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This study aims to identify and prioritize barriers to corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the construction sector.

A literature review was first conducted to identify barriers to CSR performance. After that, construction professionals were invited to validate the appropriateness of the obstacles. The discussion allowed the establishment of a list of barriers to CSR performance and their corresponding categories. Data collected from the survey were then analyzed to prioritize the importance of these barriers by the fuzzy DEMATEL-based ANP (DANP) technique.

The findings presented 16 barriers to CSR, which were categorized into four clusters. The fuzzy DANP analysis showed that strategic vision is the most crucial cluster, followed by the measurement system, stakeholder perspective and scarce resources. Among the sixteen barriers examined, lack of awareness, knowledge and information of CSR; low priority of CSR; lack of metrics to quantify CSR benefits; lack of guidelines and coherent strategies; and lack of CSR enforcement mechanism are the five most crucial barriers.

This study is one of the first that proposes a comprehensive model to prioritize barriers to CSR performance of contractors considering their interrelationships. It provides construction stakeholders with a framework for understanding the linkage between the barriers and CSR framework under the umbrella of stakeholder theory. Thus, the findings might assist construction practitioners and academics in fostering the success of CSR implementation.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices are gaining momentum globally but their implementation becomes problematic due to the presence of barriers. So, this study aims to identify the barriers to CSR implementation among manufacturing enterprises, develop their classification and establish relationships among the barriers.

An exhaustive list of barriers was identified from the literature, and following surveys and expert opinions, 19 critical barriers were extracted. Interpretive structure modelling was used to understand the hierarchal and contextual relationships among barriers of CSR implementation.

The results show that are no autonomous variables present in the study. The proposed conceptual framework presents the hierarchy and interlinkage of barriers to CSR implementation in manufacturing enterprises. The results also indicate that rigidity in culture and corruption in the system and within the governance system of the country are the two most influential barriers that impede CSR implementation in manufacturing enterprises.

The interactions among CSR barriers provide policymakers, industrial practitioners and managers with a framework to recognise and evaluate mutual relationships and interlinking among barriers. CSR training and undertaking CSR in collaboration can help medium enterprises overcome these barriers and prepare strategies to mitigate their impact.

This study aims to empirically investigate the impact of barriers (i.e. organizational and industrial barriers, corporate social responsibility (CSR) characteristics) on CSR practices and the roles of education and government support in mitigating these barriers. In addition, the positive effect of CSR practices on social sustainability performance (SSP) is examined.

A framework of hypotheses between barriers, CSR practices and SSP is established. Using a survey questionnaire, empirical data are collected from 17 construction firms in Vietnam. PLS-SEM is used to test the proposed hypotheses.

The results indicate that organizational and industrial barriers negatively affect CSR practices. This study also finds that education and training and government support could enable construction firms to reduce the impact of such barriers.

The data are collected in Vietnam; thereby the findings are only applicable in developing countries. Further research should also be conducted in other countries to improve the generalizability of the theoretical framework.

The findings of this study suggest that construction firms could apply several strategies (e.g. providing their employees with CSR training and education; embedding CSR into their firm policy, mission and vision) to mitigate the impact of CSR barriers and, accordingly, ensure the success of adopting CSR practices.

This study is one of the first efforts in the construction industry that empirically investigates the impact of barriers on CSR practices and the moderating effects of training and education as well as government support.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze how drivers and barriers of corporate social responsibility (CSR) vary with regard to stages in the transformation process from a small and medium‐sized enterprise (SME) to a multinational enterprise (MNE).

The main method used is a literature survey. The survey covers 47 journal articles. A limited survey of managers in the Norwegian clothing business is used to validate the findings in the literature survey.

Eight main drivers and barriers of CSR are identified in the literature survey and are also supported by a regression analysis based on Norwegian survey data. By relating the drivers and barriers to more general social science models, it is shown how they are affected by different business contexts and vary with regard to stages in the transformation process from a SME to a MNE.

The paper suggests that public policies for CSR should be adapted to four main contexts, referring to stages in the growth and internationalization of the firm, and overcoming barriers and boosting drivers for CSR.

The paper contributes to a better understanding of how and why drivers and barriers of CSR differ with respect to the size and internationalization of firms.

The purpose of this paper is to identify and rank the various barriers of the CSR implementation in Indian manufacturing companies. Further, this paper also studies interaction of different barriers.

The study was carried out using an interpretive structural modeling (ISM) approach to analyze the interaction among different barriers for corporate social responsibility (CSR) implementation in manufacturing companies in the Indian context.

In the present study, ten CSR implementation barriers were identified through an extensive literature review followed by the expert’s opinion. The present study outlines that lack of money and consumer’s passive attitude towards CSR are the major barriers in CSR implementation in Indian manufacturing companies. On the other hand, top management commitment, lack of knowledge about CSR and lack of skills for CSR implementation are barriers which occur due to the investment required in term of time and consumer’s passive attitude.

The present study is helpful to both academicians and practitioners by providing a model of CSR barriers. This study is important in the context of India which is a developing economy and this development is exerting pressure on the corporations to adopt CSR in their practices. This ISM-based model of barriers of CSR implementation in the manufacturing sector will help practitioners and managers to have enhanced knowledge about these barriers and to concentrate on important barriers to implement CSR activities in their organizations in an efficient manner.

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) across the world are generally found to have a limited interest in wider social issues. SMEs face many barriers in operating in a socially responsible and sustainable manner despite it making a good business sense. This paper explores the barriers and challenges faced by Indian SMEs for engaging in corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices.

