Corporate social responsibility and sustainable corporate performance: Mediated roles of green process innovation and green business process management in Vietnam

Nguyen Minh Ha1, Le Thanh Tiep2, Le Thi Thanh Huong3
1 Ho Chi Minh City Open University, Vietnam
2 Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics and Finance, Vietnam
3 Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade, Vietnam

Main Article Content

Abstract

Environmental sustainability is becoming more of a global concern, not only for developed countries but also for small and medium enterprises in emerging economies. This research aims to explore the nexus between the Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainable Corporate Performance of SMEs by examining the mediating role of Green Process Innovation and Green Business Process Management, in the emerging economy context. This study is grounded in two underlying theories: stakeholder theory and the resource-based view (RBV) theory. The quantitative method was utilized by designing a well-structured questionnaire to collect data, thereby recording 428 valid responses from mid- and senior-level managers. To inspect the relationship between variables, Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was employed. The results show that corporate social responsibility directly affects sustainable corporate performance, while green process innovation and green business process management are mediating factors for this relationship. Besides, this study offers a strategic outlook for long-term growth towards a sustainable balance between economic, social, and environmental benefits. Accordingly, business leaders are encouraged to carefully consider expedient actions to enhance environmental performance, boost competitiveness, and attain sustainable business performance.

Article Details

References

Abbas, J. (2020). Impact of total quality management on corporate green performance through the mediating role of corporate social responsibility. Journal of Cleaner Production, 242, 118458. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.118458
Albort-Morant, G., Leal-Millán, A., & Cepeda-Carrión, G. (2016). The antecedents of green innovation performance: A model of learning and capabilities. Journal of Business Research, 69(11), 4912-4917. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2016.04.052
Albort-Morant, G., Leal-Rodríguez, A. L., & De Marchi, V. (2018). Absorptive capacity and relationship learning mechanisms as complementary drivers of green innovation performance. Journal of Knowledge Management, 22(2), 432-452. https://doi.org/10.1108/JKM-07-2017-0310
Asif, M., Searcy, C., Zutshi, A., & Fisscher, O. A. (2013). An integrated management systems approach to corporate social responsibility. Journal of cleaner production, 56, 7-17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2011.10.034
Banerjee, S. B. (2002). Corporate environmentalism: The construct and its measurement. Journal of business research, 55(3), 177-191. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0148-2963(00)00135-1
Barney, J. (1991). Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage. Journal of management, 17(1), 99-120. https://doi.org/10.1177/014920639101700108
Broccardo, L., Culasso, F., Dhir, A., & Truant, E. (2023). Corporate social responsibility: Does it really matter in the luxury context?. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 30(1), 105-118. https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.2341
Canh, N. T., Liem, N. T., Thu, P. A., & Khuong, N. V. (2019). The impact of innovation on the firm performance and corporate social responsibility of Vietnamese manufacturing firms. Sustainability, 11(13), 3666. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11133666
Castka, P., Bamber, C. J., Bamber, D. J., & Sharp, J. M. (2004). Integrating corporate social responsibility (CSR) into ISO management systems–in search of a feasible CSR management system framework. The TQM Magazine, 16(3), 216-224. https://doi.org/10.1108/09544780410532954
Couckuyt, D., & Van Looy, A. (2021). An empirical study on Green BPM adoption: Contextual factors and performance. Journal of Software: Evolution and Process, 33(3), e2299. https://doi.org/10.1002/smr.2299
Chatterjee, S., Chaudhuri, R., Vrontis, D., & Thrassou, A. (2022). Corporate social responsibility in post COVID-19 period: critical modeling and analysis using DEMATEL method. Management Decision, 60(10), 2694-2718. https://doi.org/10.1108/MD-09-2021-1209
Chen, Y. S., Lai, S. B., & Wen, C. T. (2006). The influence of Green Innovation performance on corporate advantage in Taiwan. Journal of Business Ethics, 67, 331-339. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-006-9025-5
De Roeck, K., & Delobbe, N. (2012). Do environmental CSR initiatives serve organizations’ legitimacy in the oil industry? Exploring employees’ reactions through organizational identification theory. Journal of Business Ethics, 110, 397-412. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-012-1489-x
