Super man woman?
The influence of women in top management positions in German
family-owned businesses on Corporate Social Responsibility
(CSR)
Master Thesis
MSc Business Studies – International Management Student: Julia Reichensperger 1st Supervisor: Erik Dirksen MSc ID: 10993169
2nd Supervisor: Dr. Michelle Westermann-Behaylo Date: 08 January 2016
Statement of Originality
This document is written by Julia Reichensperger who declares to take full responsibility for the contents of this document.
I declare that the text and the work presented in this document are original and that no sources other than those mentioned in the text and its references have been used in creating it.
The Faculty of Economics and Business is responsible solely for the supervision of completion of the work, not for the contents.
Acknowledgements
My gratitude goes to everyone who has supported me during this study. I would like to thank my supervisor, Mr. Erik Dirksen, to not have forced me into one direction but to leave me with my own interests and ideas. Although this is a real challenge, at
the same time it helped me to find my own ambitions. For specific questions, he was always available. I would also like to thank my family, especially my mother, for their support throughout my whole study and my friends, for sweetening my study life. Last but not least, I
would like to thank all the participants who took part in this study. Their contribution has been of utmost importance for my research.
Abstract
This study investigates the role of women in German family-owned businesses, in particular, the relationship between those women and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as well as the relationship between their position in the company and the company’s CSR actions. The aim of this research is to examine, to what extent women in top management positions in German family-owned businesses influence CSR. The theoretical framework − that is the framework by Rugman and Doh (2008), who take Rugman & Verbecke’s (1992; 2003) initial firm-specific advantages/country-specific advantages matrix (CSA/FSA matrix) and integrate the social triangle by van Tulder & van der Zwart (2006) − is drawn on to build a conceptual model of the relationship between women in German family-owned businesses and CSR. To achieve this paper’s aim, an in depth qualitative research design with semi-structured
interviews and a short attitude survey was used. In total, 12 participants were interviewed who shed light on this paper’s research question. Subsequent analysis showed mixed results of this study’s propositions. Results indicate that although women in top management positions in German family-owned businesses have a positive attitude towards CSR, there is only partial support that these women can really influence companies’ CSR actions. Instead, best
outcomes are achieved through coordination and cooperation between women and men given the condition of adequate financial resources. Emerging coding of the content meaning points out that the complexity and range of the CSR concept is even more intensified by the current refugee crisis that is seen as a new challenge for CSR.
Table of Content Abstract
1. Introduction………. 01
2. Literature Review……… 03
2.1. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)……… 04
2.2. Family-owned businesses………. 07
2.3. Relationship between family-owned businesses and CSR………... 09
2.4. Women in top management positions………... 10
2.5. Relationship between women in top management positions and CSR………. 12
2.6. Literature gap……….……... 14
3. Theoretical Framework……… 15
3.1. Institution-based view (IBV)……… 15
3.2. Resource-based view (RBV)……… 17
3.3. CSA/FSA matrix and social triangle……… 19
4. Working propositions……….. 23
5. Research design………... 26
6. Research philosophy: Interpretivism………... 27
7. Methodology……… 28
7.1. Data collection method………. 29
7.1.1. Qualitative research method………... 29
7.1.1.1. Short attitude survey………... 32
7.1.1.2. Semi-structured interviews………. 33
7.2. Analysing strategy……… 34
7.2.1. Analysing strategy for short attitude surveys……….34
8. Results………. 38
8.1. Definition CSR………. 38
8.2. Family-owned businesses, future generations, and large corporations……… 41
8.3. Women as leaders, their thinking and nature……… 43
8.4. Gains and costs of CSR……… 45
8.5. Reputation………. 46
8.6. (German) culture………... 47
8.7. CSR Implementation………. 49
8.8. Emerging coding of the content meaning………. 51
9. Discussion……… 52
10. Conclusion………. 56
10.1. Scientific relevance & Managerial implications………. 57
10.2. Limitations and suggestions for further research……… 58
References Appendices
1 1. Introduction
The ancient world already dealt with the idea of business responsibility. Aristotle observes that business people and corporations are first and foremost all members of a larger
community (Polis). According to him, mankind should drive for excellence but by being part of the community, humans are also obliged to care for the well-being of others (Solomon 2004). With 7.243 billion of us on earth today (UNPF, 2014), human impact on the planetary system influences the climate system and vice versa, while climate change influences the human and natural systems (IPCC 2014). This led to the merger between the ideas of business responsibility for society and the idea of business responsibility for the environment, since corporate emissions are responsible for a large part of man-made climate change. As a consequence, the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) developed in the 1980s (Banerjee 2008). Due to increasing global temperatures, corporations have a responsibility to actively care for the welfare of the global community like never before.
The CSR literature is highly fragmented (Aguinis & Glavas, 2012). For instance, Panwar et al. (2014) argue that culture and ideology are important variables, which determine CSR actions. The authors hold that corporations have a more active CSR program in countries in which the society values CSR. Bear et al. (2014) identify a link between women and CSR actions. They state that women are more socially responsible, which positively influences CSR activity, a firm’s reputation and consequently economic performance. In addition, scholars debate over a common definition of CSR (Kang et al. 2015). CSR should not be understood as a strategy that can be easily introduced into companies, as its complexity can also backfire. Economic value can only be achieved, when the economic goal is secondary, because “it takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it” (Buffett & Clark 2006, p.13). Due to more media attention reporting on corporate scandals (Basu & Palazzo 2008; Palazzo & Scherer 2006 in Panwar et al. 2014, p.482), people have become sceptic (Fort 2014, p.155).
Previous studies mostly concentrate on huge corporation such as Fortune 500 firms and on firms based in the United States (U.S.) but little is known for smaller companies based in Europe. Whereas women constitute for over half of the world`s population (International Labour Organization, p.30) and remain the majority of university graduates (ibid. 2015, p.23), their representation in the labour market and particular in top management positions is rather low (Heilman 2001; Ahrens, Landmann, & Woywode 2015). Historically, social and natural scientists excluded women in their research (Hesse-Biber & Leavy 2011, p.23). A recent published report of the International Labour Organization (ILO) focuses on women in top management positions. It concludes that with more female managers, an improved
performance of business can be seen: “Our research is showing that women’s ever increasing participation in the labour market has been the biggest engine of global growth and
competitiveness” (Deborah France-Massin, Director of the ILO Bureau for Employers’ Activities in ILO 2015).
The objective of this research is to fill the existing gap in literature and to contribute to existing knowledge about CSR and the role of women in leadership positions. This paper asks: to what extent do women in top management positions in German family-owned businesses influence CSR? For answering the research question, this paper focuses on German family-owned businesses, because not only does Germany represent a country in which society values CSR but it also deals with CSR in a European context taking away some focus from the U.S. Since family-owned businesses are detrimental to the German economy, it is worthwhile to investigate the role of women in these firms.
