Skip to main content
Log in

Collectivism, Corporate Social Responsibility, and Resource Advantages in Retailing

  • Published:
Journal of Business Ethics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Is corporate social responsibility (CSR) linked to performance-related instrumentality or real moral concerns? Does CSR create resource advantages? Reasons for and results of CSR remain unclear. We choose a leading retail company in a Confucian, collectivist, and high power distance society and ask whether managers are naturally oriented toward societal actions. We study managerial perceptions regarding the importance and the performance of CSR in relation to other management factors. Drawing on Hunt’s (2000, A General Theory of Competition: Resources, Competences, Productivity, Economic Growth (Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA)) resource advantage theory, we find that the perceived importance of CSR is only fair vis-à-vis other management factors, but its high performance makes it a core resource for the company.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Baron D. P.: 2001. Private Politics, Corporate Social Responsibility and Integrated Strategy. Journal of Economics and Management Strategy 10, 7–45. doi:10.1162/105864001300122548

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bhattacharya C. B., S. Sen: 2004. Doing Better at Doing Good: When, Why, and How Consumers Respond to Corporate Social Initiatives. California Management Review 47(1), 9–24

    Google Scholar 

  • Child J.: 2002. The International Crisis of Confidence in Corporations. Academy of Management Executive 16(3), 145–147

    Google Scholar 

  • Dawar N., P. Parker: 1994. Marketing Universals: Consumers’ Use of Brand Name, Price, Physical Appearance, and Retailer Reputation as Signals of Product Quality. Journal of Marketing 58(2), 81–95. doi:10.2307/1252271

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DiCicco, J. M.: 2003, ‹The Development of Leaders in Ancient China, Rome, and Persia’, Public Administration Quarterly 27(Spring), 6–40

  • Dickson P. R.: 1996. The Static and Dynamic Mechanics of Competition: A Comment on Hunt and Morgan’s Comparative Advantage Theory. Journal of Marketing 60(4), 102–106. doi:10.2307/1251904

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Donaldson T., L. P. Preston: 1995, The Stakeholder Theory of the Corporation: Concepts, Evidence, and Implications, Academy of Management Review 20(1), 65–91. doi:10.2307/258887

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Drumwright M. E.: 1994, Socially Responsible Organizational Buying: Environmental Concern as a Noneconomic Buying Criterion, Journal of Marketing 58, 1–19. doi:10.2307/1252307

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Freeman R. E.: 1984. Strategic Management: A Stakeholder Approach. Pitman, Boston

    Google Scholar 

  • Grant R. M.: 1991, The Resource-Based Theory of Competitive Advantage: Implications for Strategy Formulation, California Management Review 33(3), 114–133

    Google Scholar 

  • Grewal D., R. Krishnan, J. Baker, N. Borin: 1998, The Effect of Store Name, Brand Name and Price Discounts on Consumers’ Evaluations and Purchase Intentions, Journal of Retailing 74(3), 331–352. doi:10.1016/S0022-4359(99)80099-2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hillman, A. J. and G. D. Keim: 2001, ‹Shareholder Value, Stakeholder Management, and Social Issues: What’s The Bottom Line?’, Strategic Management Journal 22(2), 125–139. doi :10.1002/1097-0266(200101)22:2<125::AID-SMJ150>3.0.CO;2-H

  • Hofstede G.: 1984. Culture’s Consequences: International Differences in Work-Related Values. Sage, Beverly Hills, CA

    Google Scholar 

  • Hofstede G., M. H. Bond: 1988, The Confucius Connection: From Cultural Roots to Economic Growth, Organizational Dynamics 16(4), 4–21. doi:10.1016/0090-2616(88)90009-5

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • House R. J., P. J. Hanges, M. Javidan, P. W. Dorfman, V. Gupta: 2004, Culture, Leadership and Organizations: The GLOBE Study of 62 Societies. Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA

    Google Scholar 

  • House R. J., M. Javidan, P. Dorfman: 2001, Project GLOBE: An Introduction, Applied Psychology: An International Review 50(4), 489–505

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Husted B. W., J. D. J. Salazar: 2006, Taking Friedman Seriously: Maximizing Profits and Social Performance, Journal of Management Studies 43(1), 75–91. doi:10.1111/j.1467-6486.2006.00583.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hunt S. D.: 2000, A General Theory of Competition: Resources, Competences, Productivity, Economic Growth. Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA

    Google Scholar 

  • Hunt S. D., D. B. Arnett: 2003, Resource-Advantage Theory and Embeddedness: Explaining R-A Theory’s Explanatory Success, Journal of Marketing, Theory and Practice 11(1), 1–17

    Google Scholar 

  • Hunt S. D., R. M. Morgan: 1997, Resource-Advantage Theory: A Snake Swallowing Its Tail or a General Theory of Competition?, Journal of Marketing 61(4), 74–82. doi:10.2307/1252088

