The profitable relationship among corporate social responsibility and human resource management: A new sustainable key factor
Corresponding Author
Rosa Lombardi
Department of Law and Economics of Productive Activities, University of Rome “La Sapienza”, Rome, Italy
Correspondence
Rosa Lombardi, Department of Law and Economics of Productive Activities, University of Rome “La Sapienza,” Via del Castro Laurenziano 9, 00161, Rome, Italy.
Email: rosa.lombardi@uniroma1.it
Search for more papers by this authorSimone Manfredi
Department of Economics and Law, University of Cassino and Southern Lazio, Cassino (FR), Italy
Search for more papers by this authorBenedetta Cuozzo
Department of Economics and Law, University of Cassino and Southern Lazio, Cassino (FR), Italy
Search for more papers by this authorMatteo Palmaccio
Department of Economics and Law, University of Cassino and Southern Lazio, Cassino (FR), Italy
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Rosa Lombardi
Department of Law and Economics of Productive Activities, University of Rome “La Sapienza”, Rome, Italy
Correspondence
Rosa Lombardi, Department of Law and Economics of Productive Activities, University of Rome “La Sapienza,” Via del Castro Laurenziano 9, 00161, Rome, Italy.
Email: rosa.lombardi@uniroma1.it
Search for more papers by this authorSimone Manfredi
Department of Economics and Law, University of Cassino and Southern Lazio, Cassino (FR), Italy
Search for more papers by this authorBenedetta Cuozzo
Department of Economics and Law, University of Cassino and Southern Lazio, Cassino (FR), Italy
Search for more papers by this authorMatteo Palmaccio
Department of Economics and Law, University of Cassino and Southern Lazio, Cassino (FR), Italy
Search for more papers by this authorAbstract
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has been increasingly investigated assuming several perspectives. In this scenario, human resources and particularly employees are the most relevant groups of stakeholders playing a key role in all kind of organizations. Thus, this paper aims at investigating the profitable connection between CSR and human resource management (HRM). We investigate which factors determine responsible and sustainable practices in the management of the employees’ typology contracts guaranteeing CSR and its principles. The employees’ contract typology is recognized as a sustainable key factor in influencing corporate performance. Through an empirical analysis in the football industry, we investigate if the work contracts’ average duration by football players affects the performance of their clubs. Our results demonstrate that organizations assuming stabilization and long timing in the employees’ contract are going to achieve sustainable performance assuring socially responsible practices and CSR. The awareness of the existence of a correlation between the duration of the contract and the company performance could be exploited by managers of all organizations in identifying the optimal strategy and the effectiveness in the implementation of CSR. Thus, a new sustainable key factor in assuring CSR and HRM is proposed: the employees’ contractual horizon/timing.
REFERENCE
- Albrecht, S., Bakker, A., Gruman, J., Macey, W., & Saks, A. (2015). Employee engagement, human resource management practices and competitive advantage: An integrated approach. Journal of Organizational Effectiveness: People and Performance, 2(1), 7–35. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOEPP-08-2014-0042
- Anderson, D., Sweeney, D., Williams, T., Camm, J., & Cochran, J. (2012). Quantitative methods for business. London, UK: Cengage Learning EMEA.
- Barrena-Martínez, J., López-Fernández, M., & Romero-Fernández, P. M. (2017). Towards a configuration of socially responsible human resource management policies and practices: Findings from an academic consensus. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 30(17), 2544–2580. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2017.1332669
- Barrick, M., Thurgood, G., Smith, T., & Courtright, S. (2015). Collective organizational engagement: Linking motivational antecedents, strategic implementation, and firm performance. Academy of Management Journal, 58(1), 111–135. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2013.0227
- Becker, G. S. (1964). Human capital: A theoretical and empirical analysis, with special reference to education. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
- Becker, W. S. (2011). Are you leading a socially responsible and sustainable human resource function. People & Strategy, 34(1), 18–23.
- J. Beech, & S. Chadwick (Eds.). (2004). The business of sport management. Harlow, UK: Pearson Education.
- Bell, E., Bryman, A., & Harley, B. (2018). Business research methods, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- Boesso, G., & Michelon, G. (2010). The effects of stakeholder prioritization on corporate financial performance: An empirical investigation. International Journal of Management, 27(3), 470.
- Boesso, G., Favotto, F., & Michelon, G. (2015). Stakeholder prioritization, strategic corporate social responsibility and company performance: Further evidence. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 22(6), 424–440.
- Brieger, S. A., Terjesen, S. A., Hechavarría, D. M., & Welzel, C. (2019). Prosociality in business: A human empowerment framework. Journal of Business Ethics, 159(2), 361–380.