This paper pursues a novel direction to the existing literature and gives new insights into the concept of CSR and the role of women, making it an effective topic. Moreover, this field is interesting to study and instead of being theoretical in nature, it is also practically feasible. Recent examples demonstrate that businesses are challenged by CSR. For example,
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an influence on the decision of the oil and gas company Royal Dutch Shell to stop its oil drilling in the Atlantic (Eilperin & Mufson 2015). Likewise, the German automobile company
Volkswagen, lost face after it manipulated the data concerning exhaust emissions of their
vehicles (The Economist 2015).
This paper first reviews previous literature relevant to the topic by explaining CSR, family-owned businesses and women in top management positions respectively as well as the relationship between these three themes. The rationale behind this paper’s research question is then explained by the literature gap. Second, this paper reports on the theoretical framework whereby it discusses the institution-based view (IBV) and the resource-based view (RBV) that both help to understand the country-specific advantages/ firm-specific advantages matrix (CSA/FSA matrix) and social triangle. Based on the literature review and the theoretical framework, the next chapter then introduces this paper’s working propositions, before elaborating on the research design and the research philosophy, namely interpretivism. The following chapter on this paper’s methodology illustrates the data collection method and explains why this paper uses a qualitative research method with a short attitude survey and semi-structured interviews. It also looks at the analysing methods. After presenting the results, a discussion follows. Finally, the conclusion identifies this paper’s scientific relevance and managerial implications as well as limitation of this research and suggestions for further research.
2. Literature Review
This chapter discusses previous literature about CSR, family-owned businesses, and the role of women in top management positions respectively. It then goes on and elaborates on the relationship between these three concepts. It concludes that there is a literature gap in research concerning the question: to what extent do women in top management positions in German family-owned businesses influence CSR?
2.1. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
There are various contracting views on CSR whereas not even the terminology is clear. Sometimes companies refer to Corporate responsibility (CR), Sustainability/Corporate sustainability (CS) or Corporate citizenship (CC) (Ethical Corporation Poll 2007 in Hopkins 2008). There is a difference between the terms though. For example, corporate responsibility acts on the organizational level and refers inter alia to the so called triple bottom line. In contrast, corporate sustainability performs at the global level and refers to features such as the obligation to care for future generations. This paper uses the term Corporate Social
Responsibility (CSR).
Time has changed the perspectives on responsibility. Friedman’s classical neoliberal view (1970) emphasises that “the business of business is business” and that “the social responsibility of business is to increase profits”. This notion is challenged nowadays by the idea that business is responsible for society and for the environment. In 1987, Gro Harlem Brundtland defined CSR as: “Managing your firm in such a way that its activities meet the needs of the present, without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs” (paraphrased form the ‘Our Common Future’ report of the World Commission on Environment and Development 1987). Although this definition receives a lot of attention, it lacks on specificity. How should one define ‘needs’ and how should one measure it?
Hollender & Fenichell (2004) have a similar perspective as Gro Harlem Brundtland. For them, CSR is “the future of business. It’s what companies have to do to survive and prosper in a world where more and more of their behaviour is under the microscope”. This means that corporations are in need of an active CSR program; otherwise they will lose their license to operate. However, scholars do not only have positive views about CSR.
Davis & Blomstrom (1975, p.50) state that although CSR mainly favours companies, it can backfire when implemented wrong (e.g. greenwashing for a company’s reputation): “In
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will tend to lose it”. Similarly Vanhamme & Grobben (2008) note that firms with a longer history of CSR enjoy a more competitive advantage, because a too sudden introduction of CSR can lead to consumer mistrust. Banerjee (2008) argues that CSR discourses are not about social investment and social justice but serve as legitimization of power of large corporations.
These examples show that multiple competing definitions and views exist. For this paper’s purpose, CSR can be characterised as “a concept whereby companies integrate social and environmental concerns in their business operations and in their interaction with their stakeholders on a voluntary basis and in a context specific way” (COM 2002, p.3). This definition covers the idea of the triple bottom line (product, planet, and people) and deals with the roles of various stakeholders, as well as voluntary basis and context-specificity.
There are two opposing arguments in literature, concerning the costs for CSR
investment. The one side argues that the implementation of environmental sustainability can lead to increased costs for a business (Friedman 1970; Davis & Blomstrom 1975; Vanhamme & Grobben 2008), while the other side holds that it can be profitable to be green (Orlitzky et al. 2003; Husted & Salazar 2006; Ambec & Lanoie 2008;). Although there are more studies suggesting that there is a positive relationship between financial performance and CSR (Margolis & Walsh 2003), previous literature shows contradictory findings. Branco & Rodrigues (2006) believe that CSR can be seen as a strategy for a firm’s reputation to attract more customer as well as employees. However, Ambec & Lanoie (2008) observe that it depends on the characteristics of the company whether an investment in environmental protection improves the firm’s financial and economic performance. Other scholars go even further and point out that green management is vital for ethical and environmental reasons regardless if it pays to be green or not (Marcus & Fremeth 2009). The example of the world’s largest carpet manufacturer Interface and its former CEO Ray Anderson (1934-2011)
In respect to the literature on the financial impact of CSR, Barnett & Salomon (2012) add the question ‘when does it pay to be green’ to the discussion. Through an OLS regression, they analyse data from Kinder, Lydenberg & Domini (KLD) and Compustat databases with a panel data of 1214 publicly traded firms and 4730 firm-year observations from 1998 until 2006. They find support for a U-shaped relationship between corporate social performance (CSP) and corporate financial performance (CFP). According to Barnett & Salmon (2012),
stakeholders see some firms as more reliable than others and therefore incentivise social responsibility actions. Thus, they argue that the degree of a firm’s stakeholder influence capacity (SIC) impacts the ability of a firm to profit from CSP. This means that Friedman’s (1970) argument of the curve evening out at the beginning of CSR investment is correct. The curve continues in its downward move when firms do not adequately use CSR but increases after a while when firms use it effectively. This means that the more firms invest and the more they manage their stakeholders, the more CSR investment pays off. Thus, Barnett & Salomon (2012) conclude that it can both cost and pay to be socially responsible.
The idea of CSR developed further towards the notion of Corporate Shared Value (CSV). The principle of shared value can be defined as creating economic value in a way that also creates value for society (Porter & Kramer 2011). According to this view, CSV is long-term focused whereas CSR, in contrast, is short-long-term focused. It is short-long-term focused because it aims at reputation and has limited connections to business. By providing the example of the British multinational telecommunications company Vodafone in Kenya, Porter & Kramer (2011) emphasize that CSV can legitimate business again after the society became aware of the ‘unethical’ behaviour of business. Vodafone sells low-priced cell phones to Kenya’s poor population giving them access to mobile banking services. Vodafone thereby profits from the Kenyan market which would not have been possible otherwise, because the population of Kenya is not able to pay the same amount for cell phone prices as people in
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Western countries. On the other hand, the population in Kenya gains from the access to these cell phones and the mobile banking service.
