Ouidad Yousfi

By Ouidad Yousfi and Rania Béji

This chapter provides a theoretical and conceptual overview of the governance of corporate social responsibility (CSR). It is based on an extensive review of corporate governance literature, specifically on the composition of boards and committees and how they influence corporate outcomes. The attributes of committees’ members could play a key role in the definition of a CSR strategy and its implementation. The second section analyzes how diversity in boardrooms and CSR committees could foster CSR performance, through specific dimensions of social performance. It focuses on the influence of structural and demographic diversities in boardrooms on CSR performance and the role of CSR committees on the implementation of a strategic CSR-building process. The third section identifies CSR strategies: (1) strategic CSR driven by initiatives and pioneering actions and (2) responsive CSR based on the imitation of the main competitors and the implementation of basic actions to “avoid” stakeholders’ pressure. We point out that strategic CSR has been widely discussed and extended while responsive CSR is marginalized and often associated with low social performance. This dichotomous approach of CSR strategies could be biased. Many firms could display a strategic CSR in some areas and a responsive CSR in other areas. The role of CSR committees and their composition are discussed in section (4). The last section concludes the paper.

Part of the book: Corporate Social Responsibility

By Zaineb Hlioui and Ouidad Yousfi

In this chapter, we analyze the association between CSR and innovation. We state that CSR concept has evolved over time and has changed the way innovation is conceived. The state of art shows that CSR activities have been responsively introduced to achieve the stakeholders’ needs and standards, to become gradually more strategic activities. In fact, many firms have been involved in CSR projects dealing with the reputation enhancement, the stakeholders’ reciprocation, the risk mitigation, and the improvement of the innovation capacity mechanisms. We show the presence of a virtuous dynamic between strategic CSR and innovation: firms have to present strategic CSR activities in the core of their innovative strategies. Sustainable innovations are effective tools to foster CSR activities and, therefore, social performance. Furthermore, we show that the CSR-innovation influence is driven by specific channels such as the company’s competitiveness, strategies’ developments, and framework. Besides, we shed light on the effects of board diversity, managerial cognition, and corporate cognitive-governance on CSR-innovation association. Finally, we provide an empirical evidence from the SBF120 French companies over the period from 2010 to 2016. We present the nonlinear effect of innovation on the current CSR scores, using a semi-parametric estimation. Our results confirm the divers perception of CSR and its components at the different innovation levels.

Part of the book: Corporate Social Responsibility

By Ouidad Yousfi, Islem Mbarek and Abdelwahed Omri

In this chapter, we analyze the association between CSR and corporate lobbying. Specifically, we study the impact of CSR and corporate lobbying from an environmental perspective on firm performance in the event of environmental misconduct. We further investigate whether these two policies enhance firms’ performance and give response to the call for action from their stakeholders and society, or they are just used to cover firms’ dirty activities and help them appear cleaner in the market.

Part of the book: Corporate Social Responsibility in the 21st Century

By Maha Elkateb, Ouidad Yousfi and Abdelwahed Omri

A growing call for green initiatives made companies implement corporate social responsibility (CSR) into their business activities ethically or strategically to gain legitimacy and present an environmentally responsible public image. In this regard, the problem of greenwashing has emerged even during the pandemic: companies disclose positive communication to ensure business legitimacy even when they are applying irresponsible business practices. Their CSR strategy is responsive: businesses have implemented CSR activities to comply with environmental and social legislation and the stakeholders’ pressure. In the other hand, other companies have undertaken more strategic CSR models to achieve long-term competitive advantages combining the ethical and business orientations. They consider CSR as a differentiation process. They reviewed their CSR strategies, as a core of the corporate strategy, to align social commitments and business objectives. For instance, the pandemic has driven many businesses to rethink the founder lines of their CSR strategies, in order to avoid social crisis and create strategic benefits. Within this framework, this chapter aims to shed light on the effect of strategic CSR on corporate performance and businesses practices during the pandemic. It assesses the key factors that can improve the implementation of socially and eco-friendly sustainable practices to be more resilient toward potential crisis.

Part of the book: Corporate Social Responsibility in the 21st Century