger, Frederic
AU - Bouzzine, Yassin Denis
AU - Lueg, Rainer
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2021 The Authors. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management published by ERP Environment and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
PY - 2022/5/1
Y1 - 2022/5/1
N2 - Extant research on the relationship between firm complexity and corporate social responsibility (CSR) is limited to employing size variables as indicators for firm complexity. Following a contingency approach and to fit the multidimensional nature of CSR, in this study we define complexity as the structural complexity of a firm. To answer the question of whether firm complexity influences CSR, we study firms included in the major world stock indices for a 10-year period by means of a fixed-effects regression. Findings generally suggest a higher level of CSR in more complex firms. A more detailed analysis of complexity points toward a significant positive influence of the vertical, functional, and occupational dimensions of complexity but finds no link between spatial differentiation and CSR. This research represents the first empirical study that examines the relationship between CSR and structural complexity beyond a simplistic proxy of size.
AB - Extant research on the relationship between firm complexity and corporate social responsibility (CSR) is limited to employing size variables as indicators for firm complexity. Following a contingency approach and to fit the multidimensional nature of CSR, in this study we define complexity as the structural complexity of a firm. To answer the question of whether firm complexity influences CSR, we study firms included in the major world stock indices for a 10-year period by means of a fixed-effects regression. Findings generally suggest a higher level of CSR in more complex firms. A more detailed analysis of complexity points toward a significant positive influence of the vertical, functional, and occupational dimensions of complexity but finds no link between spatial differentiation and CSR. This research represents the first empirical study that examines the relationship between CSR and structural complexity beyond a simplistic proxy of size.
KW - CSR
KW - ESG performance
KW - firm complexity
KW - structural complexity
KW - Management studies
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85119057191&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/a9b7c200-0afe-3d24-a41c-2d02c85a2d80/
U2 - 10.1002/csr.2219
DO - 10.1002/csr.2219
M3 - Journal articles
VL - 29
SP - 549
EP - 560
JO - Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management
JF - Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management
SN - 1535-3958
IS - 3
ER -