Environmental issues and strategic corporate social responsibility for organizational competitiveness

Abstract

The objective of this study is to examine a multi-dimensional modified conceptual model based on stakeholder theory & previous literature. The work represents an attempt to evaluate the association of environmental issues and practices of an organization's corporate social responsibility and the impact of these two factors on overall competitiveness. We have taken four corporate social responsibility (CSR) factors regarding the environment that affect competitive organizational performance. Additionally, we incorporated green innovation as a mediator and social media marketing apps as a moderator to examine the impact on organizational competitiveness. We collected 906 responses from the manufacturing and services sectors from the regional developing Asian countries China, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and the UAE for more generalizable and robust results. We developed a modified questionnaire and conceptual framework to empirically test organizational performance & competitiveness. For the analysis, we employed SEM-based multivariate modeling. The study's findings reveal that all the considered CSR factors of the environment positively and significantly impact organizational performance for competitiveness. The results further show that both green innovation as a mediator and social media marketing apps as moderators significantly impact the relationship of CSR factors of environment and organizational competitiveness. Thus, the modified conceptual model demonstrates that the environmental CSR factors are beneficial for the manufacturing and service sectors of developing economies, which create value for competitive business, society, and environment. The findings provide valuable directions for the senior management in the manufacturing and services sector to devise and implement environmental strategies for competitiveness.