According to Perrini & Minoja (2008), the extent to which CSR values a company is dependent on its general competitive strategy. The authors argue that the belief and value system of the entrepreneurs play a significant role in building a sustainable corporate strategy. Hence, not every company values CSR as a strategy. Since national cultures shape peoples’ norms and values (North 1991), sustainable strategies are implemented differently according to the national culture the entrepreneur originates from. This also implies that the attitude towards CSR of a country’s inhabitants affect a firm’s CSR actions, because people’s opinion is coloured by the country in which they grew up.
2.2. Family-owned businesses
Similar to the ongoing discussion on how to define CSR, there is no common definition about family-owned businesses yet (Astrachan & Zellweger 2008; Ampenberger 2010). Cross-cultural differences and national viewpoints make the move towards consensus even more difficult (Astrachan & Zellweger 2008). According to Ward (1987), a family-owned business can broadly be defined as a business, which is succeeded by the same family from generation to generation. Thus, succession is seen as an essential element in family-owned businesses. However, the term family-owned business does not necessarily imply that the family is the owner of the company but it does mean that it is involved in significant decisions when holding at least a stake in the firm (Stadler 2015).
In addition, the environment and rising opportunities as well as challenges determine a certain governance structure in a family business. While non-family owned businesses are mainly concerned with profit making, family-owned businesses also aim to maintain family members in the firm. Lubinski (2011) argues that it is significant to consider the
historical past of a country when elaborating on family-owned businesses in the particular country, because new strategies are implemented according to earlier experiences (Stadler 2014). In Germany, the structure of family-owned businesses determines who is influential in the firm (Klein 2000). If the family does not own the entire stock (ownership), there is still the possibility of individual members having a say in the so called Aufsichtsrat (can broadly be translated to ‘supervisory board’ but there are some small differences). It is also possible that there is a member of the family in the top management team and is thus involved in important decisions.
Family-owned businesses constitute 90 percent of all companies over the world (Stadler 2015). It is therefore not surprising that previous literature is interested in the success story of some family-owned businesses. In his study, Stadler (2007) developed several
principles for a owned business to be successful. The first principle states that family-owned businesses exploit before they explore. He further points out that family-family-owned businesses are conservative about change and are risk averse in financial spending. This means that, regarding innovation for example, successful European family-owned businesses enjoy a late mover advantage (LMA). In contrast, Patel and Fiet (2011) argue that family-owned business are better in realizing windows of opportunities and are thus first mover instead of late movers. Although most scholars would agree that firms are more successful with a first-mover advantage (FMA), firms can gain from late mover advantages too. For instance, free rider effects, resolutions of technological or market uncertainty, shifts in customer or technological needs or Schumpeterian technological processes are factors favouring late movers. It depends on the specific characteristics of a company, if a first mover- or a late mover strategy is more appropriate (Liebermann & Montgomery 1988).
Stadler et al. (2015) state that although firms can learn from the success story of some family-owned businesses going overseas, this does not mean that these practices can be
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This implies that it might be more profitable for some firms to stay and operate within national borders. From a transaction cost perspective, multinationality is not necessarily related to performance. Rather, the relationship between multinationality and performance is context-dependent. Hennart (2007) notes that the optimal level of marginal economic costs depends on factors such as firm size, the industry in which the firm operates in, the country which the firm expanded to, or the archetype of the firm.
2.3. Relationship between family-owned businesses and CSR
Family-owned businesses have to adapt to an ever changing environment such as the rise of CSR. The long-term success story of some family-owned businesses does not only derive form their financial performance but is also related to their reputation and consumer’s trust in the company. This in turn is positively related to the firm’s longevity. In general, trust can be understood as a mediator between CSR action and society’s satisfaction (Perrini & Minoja 2008, p.49). The majority of consumers normally do not buy a product or purchase a service from a firm, if they do not trust it. For example, trust in a pharmaceutical company is
especially significant for the company’s reputation and economic and financial performance (Fort 2014; Panwar et al. 2014).
Scholars have already investigated the relationship between family-owned businesses and CSR. Panwar et al. (2014) reported on forest products companies in the US. They argue that CSR actions are more legitimate for family-owned companies compared to non-family-owned businesses. This is due to the fact that a firm’s legitimacy is dependent on the cultural and institutional environment. In their case, family-owned businesses have a special place in the national value system, because Americans “epitomize and symbolize economic freedom, property rights, free entry, free opportunity, free competition...[that] has often been associated with the democratic ideal’’ (Anglund1998 , p. 27 in Panwar et al. 2014).
In addition, the more the family engages in the firm, the more engagement in CSR actions can be seen (Marques, Presas and Simon 2014).
Scholars generally tend to focus on developed countries when researching a specific problem. Kang et al. (2015) aim to make up for said deficiency by analysing family-owned hotels in Phuket (Thailand). They are interested, if and how CSR benefits these businesses. Through an empirical analysis, they conclude that there is a positive effect between CSR and firm performance. One has to acknowledge though, that their study lacks on generalizability and further studies need to investigate, if their findings can be applied to other cases too.
The decision to have an active CSR program is made by people in top management positions. Heilman (2001) pays attention on gender inequalities and investigates how gender stereotypes prevent women from reaching top management positions. He observes that although there might be equal competence, women are less likely to be chosen as a leader. This result is in line with the findings of Ahrens et al. (2015). Ahrens et al. (2015) conclude that there is still a male preference in the decision-making even if female successors have higher human capital. This gives reason to a more detailed examination of women in top management positions.
2.4. Women in top management positions
Historically, social and natural scientists excluded women in their research (Hesse-Biber & Leavy 2011, p.23). For instance, while the role of women as leaders does not receive much attention in Bass’s (1981) first book Stogdill's Handbook of Leadership, his second book
Leadership and performance beyond expectations (Bass 1985) touches on it. It is only in this
third book The Bass Handbook of Leadership: Theory, Research, and Managerial
Applications (Bass 2008) in which a whole chapter deals with women in leadership roles.
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than in politics though. According to Apfelbaum & Hadley (1988 in Bass 1990), this was mainly due to the implementation of women voting rights after they gained the rights to work. For instance, in German politics only 10 percent of women served as representatives in the parliament in the mid-1980s. Moreover, women begun to take the role of their husband as the leader in family-owned businesses although the number was small. Back in the 1990s, Bass (1990, p. 707) argues that the role of women as leader changes as society is in transition.