Duong, C.D. (2023a). What goes around comes around: Activating sustainable consumption with curvilinear effects of karma determinants. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 73, 103351. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2023.103351
Duong, C.D. (2023b), ‘If you sow goodness, you will reap goodness: activating social entrepreneurial intentions with karmic beliefs’, International Journal of Ethics and Systems, ahead-of-print, .https://doi.org/10.1108/IJOES-02-2023-0033.
Fernández-Guadaño, J., & Sarria-Pedroza, J. H. (2018). Impact of corporate social responsibility on value creation from a stakeholder perspective. Sustainability, 10(6), 2062. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10062062
Fornell, C., & Larcker, D. F. (1981). Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. Journal of marketing research, 18(1), 39-50. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224378101800104
Freeman, R. E. (1984). Strategic management: A stokcholder approach. Pitman, Boston.
Freeman, R. E., Phillips, R., & Sisodia, R. (2020). Tensions in stakeholder theory. Business & Society, 59(2), 213-231. https://doi.org/10.1177/0007650318773750
Hair Jr, J. F., Babin, B. J., & Krey, N. (2017). Covariance-based structural equation modeling in the Journal of Advertising: Review and recommendations. Journal of Advertising, 46(1), 163-177. https://doi.org/10.1080/00913367.2017.1281777
Hair, J. F., Risher, J. J., Sarstedt, M., & Ringle, C. M. (2019). When to use and how to report the results of PLS-SEM. European business review, 31(1), 2-24. https://doi.org/10.1108/EBR-11-2018-0203
Halkos, G., & Nomikos, S. (2021). Corporate social responsibility: Trends in global reporting initiative standards. Economic Analysis and Policy, 69, 106-117. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eap.2020.11.008
Houy, C., Reiter, M., Fettke, P., & Loos, P. (2011). Towards green BPM–sustainability and resource efficiency through business process management. In Business Process Management Workshops: BPM 2010 International Workshops and Education Track, Hoboken, NJ, USA, September 13-15, 2010, Revised Selected Papers 8 (pp. 501-510). Springer Berlin Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-20511-8_46
Huff, A. S., Floyd, S. W., & Sherman, H. D. (2009). Strategic Management: Logic and Action. John Wiley Sons. New York.
Hung, R. Y. Y. (2006). Business process management as competitive advantage: a review and empirical study. Total quality management & business excellence, 17(1), 21-40. https://doi.org/10.1080/14783360500249836
Hussain, Y., Abbass, K., Usman, M., Rehan, M., & Asif, M. (2022). Exploring the mediating role of environmental strategy, green innovations, and transformational leadership: the impact of corporate social responsibility on environmental performance. Environmental science and pollution research, 29(51), 76864-76880. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-20922-7
Ít, N. V. (2022). Tăng hiệu quả tài chính thông qua trách nhiệm xã hội và chiến lược kinh doanh kỹ thuật số tại công ty dược phẩm ở các tỉnh Đông Nam Bộ. Tạp chí Nghiên cứu Tài chính-Marketing, 69, 40-52. https://doi.org/10.52932/jfm.vi69.248
Kraus, S., Rehman, S. U., & García, F. J. S. (2020). Corporate social responsibility and environmental performance: The mediating role of environmental strategy and green innovation. Technological forecasting and social change, 160, 120262. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2020.120262
Le, T. T. (2022). How do corporate social responsibility and green innovation transform corporate green strategy into sustainable firm performance?. Journal of Cleaner Production, 362, 132228. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.132228
Le, T. T. (2023). CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AUTHENTICITY AND FIRM PERFORMANCE IN AN EMERGING MARKET. Dalat University Journal of Science, 4S, 85-117. https://doi.org/10.37569/DalatUniversity.13.4S.1218(2023)
Le, T. T., Tran, P. Q., Lam, N. P., Tra, M. N. L., & Uyen, P. H. P. (2023). Corporate social responsibility, green innovation, environment strategy and corporate sustainable development. Operations Management Research, 1-21. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12063-023-00411-x
Le, T.T., Huan, N.Q., Hong, T.T.T. & Tran, D.K., (2021). The contribution of corporate social responsibility on SMEs performance in emerging country. Journal of Cleaner Production, 322, 129103. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.129103
Li, D., Zheng, M., Cao, C., Chen, X., Ren, S., & Huang, M. (2017). The impact of legitimacy pressure and corporate profitability on green innovation: Evidence from China top 100. Journal of Cleaner Production, 141, 41-49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.08.123
Li, J., Li, Y., Yu, Y., & Yuan, L. (2019). Search broadly or search narrowly? Role of knowledge search strategy in innovation performance. Journal of Knowledge Management, 23(5), 809-835. https://doi.org/10.1108/JKM-06-2018-0386