- Campra, M., Esposito, P., & Lombardi, R. (2020). The engagement of stakeholders in nonfinancial reporting: New information-pressure, stimuli, inertia, under short-termism in the banking industry. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 27(3), 1436–1444.
- Carroll, A. B. (2008). A history of corporate social responsibility: Concepts and practices. In A. Crane, A. McWilliams, D. Matten, J. Moon, & D. S. Siegel (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of corporate social responsibility (pp. 19–46). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199211593.003.0002 Google Scholar
- Castka, P., Balzarova, M., & Bamber, C. (2004). How can SMEs effectively implement the CSR agenda? A UK case study perspective. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 11(3), 140–149.
10.1002/csr.62 Google Scholar
- Celma, D., Martínez-Garcia, E., & Coenders, G. (2014). Corporate social responsibility in human resource management: An analysis of common practices and their determinants in Spain. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 21(2), 82–99.
- A. Crane, & D. Matten (Eds.) (2007). Corporate social responsibility. In Volume 1: Theories and concepts of corporate social responsibility. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
- Dahlsrud, A. (2008). How CSR is defined: An analysis of 37 definitions. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 15, 1–13.
- Deloitte (2019 May). World in motion: Annual review of football finance 2019. Retrieved from https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/uk/Documents/sports-business-group/deloitte-uk-annual-review-of-football-finance-2019.pdf
- Diaz-Carrion, R., López-Fernández, M., & Romero-Fernandez, P. M. (2018a). Evidence of different models of socially responsible HRM in Europe. Business Ethics: A European Review, 28(1), 1–18.
- Diaz-Carrion, R., López-Fernández, M., & Romero-Fernandez, P. M. (2018b). Developing a sustainable HRM system from a contextual perspective. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 25(6), 1143–1153.
- Dobers, P. (2009). Corporate social responsibility: Management and methods. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 16, 185–191. https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.201
- Dupont, C., Ferauge, P., & Giuliano, R. (2013). The impact of corporate social responsibility on human resource management: GDF SUEZ's case. International Business Research, 6(12), 145–163. https://doi.org/10.5539/ibr.v6n12p145
10.5539/ibr.v6n12p145 Google Scholar
- Ehnert, I., Parsa, S., Roper, I., Wagner, M., & Muller-Camen, M. (2016). Reporting on sustainability and HRM: A comparative study of sustainability reporting practices by the world's largest companies. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 27(1), 88–108.
- European Commission (2001). Employment and social policies: A framework for investing in quality. COM 2001, 366 final, Brussels.
- García, P., De la Torre, C., & Fuertes, A. (2007). El desafío empresarial de la gestión de la responsabilidad social corporativa: un enfoque sectorial. Avanzando hacia una empresa socialmente responsible (Vol. 1). Madrid, Spain: IESE Business School.
- Guest, D. (2017). Human resource management and employee well-being: Towards a new analytic framework. Human Resource Management Journal, 27(1), 22–38. https://doi.org/10.1111/1748-8583.121
- Hopkins, M. (2003). The planetary bargain. Corporate social responsibility matters. London, UK: Earthscan.
- Jamali, D., El Dirani, A., & Harwood, I. (2015). Exploring human resource management roles in corporate social responsibility: The CSR-HRM co-creation model. Business Ethics: A European Review, 24(2), 125–143. https://doi.org/10.1111/beer.12085
- Jørgensen, F., Becker, K., & Matthews, J. (2011). The HRM practices of innovative knowledge-intensive firms. International Journal of Technology Management, 56(2/3/4), 123–137.
- Kauhanen, A. (2009). The incidence of high-performance work systems: Evidence from a nationally representative employee survey. Economic and Industrial Democracy, 30(3), 454–480.
- Lardo, A., Dumay, J., Trequattrini, R., & Russo, G. (2017). Social media networks as drivers for intellectual capital disclosure: Evidence from professional football clubs. Journal of Intellectual Capital, 18(1), 63–80.
- Lombardi, R., Trequattrini, R., Cuozzo, B., & Paoloni, P. (2020). Knowledge transfer in the football industry: A sectorial analysis of factors and determinants. Management Decision. https://doi.org/10.1108/MD-08-2019-1100
- Lombardi, R., Trequattrini, R., Cuozzo, B., & Cano Rubio, M. (2019). Corporate corruption prevention, sustainable governance and legislation: First exploratory evidence from the Italian scenario. Journal of Cleaner Production, 217, 666–675. In press. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.01.214
- Lev, B., & Schwartz, A. (1971). On the use of the economic concept of human capital in financial statements. The Accounting Review, 46(1), 103–112.
