Corporate Social Responsibility in Poland: Strategies, Opportunities and Challenges PDF
Preview Corporate Social Responsibility in Poland: Strategies, Opportunities and Challenges
CSR, Sustainability, Ethics & Governance Series Editors: Samuel O. Idowu · René Schmidpeter Aneta Długopolska-Mikonowicz Sylwia Przytuła Christopher Stehr E ditors Corporate Social Responsibility in Poland Strategies, Opportunities and Challenges CSR, Sustainability, Ethics & Governance Serieseditors SamuelO.Idowu,LondonMetropolitanUniversity,London,UnitedKingdom RenéSchmidpeter,CologneBusinessSchool,Germany Moreinformationaboutthisseriesathttp://www.springer.com/series/11565 ł (cid:129) Aneta D ugopolska-Mikonowicz ł (cid:129) Sylwia Przytu a Christopher Stehr Editors Corporate Social Responsibility in Poland Strategies, Opportunities and Challenges Editors AnetaDługopolska-Mikonowicz SylwiaPrzytuła WropenUpFoundation HumanResourceManagement Wrocław,Poland WroclawUniversityofEconomics Wrocław,Poland ChristopherStehr GermanGraduateSchoolofManagement andLawandPOLYMUNDO Heilbronn,Baden-Württemberg,Germany ISSN2196-7075 ISSN2196-7083 (electronic) CSR,Sustainability,Ethics&Governance ISBN978-3-030-00439-2 ISBN978-3-030-00440-8 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-00440-8 LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2018967306 ©SpringerNatureSwitzerlandAG2019 Thisworkissubjecttocopyright.AllrightsarereservedbythePublisher,whetherthewholeorpartofthe materialisconcerned,specificallytherightsoftranslation,reprinting,reuseofillustrations,recitation, broadcasting,reproductiononmicrofilmsorinanyotherphysicalway,andtransmissionorinformation storageandretrieval,electronicadaptation,computersoftware,orbysimilarordissimilarmethodology nowknownorhereafterdeveloped. Theuseofgeneraldescriptivenames,registerednames,trademarks,servicemarks,etc.inthispublication doesnotimply,evenintheabsenceofaspecificstatement,thatsuchnamesareexemptfromtherelevant protectivelawsandregulationsandthereforefreeforgeneraluse. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this bookarebelievedtobetrueandaccurateatthedateofpublication.Neitherthepublishernortheauthorsor theeditorsgiveawarranty,expressorimplied,withrespecttothematerialcontainedhereinorforany errorsoromissionsthatmayhavebeenmade.Thepublisherremainsneutralwithregardtojurisdictional claimsinpublishedmapsandinstitutionalaffiliations. ThisSpringerimprintispublishedbytheregisteredcompanySpringerNatureSwitzerlandAG Theregisteredcompanyaddressis:Gewerbestrasse11,6330Cham,Switzerland Preface Corporatesocialresponsibility(CSR)ingeneralinvolvesmultipleareas,levelsand actors such as stakeholders in each organisation. Responsibility itself is a broad conceptframingtheethicalcodeofconductofaperson,astate,(non-)governmental institutionsororganisations.Themostimportantquestionsstillremain—evenaftera long tradition of public and scientific discussion—how to deal with this responsi- bilityonaninstitutionalandentrepreneurialaswellasonanindividuallevel?Howis itpossibletoincorporatetheecological,thesocialandtheeconomicresponsibility within societies and enterprises in daily business to create win-win-winsituations? Thesewiderquestionsleadtowideranswers. Therefore, the following publication presents a really broad and fascinating spectrum of various aspects of CSR in Poland. It includes social and political perspectives,socialmediaandcorporatecommunication,financialaspects(financial sustainability,corporatefinancialperformance,sociallyresponsibleinvesting),legal perceptions, ecological dimensions (green economy) as well as intercultural and individualissues(personalsocialresponsibility). ThesubjectofCSRinPolandisshownnotonlyinvariousdimensionsofsocial responsibility, but also through the prism of the specific nature of the activities of various entities. Presented here are public administration institutions, NGOs (e.g. sports organisations), companies from the SME sector, international corpora- tionsandmultinationalenterprises(MNEs)representingvariousindustries—witha specific focus of CSR as a strategic factor of competitive advantage in business operations. The publication opens the introductory part of a general, historical nature con- cerning research on CSR, the legal status, the perspective of public administration and business in the field of socially responsible activities. Introduction closes the essay, which provokes critical analysis and reflection of each of the proposed chaptersonthestateofCSRinPoland. v vi Preface Part I. Introduction Introduction is launched by Bolesław Rok, who presents the integrated approach from CSR to corporate sustainability. Against the background of the historical overviewofdevelopingCSRtopicinPoland,theauthorpresentstheachievements ofbusinesspractice,whichcomesfromsocialandethicalactivitiestotreatingCSR