Revisiting the relationship between corporate social responsibility and national culture: A quantitative assessment

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) at the macro-level and well-established dimensions of national culture offered by Hofstede’s framework.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors employ a composite index for quantifying CSR proliferation and present new findings on the role of cultural specificity – proxied by Hofstede’s dimensions – on CSR endorsement among national business sectors.

Findings

Results indicate that cultural perspectives pertaining to “long-term vs short-term orientation” as well as “indulgence vs restraint” affect positively the composite CSR index, while “uncertainty avoidance” has a negative impact. In contrast, the effect of “power distance,” “individualism” and “masculinity” is found to be insignificant.

Originality/value

The study offers new insights to institutional theorists as well as political economy researchers for a deeper investigation of informal institutions, such as culture, which shape national or regional specificities of CSR and retain a moderating effect on the voluntary/self-regulation activities of business entities.

Citation

Halkos, G. and Skouloudis, A. (2017), "Revisiting the relationship between corporate social responsibility and national culture: A quantitative assessment", Management Decision, Vol. 55 No. 3, pp. 595-613. https://doi.org/10.1108/MD-12-2016-0868