- Maglio, R., Rey, A., Agliata, F., & Lombardi, R. (2020). Exploring sustainable governance: Compliance with the Italian related party transactions regulation for the legal protection of minority shareholders. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environment Management, 27, 272–282. https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.1804
- McWilliams, A., & Siegel, D. (2011). Creating and capturing value: Strategic corporate social responsibility, resource-based theory, and sustainable competitive advantage. Journal of Management, 37(5), 1480–1495.
- Mintzberg, H. (1983). The case for corporate social responsibility. The Journal of Business Strategy, 4(2), 3–15.
10.1108/eb039015 Google Scholar
- Mitchell, R., Agle, B., & Wood, D. (1997). Toward a theory of stakeholder identification and salience: Defining the principle of who and what really counts. Academy of Management Review, 22(4), 853–886. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.1997.9711022105
- Newman, A., Miao, Q., Hofman, P. S., & Zhu, C. J. (2016). The impact of socially responsible human resource management on employees’ organizational citizenship behaviour: The mediating role of organizational identification. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 27(4), 440–455.
- Nie, D., Lämsä, A., & Pučėtaitė, R. (2018). Effects of responsible human resource management practices on female employees’ turnover intentions. Business Ethics: A European Review, 27(1), 29–41.
- Nonaka, I. (1994). A dynamic theory of organizational knowledge creation. Organization Science, 5(1), 14–37.
- Orlitzky, M., Swanson, D., & Quartermaine, L. (2006). Normative myopia, executives’ personality, and preference for pay dispersion: Toward implications for corporate social performance. Business & Society, 45(2), 149–177.
10.1177/0007650306286739 Google Scholar
- Paauwe, J., & Farndale, E. (2017). Strategy, HRM, and performance: A con- textual approach. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
- Poli R., Ravenel L., & Besson R. (2015). How to build up a team for long term success? The CIES Football Observatory approach. CIES Football Observatory Monthly Report Issue, 7. Retrieved from https://football-observatory.com/IMG/pdf/mr07_eng.pdf
- Porter, M., & Kramer, M. (2006). Strategy and society: The link between competitive advantage and corporate social responsibility. Harvard Business Review, 8, 78–92.
- Ruf, B., Muralidhar, K., Brown, R. M., Janney, J. J., & Paul, K. (2001). An empirical investigation of the relationship between change in corporate social pe performance and financial performance a stakeholder theory perspective. Journal of Business Ethics, 32, 143–156. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1010786912118
- Sarvaiya, H., Eweje, G., & Arrowsmith, J. (2016). The roles of HRM in CSR: Strategic partnership or operational support? Journal of Business Ethics, 153, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-016-3402-5
- Secundo, G., Schiuma, G., & Passiante, G. (2017). Entrepreneurial learning dynamics in knowledge-intensive enterprises. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, 23(3), 366–380.
- S. Sšderman, & H. Dolles (Eds.). (2013). Handbook of research on sport and business. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing.
10.4337/9781781005866 Google Scholar
- Taylor, G. R. (2005). Integrating quantitative and qualitative methods in research. Oxford, UK: University Press of America.
- Tomé, E., Naidenova, I., & Oskolkova, M. (2014). Personal welfare and intellectual capital: The case of football coaches. Journal of Intellectual Capital, 15(1), 189–202.
10.1108/JIC-06-2013-0064 Google Scholar
- Trequattrini, R., Lardo, A., Cuozzo, B., & Cano Rubio, M. (2017). Intellectual capital as driver for controlling managers’ performance: An innovative approach. Management Control, 2017(3), 123–142.
10.3280/MACO2017-003008 Google Scholar
- Usman, A. B., & Amran, N. A. B. (2015). Corporate social responsibility practice and corporate financial performance: Evidence from Nigeria companies. Social Responsibility Journal, 11(4), 749–763.
- Voegtlin, C., & Greenwood, M. (2016). Corporate social responsibility and human resource management: A systematic review and conceptual analysis. Human Resource Management Review, 26(3), 181–197. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hrmr.2015.12.003
- Vuontisjärvi, T. (2006). Corporate social reporting in the European context and human resource disclosures: An analysis of Finnish companies. Journal of Business Ethics, 69(4), 331–354.
- Welford, R. (2007). Corporate governance and corporate social responsibility: Issues for Asia. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 14(1), 42–51. https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.139
10.1002/csr.139 Google Scholar
- Welford, R., Chan, C., & Man, M. (2008). Priorities for corporate social responsibility: A survey of businesses and their stakeholders. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 15(1), 52–62. https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.166
- Wu, M. W., & Shen, C. H. (2013). Corporate social responsibility in the banking industry: Motives and financial performance. Journal of Banking and Finance, 37(9), 3529–3547.
- Yang, X., & Rivers, C. (2009). Antecedents of CSR practices in MNCs’ subsidiaries: A stakeholder and institutional perspective. Journal of Business Ethics, 86(2), 155–169.