Cheol Lee published in Journal of Business Ethics
Associate Professor of Accounting Cheol Lee's paper, co-authored with S. Cho of Oakland University, "Managerial Efficiency, Corporate Social Performance, and Corporate Financial Performance", has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Business Ethics.
The Journal of Business Ethics is one of the 50 journals used by the Financial Times in compiling the prestigious business school research rank. It is a specialized outlet for corporate social responsibility issues and publishes only original articles from a wide variety of methodological and disciplinary perspectives concerning ethical issues related to business that bring something new or unique to the discourse in their field. Contributors examine moral aspects of systems of production, consumption, marketing, advertising, social and economic accounting, labor relations, public relations and organizational behavior. In order to promote a dialogue between the various interested groups as much as possible, papers are presented in a style relatively free of specialist jargon.
Abstract
Managers face an ethical dilemma in the allocation of scarce resources to corporate social responsibility (CSR) because the underlying managerial incentives behind such CSR spending can range from pure altruism to complete financial orientation. Despite the importance of the managerial role in implementing CSR, prior studies generally have treated the role of managers as an exogenous factor. This study builds on recent studies on the managerial characteristics in studies on CSR by examining how managerial efficiency influences the outcomes of CSR. Using a newly developed measure of managerial efficiency, we find that, on average, managerial efficiency is positively associated with a subsequent change in corporate social performance (CSP), although the association is weak in the level of total CSP. We find that efficient managers are more likely to engage in the product related CSR that directly connects to corporate financial performance (CFP) but are less likely to engage in environment related CSR. We also find that CSP is positively associated with CFP with efficient managers. Our findings contribute to management and other stakeholders’ understanding of the association of CSR to its outcomes, CSP and/or CFP, which is hinged by the indispensable moderating role of managerial efficiency."
