Determinants Of Corporate Social Responsibility In Japanese Companies

• Authors: Magdalena Krukowska
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

Purpose: The aim of this study was to analyze the factors that determine the Japanese approach to corporate social responsibility (CSR) to facilitate future empirical research in the Polish conditions. Methodology: To conduct the research, the available literature concerning CSR, managerial behaviour and stakeholder relations in Japan was studied. The research was conducted onsite in Japan after consultation with local experts, both Japanese and foreigners, specialized in Japanese management and the economy. Findings: The Japanese approach to CSR is strongly determined by their religious, philosophical, cultural, historical, economic and legal factors. It is proof of the concept of CSR contextuality, which provokes questions about the nature of the business relations of Japanese companies with their foreign counterparts and their style of management while investing abroad. Research Limitations: The methodology was only supposed to gain a general view of the factors influencing CSR in Japan. Studying more detailed issues with the use of empirical data was complicated because of the short time available for the research (6 weeks) and the relatively low level of transparency of the Japanese companies. Value: The study helped in understanding managerial decisions and Japanese business behaviour in the context of corporate responsibility and the ethics of its everyday operations. It was the first research thoroughly analyzing many of the determinants of CSR in Japan, which may be valuable for any counterparts cooperating with the Japanese companies and foreign researchers analyzing Japanese management systems.

Keywords

EN

corporate social responsibility (CSR); determinants of CSR; contextuality of CSR; CSR in Japan

• Publisher: Akademia Leona Koźmińskiego
• Journal: Management and Business Administration. Central Europe
• Year: 2014
• Volume: 22
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 39-57