Previous literature is concerned with the struggle for women to climb up the
management ladder and how to tackle gender inequality. Heilman (2001) argues that even if a woman has the same competences, it does not necessarily mean that she has the same
opportunities to reach the upper level. Evolutionists state that due to physical differences between men and women, it is easier for men to reach higher positions because their voice is louder and they are seen as stronger (Van Vugt et al. 2008). Scholars have analysed how the presence of women in top management positions influence firms that are operating at their peak and asked whether or not companies perform better with or without women as leaders.
Judge (2003) claims that although the trend towards more women in top management positions is a positive development, this does not necessarily mean that it is better for a company’s performance; she argues that there could be a rather negative impact as well. In reaction to this statement, Ryan and Haslam (2005) investigate, if this claim is true and which factors determine Judge’s (2003) argumentation. They conclude that Judge (2003) is not wrong in her argumentation in general, but that she overlooks the so called ‘glass cliff’. This means that women are often appointed as leaders when the company finds itself in a crisis. As a consequence, it is much harder for women to perform well and it is more likely that the company performs badly. In line with this finding, Hillman et al. (2000) find out that the board of managers is strategically tailored to a changing environment. According to Goodman et al. (2003), there is a higher chance for women when a company values the development
and promotion of employees, when there is a high management turnover, and when salaries for the management is lower.
From a psychological point of view, scholars aim to identify what makes a qualified leader. Goleman (1998, p.93) emphasizes that “IQ and technical skills are important, but emotional intelligence is the sine qua non of leadership”. In his investigation of 188
companies over a couple of years, he finds out that when a leader has a so called “emotional intelligence”, it has a positive impact on business performance. People can be characterized as emotional intelligent when they are aware of their own character (self-awareness), are able to control moods (self-regulation), can motivate themselves for a goal at work (motivation), can understand the feelings of others (empathy) and are able to build social networks (social skills). In light of the difference, on how high men and women score on emotional intelligence, Goleman (ibid.) claims that there is no difference. However, Mandell & Pherwani (2003) beg to differ.
The authors investigate mid-size to large organizations in the north-eastern section of the U.S. Their sample size consists of 32 male and female managers or supervisors. The hierarchical regression analysis shows that there is a significant difference between the emotional intelligence of men and women. Women score higher (p < .05). Although more studies have to be done to be able to generalize their findings, their study represents interesting results and are also in line with similar conclusions (Mayer, Caruso & Salovey 1999; Mayer & Geher 1996 in Mandell & Pherwani 2003; Joseph & Newman 2010).
2.5. Relationship between women in top management positions and CSR
Due to the constant pressure to have a more diversified board (Bilimoria, 2000; Kramer et al., 2006; Ramirez, 2003; Sellers, 2007 in Bear et al. 2010), a higher number of women on boards not only reduces said pressure but also affect a firm’s CSR rating and corporate reputation.
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better off when having women on the board of directors, but a balanced team can yield extraordinary results (Shambaugh 2012).
Bernardi et al. (2009) examine the relationship between female directors on boards and the link to Ethisphere Magazine's ‘World's Most Ethical Companies’ list. Interestingly, the author demonstrates that there is a positive relationship between a company listed on the ‘World's Most Ethical Companies’ list and the percentage of women being on a board of directors of a Fortune 500 company. One can argue that this result is related to women scoring higher in emotional intelligence and more precisely on the ability of empathy and social skills. CSR by definition implies ‘social responsibility’ and the ability to be socially responsible. In light of the preceding findings, the statement that women are more socially responsible confirms Mandell`s & Pherwani`s (2003, p.400) proposition: “it is possible that women as compared to men score high on certain components (for example, empathy and social skills) and low on certain other components (for example, motivation and self- regulation)”.
If emotional intelligence is significant for the success of a business, if women score higher on emotional intelligence than men and if women are more socially responsible than men, this means not only that women are qualified leaders but it also means that it has an impact on the CSR performance of a company. From an evolutionary psychological point of view, men value the present over the future more than women do, because men have lower obligatory parental investment (Griskevicius et al. 2012, p.123). Parental investment can be understood as, for example, the time or the energy needed to take care of the child. According to Griskevicius et al. (2012, p.124), studies have shown that men are wasting environmental resources to a higher degree than women, because due to this lower obligatory parental investment, they are less concerned about improving environmental degradation. This paper argues that this relationship between lower obligatory parental investment and less concern about environmental degradation strengthens the argumentation that women favour CSR more.
2.6. Literature gap
Previous literature on CSR often focuses on either giant MNEs in the U.S., which can be traces back to the fact that CSR originates from the U.S., (Crane et al. 2013) or uses the Fortune 500 companies (Bernardi 2002; 2006; 2009; Cook & Class 2014; Stadler 2007).
This paper aims to fill this gap by concentrating on family-owned businesses based in Europe. Since family-owned businesses are detrimental to the German economy, this paper focuses on Germany. Furthermore, Germany represents a country in which society values CSR. It is also a frontrunner in sustainable products, e.g. it is one of the first countries which adopted recycling standards which led companies to produce less-packaging intensive products. Although CSR literature is highly fragmented (Aguinis & Glavas, 2012), the relationship between German family-owned businesses, women in top management positions and CSR has never been studied before. In relation to the literature review, this paper
therefore asks: to what extent do women in top management positions in German family-owned businesses have an influence on CSR?
It should be acknowledged here that this paper investigates German family-owned businesses that have an international presence and have the financial capability to invest in CSR. This however critiques CSR and this paper, because investing in CSR is only possible, if the firm is already profitable (Fort 2014, p.153; Panwar 2014, p.489). Moreover, for firms with an international focus, it is harder to ensure CSR policies due to different national cultures, norms and institutional environments (Panwar 2014, p. 485)
15 3. Theoretical framework
There is no theory that helps to explain the full picture of a phenomenon. According to
Machlup (1967), there is no single business theory that explains every single aspect of a firm. Rather, a theory sheds light on one (or more) aspect(s) of the whole. This paper sees the framework by Rugman & Doh (2008) as an appropriate theoretical framework for this paper’s purpose, because it combines several relevant theories.
Before explaining their framework in detail − which is a combination of the CSA/FSA matrix first developed by Rugman (1981) and further extended by Rugman & Verbeke (1992; 2003) and the so called social triangle − the first sections describe the institution-based view (IBV) and the resource-based view (RBV). These theories help to understand the framework better, because the framework combines, inter alia, institutional analysis and resource-based thinking but also help us to comprehend how firms are structured and why they behave in a certain way. The RBV focuses on FSAs and states that a firm’s performance is dependent on superiority of the system and structures (Gao et al. 2010). The IBV stresses the institutional environment in which the MNE operates.
The following sections illuminate each theory in detail and explain how the theories are merged hence providing a better understanding on why answering this paper’s research question requires multiple theories. Moreover, this paper puts figures into the following sections to help the reader visualize the framework.
