Corporate Social Responsibility of Financial Cooperatives: A Multi-Level Analysis

Cooperatives, which have a dual mission that includes both business and social goals, are of particular interest for the study of corporate social responsibility (CSR). The aim of this study was to examine how cooperative directors influence the CSR strategies of their organization. We used a multi-level conceptual framework, consisting of micro, meso, and macro levels, to analyze qualitative data (20 interviews, observation of two board meetings and analysis of over 25 public documents) collected through a case study design that focused on the directors of three financial cooperatives operating under a large group of Canadian financial service cooperatives. Our study contributes first by building on prior studies that link CSR goals to the cooperatives’ dual mission and commitment to improving their community. We enrich prior findings by showing how directors play a crucial role in the enactment of the social dimension of CSR, but that conversely, cooperatives are vehicles for directors who want to contribute to the improvement of their community, thus creating a virtuous circle. Secondly, comparing bureaus operating in urban and rural areas allows us to show how the specificities of the community in which a cooperative evolves influence the approach of the directors towards the environmental dimension of CSR.