Dates

published

2014-12-15

Contributors

author

Magdalena Krukowska

• Kozminski University

References

• Abegglen, J. (2006). 21st-Century Japanese Management. New systems, Lasting values. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
• Aoki, M. (2001). Information, Corporate Governance, and Institutional Diversity: Competitiveness in Japan, the USA, and the Transitional Economies. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Aoki, M., Jackson, G. and Miyajima, H. (2008). Corporate Governance in Japan. Institutional Change and Organizational Diversity. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Chapple, W. and Moon, J. (2007). Introduction: CSR Agendas for Asia, Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 4(4): 183–188.
• Economist (2013). Of loans and sharks, 02.11.2013, internet version retrieved on: 12.11.2013.
• European Commission, Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions. A renewed EU strategy 2011–14 for Corporate Social Responsibility, Brussels 25.11.2011.
• Fukukawa, K. (2010). Introduction. In: K. Fukukawa (ed.), Corporate Social Responsibility in Asia. London and New York: Routledge.
• Fukukawa, K. and Teramoto, Y. (2009). Understanding Japanese CSR: The Reflections of Managers in the Field of Global Operations. Journal of Business Ethics, 85: 133–146.
• Gasparski, W. (2004). Wykłady z etyki biznesu. Nowa edycja. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Wyższej Szkoły Przedsiębiorczości i Zarządzania im. Leona Koźmińskiego.
• Gladman, K. (2013). Global Sustainable Investment: Spotlight on Japan, www.gmiratings.com, retrieved on: 19.11.2013
• Gupta, P. (2012). A Study of Impact of Corporate Governance Practices on Firm Performance in Indian, Japanese and South Korean companies. Bangalore, India: Symbiosis Institute of Business Management.
• Hofstede, G. and Bond M.H. (1988). The Confucius Connection: From cultural roots to economic growth. Organizational Dynamics, 16(4), 5–21.
• Kokubu, K., Kitada, H. and Haider, B.M. (2013). Corporate Sustainability Barometer in Japan. Kobe University.
• Kono, T. (1984). Strategy & Structure of Japanese Enterprises. London: Macmillan.
• Krukowska, M. (2012). Jak oceniać odpowiedzialność społeczną biznesu. Opole: Wydawnictwo Naukowe.
• Kuroda, K. (2011). Olympus scandal highlights need for tighter focus on corporate governance in Japan, EIRIS blog (www.eiris.org), retrieved on: 10.11.2013.
• Kurtenbach, E., Aso vows crackdown on mob loans after Mizuho chief testifies in Diet, www.japantoday.com, retrieved on: 14.11.2013.
• Low Kim Cheng, P. and Sik Liong, A. (2012). Confucian Leadership and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), the Way Forward. Asian Journal of Business Research, 2(1): 85–108.
• Martin, P. and Turner, B. (1986). Grounded theory and organizational research. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 22(2): 141–157.
• Maruyama, M. (1982). New Mindscapes for Future Business Policy and Management. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 21(1): 53–76.
• Matsumoto, A. (2012). How Do Corporate Philosophies of Japanese Companies Influence Their Practice Of The Base Of The Economic Pyramid (BOP) Business And The Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)?, SIT Graduate Institute, DigitalCollections@SIT.
• Nakai, M., Yamaguchi, K., Takeuchi, K. (2012). Sustainability Membership and stock price: an empirical study using the Morningstar SRI-Index. Applied Financial Economics, 23(1): 71–77.
• Nakano, C. (2007). The Significance and Limitations of Corporate Governance from the Perspective of Business Ethics: Towards the Creation of an Ethical Organizational Culture. Asian Business and Management, 6: 163–170.
• Nomura, M. and Kamii, Y. (2004). Japanese Companies. Theories and Realities. Melbourne: Trans Pacific Press.
• Nuzula, N.F. (2012). Corporate Environmental Expense in the Perspective of Japanese Investors: Merely Another Type of Expense? Journal of International Business research, 11, Special Issue 3: 15–24.
• OECD Employment Outlook 2013, http://www.oecd.org/els/emp/oecdemploymentoutlook.htm (14.11.2013).
• Otake, T. (2013). Japanese women strive to empower themselves. Japan Times, 03.03.2013.
• Rupp, D. E., Ganapathi, J., Aguilera, R. V. and Williams, C. A. (2006). Employee Reactions to Corporate Social Responsibility: An Organizational Justice Framework. Journal of Organizational Behaviour, 27: 5.
• Saka, Ch. and Noda, A. (2013). The effects of stakeholders on CSR disclosure: evidence from Japan, http://ssrn.com/abstract=2239469 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2239469.
• Sase, T. (2003). The Irresponsible Japanese Top Management Under the Cross-Shareholding Arrangement, occassional paper No. 50, Center on Japanese Economy and Business, Columbia Business School.
• Sheil, D. (2011). Sustainable investment in Asian emerging markets: in partnership with Canada and Japan. IFC issue brief. Washington DC; World Bank, http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2011/06/17802507/sustainable-investment-asian-emerging-markets-partnership-canada-japan (19.11.2013).
• Suto, M. and Takehara, H. (2012). Stock Ownership Structure and Corporate Social Performance: Evidence from Japan, working paper series (Waseda University Institute of Finance).
• Tanimoto, K. (2010). Structural change in corporate society and CSR in Japan. In: Corporate Social Responsibility in Asia. Routledge International Business in Asia.
• Tatsuno, S. M. (1990). Created in Japan, New York: Harper & Row, pp. 52-53.
• Turner, H. Charles, Trompenaars, A. (2003). Siedem kultur kapitalizmu. Kraków: Oficyna Ekonomiczna.
• TÜV Rheinland (2012). ISO 26 000: Guidance on Social Responsibility.
• Witt, A. and Redding, G. (2012). The Spirits of Corporate Social Responsibility: Senior Executive Perceptions of the Role of the Firm in Society in Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, and the United States. Socio-Economic Review, 10(1): 109–134.
• Wokutch, R.E. and Shepard, J.M. (1999). The maturing of the Japanese economy: Corporate Social Responsibility implications. Business Ethics Quarterly, 9(3): 527–540.
• World Business Council for Sustainable Development (1998). Meeting Changing Expectations. Corporate Social Responsibility (report).
• Yamashita, H. (2000). Healthy Culture and Unhealthy Culture. Ashgate.