3.1. Institution-based view (IBV)
The IBV focuses on the state and the society, because institutions have a profound effect on ‘doing business’ (Meyer et al. 2009). The theory argues that firms should not neglect social, political and legal grounds, because firms cannot be resistant against these factors (Peng 2002). North (1991, p.97) describes these features as institutional framework, which “are the
humanly devised constraints that structure political, economic and social interaction”. There are formal constraints and informal constraints. Formal constraints are referred to as rules within the society, developed by politics and decisions made by justice. Informal constraints are defined as socially sanctioned norms within society caused by the respective culture and ideology. For instance, there is a difference between Asian- and Western cultures. In contrast to the West, Asian cultures value interpersonal relations such as consensus-and trust building. According to Peng (2000), Asia demonstrates the importance of institutional forces and thus the significance of an IBV of business strategy, because the institutional environment has a direct effect of a company’s choices and strategies.
The idea that companies should not forget the cultural environment in which they operate has also consequences for CSR. Culture shapes norms (North 1991) and formal institutions (e.g. rules) cannot be disentangled from the information institutions (e.g. norms and culture) (Sorge 2004). This explains why in some countries institutions developed while in others they are missing (North 1991). Scholars argue that more companies introduce CSR for more legitimacy as a result of isomorphic pressure (DiMaggio & Powell 1983; Miles 1987, Greening & Gray 1994 in Perrini & Minoja 2008, p. 49). Isomorphic pressure can be explained by the perception of companies towards other companies. When companies in the same institutional environment perceive other companies as more legitimate or successful, they tend to model themselves after the successful companies (mimetic pressure).
The IBV can also be related to the role of women in top management positions.
Women are less likely to reach higher positions in countries with low institutional pressure for equal treatment of men and woman in the workplace (Linnehan 1999; Goodman et al. 2003). Due to the rising concern about the underrepresentation of women in leadership positions, for example, the European Commission and many Member States have developed several
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the board of directors of publicly limited companies. Although Norway is not a member in the European Union, many EU Member States followed Norway and introduced a quota or similar legislative measures (Bettio & Sansonetti 2015, p.52).
3.2. Resource-based view (RBV)
In contemporary international business (IB) research, the RBV of the firm has become a widely used and highly valued theory among the academic world and scholars utilise the RBV as a tool to connect IB and strategy research (Peng 2001). Through a citation-based approach, Peng (2001) analyses the extent to which authors used the most important RBV papers from Wernerfelt (1984) and/or Barney (1991) in highly ranked IB journals, such as in the Journal
of International Business Studies (JIBS). He concludes that not only scholars around the
world but also institutions contribute to the RBV literature. The RBV describes a firm’s internal competencies and the roots of its competitive advantage that differentiate it from competitors. According to this theory, firms either establish unique resources to exploit foreign markets or they use these markets to develop new resource-based advantages (Peng 2001).
When expanding to other countries, multinational enterprises (MNEs) face a so called “liability of foreignness” resulting from a high degree of uncertainty when and how to enter to be successful (Peng 2001, p.816). There is a different business environment in each country which results in information asymmetry. According to Ghemawat (2001), costs also occur from barriers created by cultural (consumer preferences), political and administrative (protection of domestic industry), geographical (transportation and communication) and economical distance (consumers’ income) (CAGE model). Thus, each time of entering a new market, costs occur. This is known as transaction cos economics (TCE) (Williamson 1987). TCE depends on the behavioural notion of bounded rationality and opportunism.
While managers have cognitive limitations to access and use information (bounded rationality), potential partners may act in an opportunistic behaviour (opportunism) (Eisenhardt & Zbaracki 1992).
Verbeke & Greidanus (2009) challenge the opportunistic behaviour assumption of Williamson (1987) and illustrate an alternative what they call “bounded reliability”. They argue that the TCE’s limitation is the assumption of opportunism as a cost on part of
transaction parties. Opportunism may take place but the authors stress that managers are not necessarily opportunistic in what they do. In contrast, bounded reliability accepts that people’s preferences change but not because they plan to take advantage of the other party from the very beginning. For instance, managers make ex ante commitments in bona fide, but the importance of this commitment diminishes over time. Managers may also make ex ante over-commitments that they have to withdraw ex post. Bounded rationality as well as bounded reliability are thus an envelope to explain managerial decisions.
Notwithstanding, a firm’s unique resources help overcome transaction costs and represent a competitive advantage. For example, international knowledge and experience represents an intangible resource, which is difficult to imitate (Peng 2001, p.820) and creates bargaining power. With a higher degree of resources and capabilities, a firm is also able to internalize country-specific advantages (CSAs). CSAs are the foundations of firm-specific advantages (FSAs). The step of being a CSA and becoming a FSA is known as
internalization. There are different ways of how a CSA can internalize but all depend on the firm specific resources and capabilities. For example, only if natural resources get under managerial control, it becomes a FSA. To be successful and to overcome the liability of foreignness, a firm has to transfer its non-location bound FSAs (NLB-FSAs) to its subsidiaries (Rugman & Verbeke 1992).
19 3.3. CSA/FSA matrix and social triangle
This section explains how Rugman and Doh (2008) develop the framework that integrates the CSA/FSA matrix and the social triangle. To understand their framework, the next part first describes the interaction between FSAs and CSAs by Rugman & Verbeke (1992).
The vertical axis in Figure 1 represents the environmental factors substantial to a firm’s business strategy and public policy. These CSAs are unique to a specific country such as natural-resource endowments, education or government incentives. The horizontal axis represents the MNE and its unique resources and capabilities. FSAs can be a certain production process or managerial capabilities.
One can see that in cell 1, CSAs are strong but FSAs are weak, which means that the firm’s strategy is dependent on CASs only. The opposite can be seen in cell 4 where the success of a firm is primarily dependent on its FSAs. Cell 2 exemplifies a situation when neither CSAs nor FSAs are high meaning that there is a low chance for competitive advantage for the firm. Finally, cell 3 demonstrates that both CSAs and FSAs are high. This means, for instance, that CSAs can be translated into FSAs with managerial skills.
Figure 1. The CSA/FSA matrix
Before the emergence of CSR, social issues were mainly addressed by the government. Consequently, social issues are traditionally put on the CSA axis (Rugman and Doh 2008, p.12). Civil society trends such as concerns for the environment and for society and the emergence of various social movements, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) or
associations, trigger firms to become socially responsible. Interests of societal stakeholder are pictured in Figure 2. This so called social triangle developed by van Tulder & van der Zwart (2006) represents the market/firm-state-society relationship through three axes.
The relationship between the state, the market and the firm, and the society are embodied through three axes. The first axis demonstrates the state (e.g. government) and its actions. The second axis exemplifies either perfect markets or firm activities. Lastly, the third axis represents civil society (e.g. NGOs). On the third axis one can analyse CSR away from the government or the firm (Rugman & Doh 2008, p.16).
