ASIAN CSR PROFILES AND NATIONAL INDICATORS: INVESTIGATION THROUGH WEBCONTENT ANALYSIS

ABSTRACT National corporate social responsibility (CSR) profiles in the Asian region have been found to have significant differences. CSR webcontent from the largest companies in eight Asian countries was collected and analyzed and statistically significant links between national indicators and CSR levels were found. We discuss how CSR activity responds to country conditions through several possible mechanisms. Keywords: Corporate social responsibility; Sustainability; Social responsibility; Asia; Website reporting; Webcontent. I. INTRODUCTION Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a popular concept. The traditional view of CSR, mainly derived from fields such as corporate finance, describe it as maximizing long-term value for shareholders (e.g., maximizing net present value (NPV) or the internal rate of return (IRR), well-known capital budgeting concepts). More recently, there has been a change in the emphasis of the definition by some. Although it's precise definition is the subject of debate (e.g. van Marrewijk, 2003), a workable definition is the "company's commitment to minimizing or eliminating any harmful effects and maximizing its long-run beneficial impact on society" (Mohr, et al., 2001). Such a working definition has included a wide spectrum of activities: human rights, labor standards, environmental management, consumer protection, anti-corruption, fair-dealing and competition, advertising and marketing, and others (Lantos, 2001; Garriga and Mele, 2004). We notice that such lists omit the more mundane operational impacts of corporations on society, as well as failing to account for net impacts (which NPV/IRR account for). Nevertheless, the above listed areas tend to be in vogue at the moment, perhaps in part reflecting policy-makers' concerns. It is observed in many parts of the world, including Asia, where it fast-growing (Chapple and Moon, 2005; Ramasamy and Hung, 2004; KPMG, 2005 and Baughn, et al., 2007). Increasingly, public policy-makers and civil society are becoming engaged in policies and debates which involve CSR. It is useful, then, to describe how CSR is related to country conditions to better inform CSR debates and policies. Here, we focus on Asia. A number of empirical CSR studies have been carried out for Asian countries (Welford, 2003; Welford, 2005; Chapple and Moon, 2005 and Baughn, et al., 2007). Chapple and Moon (2005) and others have found that Asia CSR profiles show "considerable national distinctiveness". Welford (2005) notes this same broad trend. What accounts for these differences? Baughn, et al., (2007) found that CSR is positively correlated with wealth, economic and political freedom, and low corruption levels. We seek, however, to determine whether a more useful descriptive picture can be obtained by comparing national CSR profiles in Asia with specific country indicators. Any policy research that depends on connections between private sector social responsibility and country conditions would benefit from such information. For instance, public policy-makers may want to know whether the private sector will respond to social problems such as health and education when determining how much effort should be spent on these areas to improve conditions. They may also want to integrate the private sector into public policies. Studies like this can also inform the ongoing debate about what the role of the corporation is today, a part of the wider debate about what its role should be. In this study, we compare specific CSR areas with various national indicators. We also describe and explain any trends. II. METHODOLOGY Primary CSR data were taken from company websites following the method of Chapple and Moon (2005). Data were quantitatively analyzed by comparisons with national indicators. Data Collection Websites of the twenty largest companies (by revenue) in 2005 of eight countries - China (excluding Taiwan and Hong Kong), India, Indonesia, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand (Yazhou Zhoukan, 2005) were examined for their CSR content. …