The research uses interpretive structural modelling (ISM) to explore the structural relationship among barriers faced by Indian SMEs in their CSR engagement which were identified from the past literature and validated by the experts.

The study identified thirteen variables as important barriers resulting in a lower CSR engagement by Indian SMEs. The ISM model indicates that Indian SMEs focus on tactical rather on strategic needs along with their limited information and knowledge about CSR are the main driving forces which keep them away from an active and meaningful CSR engagement. Their limited CSR engagement capabilities, limited need to engage with their workforce and lower CSR perceived benefits also constrain their CSR engagement. The Indian SMEs also do not see a need for CSR engagement because of lower community and governmental pressure.

The study provides a comprehensive listing of CSR engagement barriers faced by Indian SMEs along with the structural relationships among them. The model developed provides CSR professionals and policymakers an understanding of the important impediments in CSR engagement of Indian SMEs based on their driving power and dependence. This insight will help them in designing initiatives to influence identified barriers to promote CSR engagement by Indian SMEs.

This paper aims to provide exploratory evidence on corporate governance (CG) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) interfaces. Although there remains a voluminous literature on CG and CSR, very little effort has been put forward to explore the nature of this relationship.

Using interviews with Senior Executives of New Zealand Stock Exchange listed firms, this research assesses CG and CSR practices, identifies barriers for CG and CSR adoption and investigates the nature of the relationship between CG and CSR.

The results indicate a moderate level of CG and CSR practices, with a lack of resources and cost-time balance as common barriers for CG and CSR adoption. However, despite these barriers, we note that the majority of executives appreciate the increasing convergence between CG and CSR, and believe that a more robust CG framework will lead to more sustainable CSR practices.

These findings have important implications for managers and policymakers interested in understanding the CG-CSR nexus and promoting responsible business practices.

The aim of this paper is to examine how corporations in India interpret corporate social responsibility (CSR). Focusing on four commonly known approaches: the ethical, the statist, the liberal, and the stakeholder approach, the paper seeks to investigate the reported drivers and barriers to implementing CSR practices.

The paper surveyed top‐level managers of a sample of companies currently engaging in a CSR initiative, representing a variety of industry sectors.

The study finds that the CSR approach that is most favored by Indian firms is the stakeholder approach and that the caring or the moral motive, followed by the strategic or profit motive, are important drivers for Indian firms to pursue CSR. Further, the results indicate that the most significant obstacles to CSR implementation are those related to lack of resources, followed by those related to the complexity and difficulty of implementing CSR.

The study focuses on the activities of leading Indian firms participating in the UN Global Compact (GC), thereby restricting one's knowledge of CSR practices of non‐participants. Future research should expand on this effort either by conducting comparative studies of non‐participants to the GC, or by investigating CSR practices of firms engaging in other voluntary initiatives.

The majority of studies on CSR are still embedded in the economic and organizational contexts of Europe and the USA. This research aims to address this gap by focusing on the CSR framework of developing nations, particularly the emerging market of India.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the corporate social responsibility performance among small and medium enterprise (SME) owners in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) before and during COVID-19. This study shows insights into the barriers that could affect the CSR performance practices of UAE SMEs, and related implications are discussed in the study.

This study used a longitudinal qualitative research design. The research comprised 30 interviews from 15 SME owners that were studied prior to and during the pandemic. The 15 interview participants are the sole owners of these SMEs and are Emirati citizens. They were identified through personal contacts and referrals.

Study findings show that there was a clear shift during the pandemic to place more focus on employees. CSR performance practices are dominated by strategies for caring for the environment and employees. During the pandemic, the priority was paying employees at least a portion of their salary despite financial hardships and ensuring their health and well-being. Prior to the crisis, the key barrier to the implementation of CSR performance practices was a lack of knowledge. During the pandemic, barriers identified included uncertainty and financial constraints. Furthermore, all the owners believe that big corporations should be more socially responsible and SMEs should be the recipients of CSR practices. Lastly, the owners expressed their belief in the values of transparency, integrity, commitment, efficiency and responsibility.

This study is a novel attempt to gain an in-depth understanding of CSR among SMEs in the UAE in the context of a pandemic. It looks specifically at the performance practices pursued by SME owners in the UAE before and during the COVID-19 crisis.

This paper aims to examine the nature and role of contemporary CSR in the current neoliberal age. It offers an insight into the tension that exists between the ideologies of “neoliberal” shareholder value and that of “effective” CSR, and argues that both ideologies are fundamentally antithetical. It aims to identify and analyse the inter-connected but distinguishable barriers (ideological, practical and political) that militate against the realization of effective CSR.

The method applied is a critical evaluation of concepts and a thorough review of existing literature on neoliberalism, shareholder value and contemporary CSR. It uses existing literature to highlight the inability of contemporary CSR to transform into an effective mechanism for development.

The paper emphasizes the failure of contemporary CSR to equate to a successful mechanism for development. It concludes that the existence and operations of these barriers militate against the realization of an effective CSR regime capable of leading to development.

Given the current dominance of the “maximizing shareholder value” model of corporate governance internationally, it appears unreasonable to pin too much hope on contemporary CSR as a mechanism for development, especially in emerging economies. Neither the culture of corporations nor the pressures to which they are currently subjected encourage socially responsible behaviour.

The paper extends the body of knowledge in the area of contemporary CSR, by identifying and analysing the inter-connected but distinguishable barriers that render the CSR practices of corporations ineffective.