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Linking corporate social responsibility and organizational performance in the construction industry

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  • Martin Loosemore
  • Benson Teck Heng Lim

Abstract

In the construction industry, the subject of corporate social responsibility (CSR) is becoming increasingly important as communities, employees and socially conscious clients expect firms to demonstrate they are good corporate citizens. However, while CSR research in construction has accelerated in recent years, it remains fragmented and unconceptualized and there is little understanding of the relationship between CSR and organizational performance, the types of CSR strategies employed and the strategic motivations behind them. To address this deficiency in current CSR knowledge and drawing upon contemporary CSR theory, a survey of 104 professionals from across the construction supply chain in Australia and New Zealand was undertaken. The results show that CSR initiatives in the construction sector are integrative, isolated, narrowly focussed (mainly on environmental activities), immature, compliance-based and operational rather than strategic. The link between CSR and economic performance increasingly espoused (and assumed) in much of the CSR literature does not appear to be accepted in practice with the main benefits being seen as relational in building corporate loyalty, brand and engagement with both internal and external stakeholders. By empirically showing that CSR in construction takes place within an integrative conceptual framework, our findings highlight the potential value of theoretical concepts such as stakeholder salience in moving this field of research forward. These approaches recognize the power that stakeholders (both internal and external) have over a business and the need to manage those relationships carefully in order to secure a licence to operate.

Suggested Citation

  • Martin Loosemore & Benson Teck Heng Lim, 2017. "Linking corporate social responsibility and organizational performance in the construction industry," Construction Management and Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 35(3), pages 90-105, March.
  • Handle: RePEc:taf:conmgt:v:35:y:2017:i:3:p:90-105
    DOI: 10.1080/01446193.2016.1242762
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Khawaja Fawad Latif, 2018. "The Development and Validation of Stakeholder-Based Scale for Measuring University Social Responsibility (USR)," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 140(2), pages 511-547, November.
    2. Hong Xue & Shoujian Zhang & Yikun Su & Zezhou Wu, 2018. "Capital Cost Optimization for Prefabrication: A Factor Analysis Evaluation Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-22, January.
    3. Čater, Tomaž & Čater, Barbara & Milić, Patricia & Žabkar, Vesna, 2023. "Drivers of corporate environmental and social responsibility practices: A comparison of two moderated mediation models," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).
    4. Renata Kučerová & Tomáš Dania & Renata Skýpalová & Veronika Blašková, 2018. "Construction Industry in the Czech Republic: the Level of Involvement in Corporate Social Responsibility," Acta Universitatis Agriculturae et Silviculturae Mendelianae Brunensis, Mendel University Press, vol. 66(2), pages 531-541.
    5. Benjamin S. Thompson, 2019. "Payments for ecosystem services and corporate social responsibility: Perspectives on sustainable production, stakeholder relations, and philanthropy in Thailand," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(4), pages 497-511, May.
    6. Yu Jin Chang & Jae Wook Yoo, 2023. "When CSR Matters: The Moderating Effect of Industrial Growth Rate on the Relationship between CSR and Firm Performance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(18), pages 1-13, September.
    7. Arnold Bernaciak & Małgorzata Halaburda & Anna Bernaciak, 2021. "The Construction Industry as the Subject of Implementing Corporate Social Responsibility (the Case of Poland)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-18, August.
    8. Ahmad, Naveed & Ullah, Zia & AlDhaen, Esra & Han, Heesup & Scholz, Miklas, 2022. "A CSR perspective to foster employee creativity in the banking sector: The role of work engagement and psychological safety," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    9. Fuqiang Zhao & Manita Kusi & Yun Chen & Wei Hu & Fawad Ahmed & Dinesh Sukamani, 2021. "Influencing Mechanism of Green Human Resource Management and Corporate Social Responsibility on Organizational Sustainable Performance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-15, August.
    10. Minh Van Nguyen & Khanh Duy Ha & Chien Thanh Phan, 2024. "Sustainable development during economic uncertainty: What drives large construction firms to perform corporate social responsibility?," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(4), pages 2838-2851, July.
    11. Xiaodong Li & Xiaojiang Gao‐Zeller & Tracey E. Rizzuto & Fan Yang, 2019. "Institutional pressures on corporate social responsibility strategy in construction corporations: The role of internal motivations," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(4), pages 721-740, July.
    12. Ionela FLOREA MUNTEANU, 2021. "Comparative Analysis on Financial Performance and Sustainable Incentives in the Construction Sector. Evidence from the Coastal Area of Romania," Economics and Applied Informatics, "Dunarea de Jos" University of Galati, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, issue 1, pages 61-67.

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