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An extension of the industrial corporate social responsibility practices index: New information for stakeholder engagement under a multivariate approach

Abstract:

The aim of this paper is to extend the Industrial Corporate Social Responsibility Practices Index proposed for the 10 main industries in the 39 sectors of activity that comprise them. This extension will provide more detailed information on CSR practices at the industrial level, especially about sustainable development and environmental concerns. In addition, this paper stablishes an aggregate measure of industrial classification and mimetic typologies. It will tabulate the overall impact that the economic activity of a company has on society and environment. Thereby, the relationships between these indicators and the mimetic institutional forces are studied, testing these forces indicate that companies from sectors considered to have greater impact/risk have higher corporate social responsibility (CSR) scores than companies from other sectors. Additionally, using the MetaBiplot statistical multivariate technique, which by the comparison and integration of several subspaces provides a global view of sustainability at a sectoral level, it was found that the most polluting companies with the highest environmental risks—forestry and paper, mining, oil and gas producers, gas, water, and multi-utilities, tobacco and electricity sectors—show their pbkp_redilection for environmental policies and reports, human rights, and stakeholder participation. Moreover, the less polluting companies—banks, insurance, media, telecommunications, real state, and general retailers—are more intensive on staff and implement policies aimed at favoring: the personal and work-life balance with systems for employee training and promotion; the equal opportunities and participation; the maintenance of good customer and supplier relations; and the fight to counteract bribery.