Figure 2. The social triangle
*Source: Rugman & Doh (2008)
Although Rugman and Doh (2008) criticize the clarity of the unit of analysis (e.g. geography) or the ability to identify the nature of the firm (e.g. home or host) of the social triangle model, they incorporate this model into the CSA/FSA matrix. Figure 3 shows that, now, in cell 1 state actions are of importance, because CSAs are high and FSAs are low. Cell 4 represents the opposite, because CSAs are low and FSAs are high meaning that firm factors are relevant.
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The society axis of the social triangle is illustrated in cell 3. Here, CSAs as well as FSAs are high which means that both the state and the firm are significant. As cell 3 now deals with the civil society, CSR can be investigated.
Figure 3. Integration of Figure 1 and Figure 2
*Source: Based on Rugman & Doh, 2008
Not only can German family-owned businesses CSR activities be analysed through this framework but one can also examine to what extent women in top management positions influence CSR. First, according to the IBV, the institutional environment matters for firms but is different in each country. CSAs are relevant to a firm’s business strategy. Second,
according to the RBV, unique resources and capabilities are FSAs and FSAs are, among others, managerial skills.
CSR activities of German family-owned businesses in cell 3
This paper analyses CSR activities of German family-owned businesses in cell 3 of Figure 3 with women in top management positions. According to van Tulder & van der Zwart (2006), firms have to have an active CSR program to be successful and to address civil society. There are several unique resources and capabilities a firm can have.
For instance, high FSAs can be seen in the accumulation and transferability of knowledge based on experience and education (Chirico 2008). Knowledge is seen as an intangible key asset embedded in employees and most valuable when transferable (Foss & Pedersen 2004). Dana & Smyrnios (2010) believe that the best practices of a family-owned business stem from the accumulation of knowledge and from a learning effect. The unique culture of a company results in different developments of best practices which can be related to Williamson (2000). This stresses the idea that simply copying certain strategies is not possible when going abroad (Dana and Smyrnios 2010; Stadler et al. 2015). Firms cannot rely on their past successes but need to search for further market opportunities.
Patel and Fiet (2011) examine whether family-owned firms are able to identify more valuable opportunities which gives them a comparative advantage. They conclude that due to their specific knowledge, which has been created over a long period of time and through unique human capital conditions, knowledge can improve their search practices. Thereby family-owned businesses have a recombination capability in the sense that they can combine existing knowledge with new information.
When a company undertakes geographic diversification, knowledge, being an intangible asset, is seen as a factor that can help increase performance. This assumption derives from the consideration of the S-curve hypothesis in relation with international diversification and firm performance. Lu & Beamish (2004) argue that the S-shaped relationship between multinationality and performance can be positively moderated by intangible assets such as knowledge. Thus, superior FSAs allow a firm to overcome costs associated with internationalization of operating in host countries.
As mentioned before, successful family-owned businesses gain from well-developed knowledge. Specific information is received from unique human capital (Patel & Fiet 2011) and trust can be built. This phenomenon facilitates the development of shared value and the
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FSAs can result from a specific process or product but also from intangible sources such as decisions at managerial level. There are several reasons why one can argue that women in top management positions exemplify another FSA in relation to CSR, namely being a qualified leader. For instance, women, who are seen as more socially responsible, can positively affect CSR actions (Bear et al. 2010). In general, women score higher on emotional intelligence (Mandell & Pherwani 2003).
4. Working propositions
Based on the literature review and the theoretical framework, propositions can be made. By investigating previous literature, this paper identified a possible relationship between CSR, family-owned businesses and women in top management positions. Moreover, specific knowledge and experience of family-owned businesses as well as the assumed exceptional association between women and CSR can be seen as superior FSAs. This paper’s first working proposition thus reads as follows:
WP1: Women in top management positions in German family-owned businesses have a positive influence on CSR.
Financial resources serve as another example of FSAs. Scholars show a positive link between companies with more financial resources and CSR actions (Aguinis & Glavas 2012, p.12). If this is true, it also means that German family-owned businesses with adequate financial resources have an active CSR program. To be more precise, having adequate financial resources entails that a firm must have a certain amount of capital it can invest into CSR without incurring losses as a result of its investment. Therefore, the second working proposition is:
WP2: With adequatefinancial resources, there is an active CSR program with women in top management positions in German family-owned businesses.
Since this paper focuses on German family-owned businesses, it is also specifically interested in the relationship between German family-owned businesses and CSR. Considering the fact that social issues were mainly addressed by the government before the development of CSR (Rugman and Doh 2008, p.12) and addressing social issues was traditionally not considered as important for FSAs. As mentioned before, only with social trends, firms were triggered to become (more) socially responsible (this can also be seen in opinions by scholars such as Friedman (1970): ‘the business of business is business’. Consequently this paper’s third working proposition reads as follows:
WP3: German family-owned businesses started to incorporate an active CSR program in their business activities after the emergence of CSR.
In regard to CSAs, this paper is concerned with the CSAs of Germany in relation to CSR and management. Culture can be seen as a determinant for more or less attention towards CSR. When companies are located in a country in which society favours CSR the company also focus more on CSR. For example, Hofstede (1994, p.1) defines culture as “the collective programming of the mind which distinguished the members of one category of people form another”. Through different research projects, he established different dimensions of national differences. In respect to this paper, the masculinity versus femininity dimension is of interest. It refers to the distribution of roles between the genders. Germany can be seen as a masculine country which means that women are more competitive and that there is a gap between the values of men and the values of women (ibid. 1994, p.4)
However, Hofstede’s study has been criticized. Schwartz (1999) cut Hofstede’s six cultural dimensions down to three and Drogendijk and Slangen (2006) state that neither Hofstede nor Schwartz is superior at the organizational level. Thus, it depends on the level of analysis which study is the most fitting one. This paper sees it as appropriate to use the GLOBE project (House et al. 2004), which stresses that one has to understand the
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styles and split the countries and regions in different dimensions and conclude that there is a difference in leadership in different places around the world. As firm leaders’ values and norms are also shaped by their respective country and culture they originate from and/or they work in, this paper’s fourth proposition proposes that:
WP4: There is a relationship between the German culture and CSR actions of German family-owned businesses with women in top management positions.
The framework for the working propositions can be seen in Figure 4 below. In addition, this paper stresses that the relation between women and CSR is however not only influenced by the three moderators (financial resources, family-owned business, and culture) but also by a mediator (attitude).
