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A link between top managers’ perception and corporate social responsibility: Transformational leadership as a moderator

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  • Milkiyas Ayele Tefera

    (School of Management, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China)

  • He Yuanqiong

    (School of Management, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China)

  • Liu Luming

    (School of Management, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China)

Abstract

Though it is called corporate social responsibility (CSR), it is the people in the organization particularly, top managers who develop and get implemented corporate social policies. Organization behavior is the reflection of their top managers. However, exploration of the role of top managers in spreading CSR in organization is scant in the literature. The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of top managers’ CSR perception on firm level CSR in Ethiopia. Structured questionnaires were used to collected data from 294 executive managers of four sectors, namely textile, food, bank and floriculture industries. Multiple hierarchical regression and process macro 3.3 were employed to analyze the data with the aid of SPSS. The analysis reveals that top managers’ CSR perception is a significant predictor of firm level CSR behaviors. The result also shows that corporate ethical culture fully mediates the relationship between top managers’ CSR perception and organization CSR. Moreover, transformational leadership has a moderating effect between the direct top managers’ CSR perception and firm level CSR relationship. Key Words:CSR perception,Developing Country,Ethical Culture,Ethiopia,Top managers,Transformational Leadership

Suggested Citation

  • Milkiyas Ayele Tefera & He Yuanqiong & Liu Luming, 2020. "A link between top managers’ perception and corporate social responsibility: Transformational leadership as a moderator," International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science (2147-4478), Center for the Strategic Studies in Business and Finance, vol. 9(1), pages 1-14, January.
  • Handle: RePEc:rbs:ijbrss:v:9:y:2020:i:1:p:1-14
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Caroline D. Ditlev‐Simonsen & Atle Midttun, 2011. "What motivates managers to pursue corporate responsibility? a survey among key stakeholders," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 18(1), pages 25-38, January.
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    3. Shuili Du & Valérie Swaen & Adam Lindgreen & Sankar Sen, 2013. "The Roles of Leadership Styles in Corporate Social Responsibility," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 114(1), pages 155-169, April.
    4. Gianpaolo Abatecola & Gabriele Mandarelli & Sara Poggesi, 2013. "The personality factor: how top management teams make decisions. A literature review," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 17(4), pages 1073-1100, November.
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