Lim, M. K., Tseng, M. L., Tan, K. H., & Bui, T. D. (2017). Knowledge management in sustainable supply chain management: Improving performance through an interpretive structural modelling approach. Journal of cleaner production, 162, 806-816. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.06.056
Malik, S. Y., Hayat Mughal, Y., Azam, T., Cao, Y., Wan, Z., Zhu, H., & Thurasamy, R. (2021). Corporate social responsibility, green human resources management, and sustainable performance: is organizational citizenship behavior towards environment the missing link?. Sustainability, 13(3), 1044. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13031044
Ojuando, C., & Kihara, A. (2021). Strategic adoption of corporate social responsibility on performance of plastic manufacturing firms in Kenya. Journal of Business and Strategic Management, 6(2), 42-62. https://doi.org/10.47941/jbsm.680
Podsakoff, P. M., MacKenzie, S. B., Lee, J. Y., & Podsakoff, N. P. (2003). Common method biases in behavioral research: a critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. Journal of applied psychology, 88(5), 879. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.88.5.879
Rexhepi, G., Kurtishi, S., & Bexheti, G. (2013). Corporate social responsibility (CSR) and innovation–the drivers of business growth?. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 75, 532-541. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.04.058
Rinawiyanti, E. D., Xueli, H., & As-Saber, S. N. (2023). Integrating corporate social responsibility into business functions and its impact on company performance: evidence from the Indonesian manufacturing industry. Social Responsibility Journal, 19(7), 1233-1262. https://doi.org/10.1108/SRJ-05-2021-0193
Shahzad, M., Qu, Y., Javed, S. A., Zafar, A. U., & Rehman, S. U. (2020). Relation of environment sustainability to CSR and green innovation: A case of Pakistani manufacturing industry. Journal of Cleaner Production, 253, 119938. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.119938
Shahzad, M., Qu, Y., Zafar, A. U., Rehman, S. U., & Islam, T. (2020). Exploring the influence of knowledge management process on corporate sustainable performance through green innovation. Journal of Knowledge Management, 24(9), 2079-2106. https://doi.org/10.1108/JKM-11-2019-0624
Sơn, Đ. B. (2021). Trách nhiệm xã hội doanh nghiệp, vốn trí tuệ xanh và hiệu quả môi trường: Trường hợp các doanh nghiệp ngành công nghiệp chế biến, chế tạo ở Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh. Tạp chí Nghiên cứu Tài chính-Marketing, 66, 27-41. https://doi.org/10.52932/jfm.vi66.221
Sơn, Đ. B., Trí, H. M., & Trình, H. N. C. (2023). Trách nhiệm xã hội doanh nghiệp, vốn trí tuệ và hiệu quả đổi mới: Bằng chứng từ ngành thông tin và truyền thông (ICT) ở Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh. Tạp chí Nghiên cứu Tài chính-Marketing, 74, 73-85. https://doi.org/10.52932/jfm.vi2.335
Suganthi, L. (2020). Investigating the relationship between corporate social responsibility and market, cost and environmental performance for sustainable business. South African Journal of Business Management, 51(1), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.4102/sajbm.v51i1.1630
Taha, R., Al-Omush, A., & Al-Nimer, M. (2023). Corporate sustainability performance and profitability: The moderating role of liquidity and stock price volatility-evidence from Jordan. Cogent Business & Management, 10(1), 2162685. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2022.2162685
Tseng, M. L., Tan, K. H., Geng, Y., & Govindan, K. (2016). Sustainable consumption and production in emerging markets. International Journal of Production Economics, 181, 257-261. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpe.2016.09.016
Tu, Y., & Wu, W. (2021). How does green innovation improve enterprises’ competitive advantage? The role of organizational learning. Sustainable Production and Consumption, 26, 504-516. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spc.2020.12.031
Vom Brocke, J., Seidel, S., & Recker, J. (Eds.). (2012). Green business process management: towards the sustainable enterprise. Springer Science & Business Media. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27488-6
Weng, H. H. R., Chen, J. S., & Chen, P. C. (2015). Effects of green innovation on environmental and corporate performance: A stakeholder perspective. Sustainability, 7(5), 4997-5026. https://doi.org/10.3390/su7054997
Yang, M., Bento, P., & Akbar, A. (2019). Does CSR influence firm performance indicators? Evidence from Chinese pharmaceutical enterprises. Sustainability, 11(20), 5656. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11205656
Yoon, B., & Chung, Y. (2018). The effects of corporate social responsibility on firm performance: A stakeholder approach. Journal of hospitality and tourism management, 37, 89-96. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhtm.2018.10.005
Zhang, D., Rong, Z., & Ji, Q. (2019). Green innovation and firm performance: Evidence from listed companies in China. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 144, 48-55. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2019.01.023