Figure 4. Conceptual research model
*Source: Author
Similar to the description by Spar and La Mure (2003, p.85) and their analysis of the different strategies of firms to respond towards NGO activism, the preference of mangers is influential in their decision-making. From a strict cost-benefit analysis, firms would generally not follow
Women CSR Attitude Financial Resources Family-owned Business Culture
the NGOs’ demands. Managers, however, are not only running a company but they are also human beings with preferences for – or not for – social and environmental concerns. Since studies explore moderators in the CSR-outcome relationships but tend to ignore mediators (Aguinis & Glavas, 2012), this paper contributes to this lack. In line with Sharma’s (2000 in Aguinis & Glavas 2012, p.11) findings that CSR actions are mediated by the attitude of managerial interpretations of CSR and based on the assumption that women score high on emotional intelligence, this paper’s fifth working proposition states that:
WP5: German family-owned businesses are more inclined to have an active CSR program, if they have women in top management positions that value CSR.
People are rather reluctant to express their opinion during an interview. To avoid biases and increase the validity, this paper makes use of a short attitude survey before conducting the interview. This also contributes to the gap of individual-level research, because most studies investigate organizational- and institutional-level research in regard to CSR (Aguinis & Glavas 2012, p. 24).
5. Research design
The objective of this paper’s research design is to generate new knowledge and to research the topic in another perspective. It is thus an exploratory research design (Saunders & Lewis 2012, p.111; Hesse-Biber & Leavy 2011, p.10). There are numerous methodologies available.
Depending on the research question and the objective of the research, a researcher should decide on the most appropriate method. Within a study, researchers have to be aware of their behaviour towards the participants and their rights. It is therefore essential to not only conduct research in an appropriate manner but to also think about how the research is
conducted and be mindful of any consequences that follow. This is known as research ethics (Saunders & Lewis 2012, p. 75; Hesse-Biber & Leavy 2011, p.59). For example, this paper
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has informed the participants of the nature of the research project. Participants gave their consent to participate via Email (informed consent). Furthermore, participants’ answers are examined with confidentiality. This means that this paper does not mention their names, which consequently makes participants unidentifiable.
In regard to research ethics, one also has to be aware of the research philosophy. The way we think about the world and the way we develop our knowledge and use this
knowledge, influences the way we do research. It has an impact on the decision for choosing one – or more − research method(s) (Saunders & Lewis 2012, p.104). This paper’s research approach can be classified as interpretivism. There are variations across the interpretive strand but this paper shall not go into detail of said variations. Rather than doing that, it aims to provide background knowledge of interpretivism in general.
6. Research philosophy: Interpretivism
The interpretive strand focuses on humans, how they differ and how they behave as social actors (Saunder & Lewis 2012, p.106; Hesse-Biber & Leavy 2011, p.17). Values define who we are as a human being but differ from person to person. What stays the same however is that our values have a profound effect on our behaviour and can even determine our outlook on life. Since our values have such a detrimental effect on our behaviour, we often times use our own values to interpret the behaviour of others. For researchers this means that their values influence how they chose the research topic, how they develop the research question and how they do research. As this paper uses a short attitude survey and semi-structured interviews, results of this study are gathered from the participants’ answers who act as social actors. Therefore, it is of significance to understand the participants’ positions and differences to interpret the findings in a correct way.
This paper acknowledges the limits to generalization with interpretivism. It is not a core element of interpretivism to draw on generalization. However, as Williams (2000, p.1)
argues: “generalization is inevitable, desirable and possible” with interpretivism. This paper does not want to make statistical generalization; even with statistics, one can also argue that with quantitative methods, the variables developed by the researcher are the theoretical constructs of the researcher (Williams 1998 in Williams 2000). Methods are estimated differently and schemes are weighted in different ways. In contrast, Williams (2000) sees
moderatum interpretivism as the possibility to generalize from this research philosophy. Moderatum generalization is different to total generalization which is not applicable to
research done with social actors. Moderatum generalization means that certain aspects of a finding serve as examples of a broader set of features (ibid. 2000, p.215). He concludes that methodological pluralism increases the opportunity to generalize and to develop alternatives to overcome limits of interpretivism. Be that as it may, is not possible to combine qualitative and quantitative methods for this research since there is no appropriate database available (yet). As a consequence, this paper uses qualitative methods.
7. Methodology
A methodology is a bridge between researchers’ philosophical standpoint and the way they carry out research (Hesse-Biber & Leavy 2011, p.38). While a theory gives the framework for analysis, it is important to explain the methodology to increase a paper’s internal validity, external validity, reliability and objectivity. The following sections illustrate the research design and the research philosophy before describing the data collection method. This paper’s data collection method is a qualitative research method consisting of a short attitude survey and semi-structured interviews. This chapter then analyses the data and comments on the results.
29 7.1. Data collection method
There are two types of research methods: quantitative- and qualitative research. One can argue that a multi-level analysis with quantitative as well as qualitative methods is needed to get the whole picture of the CSR machinery (Aguinis & Glavas 2012). However, after researching the Internet and asking this paper’s supervisor as well as two other professors of the University of Amsterdam, it turned out that there is no useful database available. Although the KLD database, for instance, contains data on the social impact of companies, said data is only available for U.S. firms. A comparable database for European companies, especially for family-owned businesses, is not available (yet).
This fact demonstrates the need for a qualitative research. In connection, Aguinis & Glavas (2012, p.23) emphasize that qualitative analyses are missing in previous studies concerning CSR. Thus, this paper uses qualitative research to investigate the degree of influence women in top management positions in German family-owned businesses have on CSR. This paper studies this particular topic in the year 2015.
7.1.1. Qualitative research method
Qualitative research helps to get new insight into the topic (Hesse-Biber & Leavy 2011, p.4). This paper collects primary data through semi-structured interviews and a short attitude survey beforehand. Qualitative studies are usually working with small samples though (Hesse-Biber & Leavy 2011, p.45). By definition, a sample is a small group of the whole population (ibid. 2012, p.132). The sample size remains a homogenous population, because the types of respondents are women in top management positions in German family-owned businesses. This paper uses a purposive sampling strategy as well as snowball sampling. Both are non-probability strategies (Saunders & Lewis 2012, p.138/139). Purposive sampling means that researchers choose a certain sample according to their own reasoning.
A snowball effect occurs for example, when interviewed participants identify further potential participants.
One can argue that the reliability and validity of this paper’s sampling is decreased with a non-random sampling strategy, because it is more difficult to draw generalization from the findings. However, this paper focuses on a specific group and follows a mix of deductive- and inductive research. A deductive research approach can be defined as a “research approach which involves the testing of a theoretical proposition by using a research strategy specifically designed for the purpose of its testing” (Saunders & Lewis 2012, p.108). After this paper develops its propositions about the possible relationship between women in top management positions in German family-owned businesses, it tests them according to a specific research strategy specifically designed for its propositions. In contrast, an inductive research approach develops a theory after an examination of existing data. This research approach is also
applied, because through data gathering this paper acquires new insights not expected before. This paper’s findings can also be tested further.
