Abdelwahed OMRI is a Full Professor of Finance and Accounting at the Higher Institute of Management in Tunisia. He teaches in different programs, mainly in the Master and Doctoral programs. He is the director of GEF2A Lab (Corporate Governance, Applied Finance and Audit). His research field focuses on Corporate Governance problems, ethical finance and Corporate Social Responsibility.
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
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