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Using Management Control Systems to Implement CSR Activities: An Empirical Analysis of 12 Japanese Companies

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  • Masahiro Hosoda
  • Kenichi Suzuki

Abstract

Management accounting research regarding corporate social responsibility (CSR) implementation in Japan has yet to address the lack of empirical research examining the processes, styles and efficacy of communicating CSR activities. Thus, this study conducts survey interviews with 12 Japanese corporations to examine how Japanese companies implement CSR activities in terms of the formal control system (FCS) and informal control system (ICS) of management control systems (MCS). The results of these interviews identified how Japanese managers employ the MCS approach to implement CSR. Hoshin kanri, a non‐financial control component of the FCS, supports successful implementation of CSR under the organizational climate dictated by the ICS. This MCS approach is enhanced by three factors that reflect characteristics of Japanese management: employee commitment, a consensus decision making process and long‐term management. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment

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  • Masahiro Hosoda & Kenichi Suzuki, 2015. "Using Management Control Systems to Implement CSR Activities: An Empirical Analysis of 12 Japanese Companies," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(7), pages 628-642, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:bstrat:v:24:y:2015:i:7:p:628-642
    DOI: 10.1002/bse.1896
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    2. Kamalesh Kumar & Giacomo Boesso & Rishtee Batra & Jun Yao, 2019. "Explicit and implicit corporate social responsibility: Differences in the approach to stakeholder engagement activities of U.S. and Japanese companies," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(6), pages 1121-1130, September.
    3. Gabriel Eweje, 2020. "Proactive environmental and social strategies in a small‐ to medium‐sized company: A case study of a Japanese SME," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(7), pages 2927-2938, November.
    4. Josefine Rasmussen, 2020. "The Role of Structural Context in Making Business Sense of Investments for Sustainability–A Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-25, August.
    5. Jean Tsitaire Arrive & Mei Feng, 2018. "The complexity of the environment, management control and firm performance," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(8), pages 1347-1354, December.
    6. Som Sekhar Bhattacharyya, 2020. "Development of a Typology Regarding CIF-CSR Initiatives Typology, Comprising of Conceptual Archetypes," FIIB Business Review, , vol. 9(1), pages 55-66, March.
    7. Jo Crotty & Diane Holt, 2021. "Towards a typology of strategic corporate social responsibility through camouflage and courtship analogies," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(3), pages 980-991, May.
    8. Yuehua Xu & Guangtao Zeng, 2021. "Corporate social performance aspiration and its effects," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 38(4), pages 1181-1207, December.
    9. Masahiro Hosoda, 2022. "Adoption of integrated reporting and changes to internal mechanisms in Japanese companies," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(2), pages 421-434, March.
    10. Gregory Jackson, 2016. "Toward a Conceptual Framework for Understanding Institutional Change in Japanese Capitalism: Structural Transformations and Organizational Diversity," Working Papers halshs-01643921, HAL.
    11. Enrico Fontana & Hyemi Shin & Chikako Oka & Jos Gamble, 2022. "Tensions in the strategic integration of corporate sustainability through global standards: Evidence from Japan and South Korea," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(3), pages 875-891, March.
    12. Gabriel Eweje, 2015. "Emerging Trends in CSR and Sustainability," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(7), pages 601-603, November.
    13. Giuseppe Risalvato & Claudio Venezia & Federica Maggio, 2019. "Social Responsible Investments and Performance," International Journal of Financial Research, International Journal of Financial Research, Sciedu Press, vol. 10(1), pages 10-16, January.
    14. Zucheng Zhou & Ben Nanfeng Luo & Thomas Li‐Ping Tang, 2018. "Corporate Social Responsibility Excites ‘Exponential’ Positive Employee Engagement: The Matthew Effect in CSR and Sustainable Policy," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 25(4), pages 339-354, July.
    15. Olena Liakh & Francesca Spigarelli, 2020. "Managing Corporate Sustainability and Responsibility Efficiently: A Review of Existing Literature on Business Groups and Networks," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-42, September.

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