The process of gathering information turns out to be difficult. First, it is challenging to find German family-owned businesses with women in top management positions, since there are still more men on top. After a thorough investigation on the Internet, this paper has made contact with approximately 180 potential participants through an Email during September 2015 until the end of November 2015. During the interview process, the search for further potential participants continued. Although potential participants showed interest in this paper’s topic, they generally did not want to give interviews or simply did not have the time to do so. Nevertheless, in the end this paper manages to get 12 positive answers. Table 1 lists the 12 businesses that took part in this study from A to L while simultaneously providing a short description of each. Due to confidentiality reasons neither the names of the family-owned businesses nor the participants’ names are mentioned in this paper.
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Moreover, this paper is not interested in a specific industry sector meaning that the aforementioned businesses vary in their activities.
Table 1. Description of Germany family-owned businesses
Family-owned business Description
A Holding company for freight forwarding and logistics
B Specialist in illuminated ceilings and light panels C Specialists for wedding rings and jewellery D Specialist for electrical safety
E
Specialist for coordinate meteorology, gear metrology, optical high speed scanning and computed tomography
F
Develops and produces slip ring systems and contactless rotary joints used in almost every sector of industry and electromechanical engineering
G Specialist for plastics processing and precision tool making
H Producer of plastic profile systems for
manufacturing of windows, doors, shutters and sliding doors as well as disk systems from polyvinyl chloride (PVC)
I Specialist in the rubber business
J* Develops, produces and sells technically high-quality and service-oriented machines in several areas. Market fields in the construction industry, in mining and tunnel construction
K Produces and sells spirits, wine and sparkling wine
L Produces plastic profiles for windows and doors, blinds systems and PVC sheets
*Company J is not a family-owned business anymore but the company’s former CEO is still in the supervisory board. Yet, the author sees this company’s experiences as a family-owned business as valuable information.
Source: Author
For qualitative studies using interviews, data saturation is generally reached with 10
participants (Eisenhardt 1989, p. 545; Saunders & Lewis 2012, p.158). Data saturation means that additional data either provides few or no more insight to answer the research question (Hesse-Biber & Leavy 2011, p.47). With ten selected German family-owned businesses (A-J), data saturation is thus reached for this paper.
7.1.1.1. Short Attitude Survey
In general, a survey can be described as “a research strategy which involves the structured collection of data from a sizeable population. Data collection may take the form of
questionnaires, structures observation and structured interviews” (Saunders & Lewis 2012, p.115). The short attitude survey (Annex 3) serves as a tool to identify the personal attitude of each participant towards CSR. This is more difficult to detect through an interview, because participants are rather reluctant to give their true personal opinion. It therefore serves to analyse the effects of the mediator (proposition 5). In order to decrease manipulation effects, the short attitude survey is given to the participants to be filled out and send back before each interview. The questions asked in the short attitude survey originate from a study by Priyanka et al. (2014) as well as this paper’s added variables (importance of CSR, company’s
reputation, and consumer trust) to even better determine the participants’ attitude towards CSR.
Priyanka et al. (2014) developed a questionnaire including 41 variables. This paper sees it as appropriate to use the study for several reasons. It is published in a peer reviewed journal, the International Journal of Law and Management, which means their findings are valuable. Second, it is up to date. Moreover, the eight categories used by the author to analyse the awareness and attitude towards CSR among MBA students in Rajasthan are helpful for this paper and are in line with this paper’s definition of CSR. These categories (humanitarian concerns, fair business and transparency, accountability towards stakeholders, global
standards, social accountability, corporate governance, ethical commitment and environment protection and sustainability) are therefore used in this paper to identify the attitude towards CSR among women in top management positions in German family-owned businesses.
33 Table 2.
Linking short attitude survey questions to eight categories and *added variables
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 Q6 Q7 Q8 Q9 Q10 Q11
Humanitarian concerns x Fair business and
transparency X Accountability towards stakeholders X Global standards x Social Accountability X Corporate Governance X
Ethical commitment and environmental protection X Sustainability X * Importance of CSR x * Company’s reputation x * Consumer trust X *Source: Author 7.1.1.2. Semi-structured interviews
With semi-structured interviews, a set of themes is asked while some questions are
predetermined. The order of questions can vary depending on the participant’s responses and the way they answer. Interviews are conducted in German and not in English, because this paper focuses on family-owned businesses in Germany. The advantage of the interview being conducted in German is that one can gather greater insights due to the fact that participants can express themselves better in their mother tongue and them being less shy.
Before the actual interviews, this paper has done a pilot test with a similar respondent to the ones who will take part in the study. A pilot test is helpful to identify errors right at the beginning of the research and to correct mistakes (Saunders & Lewis 2012, p.149), for example in the why the questions are asked during the interview. Thus, external feedback has been helpful to improve the questions in the interviews. This increases the validity of this paper. Interviews are conducted via phone or via Skype.
7.2. Analysing strategy
This section explains the analysing strategy for the short attitude survey as well as for the semi-structured interviews. This section also justifies why it used these specific analysing methods. The short attitude survey allows for the development of three categories that
determine the degree to which participants value CSR. For the semi-structured interviews, this paper shows why it sees it as helpful to use a content coding approach for variable coding and data analysis through the computerized data analysis, the Nvivo software.
7.2.1 Analysing strategy for short attitude surveys
The short attitude survey sent to participants before conducting the interview consists of eleven statements. It aims to give an indication about each participant’s attitude towards CSR and thus to answer working proposition 5.
Participants could indicate to what extent they agree with each of the items on a five-point Likert scale from (1) strongly disagree to (5) strongly agree. To increase the validity of the short attitude survey, the meaning of two out of these eleven questions were reversed. This means that for these two questions ‘strongly disagree’ means ‘strongly agree’ and vice versa. The total score of each participant is calculated by adding up all scores whereby the scores of the reversed questions are mirrored.
To categorize the value of CSR, scores were divided in three different ranges (11-25; 26-40; 41-55). Consequently, each range now represents a particular degree of the
prioritization of CSR. Participants falling into the first category (11-25) value CSR only to a certain extent and are least likely to prioritize it. The second category (26-40) associates an average degree of value to CSR whereby the third category (41-55) means that the participant highly values CSR.
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7.2.2. Analysing strategy for semi-structured interviews
Before each interview, participants were asked for their consent on being recorded during the interview. Depending on their reactions, this paper either recorded the interviews converting it into transcripts directly after the interviews or took notes during the interviews.
Based on this paper’s working propositions and to find emerging patterns and common themes, a content coding approach was used. First, the coding scheme was developed before conducting the interviews (Table 3). It allows the transcripts to be systematically analysed through a content analysis. Content analysis is a commonly used technique in several disciplines. It can broadly be defined as “systematic, objective, quantitative analysis of message characteristics” (Neuendorf 2002, p.1).