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Merrilees B., D. Miller: 1996, Retailing Management: A Best Practice Approach. RMIT, Melbourne

    Google Scholar 

  • McGoldrick P. J.: 2002, Retail Marketing. McGraw-Hill Education, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • McWilliams, A. and D. Siegel: 2000, ‹Corporate Social Responsibility and Financial Performance: Correlation or Misspecification?’, Strategic Management Journal 21(5), 603–609. doi :10.1002/(SICI)1097-0266(200005)21:5<603::AID-SMJ101>3.0.CO;2-3

  • McWilliams A., D. Siegel: 2001, Corporate Social Responsibility: A Theory of the Firm Perspective, Academy of Management Review 26(1), 117–127. doi:10.2307/259398

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McWilliams A., D. Siegel, P. M. Wright: 2006, Corporate Social Responsibility: Strategic Implications, Journal of Management Studies 43(1), 1–18. doi:10.1111/j.1467-6486.2006.00580.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mitchell R. K., B. R. Agle, D. J. Wood: 1997, Toward a Theory of Stakeholder Identification and Salience: Defining the Principle of Who and What Really Counts, Academy of Management Review 22 (4), 853–886. doi:10.2307/259247

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mohr L. A., D. J. Webb: 2005, The Effects of Corporate Social Responsibility and Price on Consumer Responses, Journal of Consumer Affairs 39(1), 121–147

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nader R.: 1984, Reforming Corporate Governance, California Management Review 26(4), 126–132

    Google Scholar 

  • Purohit D., J. Srivastava: 2001, Effect of Manufacturer Reputation, Retailer Reputation, and Product Warranty on Consumer Judgments of Product Quality: A Cue Diagnosticity Framework, Journal of Consumer Psychology 10 (3), 123–134. doi:10.1207/s15327663jcp1003_1

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Richardson P. S., A. S. Dick, A. K. Jain: 1994, Extrinsic and Intrinsic Cue Effects on Perceptions of Store Brand Quality, Journal of Marketing 58(4), 28–36. doi:10.2307/1251914

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sanchez R., A. Heene: 1997, Reinventing Strategic Management: New Theory and Practice for Competence-Based Competition, European Management Journal 15(3), 303–317 doi:10.1016/S0263-2373(97)00010-8

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sweeney J. C., G. N. Soutar, L. W. Johnson: 1999, The Role of Perceived Risk in the Quality-Value Relationship: A Study in a Retail Environment, Journal of Retailing 75(1), 77–105. doi:10.1016/S0022-4359(99)80005-0

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Teece, D. J., G. Pisano and A. Shuen: 1997, ‹Dynamic Capabilities and Strategic Management’, Strategic Management Journal 18(7), 509–533. doi :10.1002/(SICI) 1097-0266(199708)18:7<509::AID-SMJ882>3.0.CO; 2-Z

  • Trompenaars F., C. Hampden-Turner: 1997, Riding the Waves of Culture: Understanding Diversity in Global Business. Nicholas Brealey, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Vitell S. J., J. G. P. Paolillo, J. L. Thomas: 2003, The Perceived Role of Ethics and Social Responsibility: A Study of Marketing Professionals, Business Ethics Quarterly 13(1), 63–86

    Google Scholar 

  • Waldman D. A., M. S. Luque, N. Washburn, R. J. House, et al.: 2006, Cultural and Leadership Predictors of Corporate Social Responsibility Values of Top Management: A GLOBE Study of 15 Countries, Journal of International Business Studies 37(6), 823–837. doi:10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8400230

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walters D., J. Hanrahan: 2000, Retail Strategy: Planning and Control. Macmillan, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Wong K. C.: 2001, Chinese Culture and Leadership, International Leadership in Education 4(4), 309–319. doi:10.1080/13603120110077990

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wood S. L.: 2002, Future Fantasies: A Social Change Perspective of Retailing in the 21st Century, Journal of Retailing 78(1), 77–83. doi:10.1016/S0022-4359(01)00069-0

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yin R. K.: 2003, Case Study Research: Design and Methods, 3rd Edition. Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We would like to acknowledge the support of the E.S.R.C. Postdoctoral Fellowship carried out in the University of Cambridge, the College of Humanities and Social Science, Management School and Economics at the University of Edinburgh as well as the Overseas Research Students Awards Scheme (ORSAS). We would like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their invaluable comments.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yu-Chiang Hu.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Hu, YC., Fatima Wang, CC. Collectivism, Corporate Social Responsibility, and Resource Advantages in Retailing. J Bus Ethics 86, 1–13 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-008-9789-x

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-008-9789-x

Keywords

Navigation