asastrategicfactorofcompetitiveadvantageinbusinessoperations.BolesławRok lists barriers and limitations regarding the sustainable strategic management approachforthreegroupsofcompanies.Heoutlinesthekeychallengesandoppor- tunities for business practice, which are mostly used by international corporations operating on the Polish market. He points out the need to actively engage and involve all actors and stakeholders in developing sustainable activities. B. Rok presentedamodelofthematerialitymatrix,asausefultoolforintroducingpossible changesinthebusinessstrategyofcompaniesoperatinginPoland. InthestudyofJacquelineKacprzak,fourstagesofCSRdevelopmentinPoland wereidentified:theinitialstage(1998–2009),thestageofproactivemeasuresinthe areaofCSRundertakenbyawiderangeofstakeholders(2009–2013),thestageof research and development (2014–2015) and the stage of mature decisions and activities (2016—up till now). The author describes very preciously various activ- itiescarriedoutbypublicadministrationintheareaofCSRandunderlinesthekey role of CSR advisory boards in implementing CSR standards in Poland. She concluded that the role of public administration in this area is not only in the regulatoryfield,butalsotoinformandeducate,disseminatestandardsandmonitor theimplementationoftheresponsiblebusinessconduct.Severalexamplesofeffec- tive cooperation between government administration and business in the area of CSRinPolandwerepresented. Sławonmir Magala, in an essayistic tone, conducts a discourse on socially responsible activities in the context of political changes in many countries of the world [Stalinism, the fall of communism in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, the significance of inclusion and unity in the structures of the European Union,thegrowingimportanceofpopulistandright-wingmovementsinthepolit- ical scene, separatist tendencies in many countries (Brexit, Catalonia)]. The author presents examples of various “socially irresponsible” actions, but politically moti- vated,e.g.concerningtheArabSpringrefugees,civilwarsandgenocideinRwanda andCambodia,whichareamanifestationofthemoralcollapseofpoliticalelites,but also failure in implementing the principles of CSR in the political, economic, cultural, religious and ethical dimensions. Slawomir Magala also places Poland against the background of these changes, indicating that one should draw on the historicalexperienceofhisowncountryandothers.CSRrequirestransparency,trust and the involvement of many local and global market actors in building a holistic awarenessofsociallyandpoliticallyresponsibleactions. Preface vii Part II. Financial Aspects of CSR Part II is devoted to the analysis of socially responsible activities in relation to financialaspects. Anna Witek-Crabb discussed the relationship between corporate social res- ponsibility and corporate financial performance. She proposed a model based on correlation between CSR maturity levels (process, strategic, formal maturity) and financialsustainabilityconstructincompaniesrepresenting9sectors.Shefoundthat in the examined sample these two categories remain independent. The author concludes that Polish companies have implemented CSR at different levels; how- ever, it does not impact their financial performance. In spite of the fact that Polish capitalism is relatively young, the dynamics of developing CSR concept is rather slowandPolishbusinessesandsocietyarestillontheCSRlearningcurve. KarolinaDaszyńska-ŻygadłocontinuesthetopicofinfluenceofCSRactivities onfinancialperformance.Thepurposeofthisstudywastorecogniseimprovement orworseningofoperatingfinancialresultsofcompaniesundertakingCSRactivities. The research objective was to have all companies included in sustainability index RESPECTonWarsawStockExchange.Resultsshowthatfinancialperformanceof companiesimprovessignificantlyafterinclusioninsustainabilityindex.Performed researchdoesnotanswerthedilemmawhetherfinancialperformanceofacompany is being improved thanks to introducing CSR strategy, running CSR activities and getting verified by RESPECT index procedure or maybe that CSR strategy can be introducedduetofinancialperformanceimprovement. Łukasz Sułkowski and Justyna Fijałkowska present the issue of the global financial crisis, which significantly damaged the reputation and credibility of most financial institutions, including banks operating in Poland. CSR activities have becomearemedyforimprovingtheimageandrebuildingtrustinclients.Theauthors analyse various CSR activities carried out by several banks operating in Poland in recentyears.Theseincludedsavingresources,financingpro-ecologicalorganisations, offeringspecialfinancialproducts,activelyparticipatinginlocalsociallyappreciated initiatives and programmes and showing that they do care about their clients, employees, environment and local communities. It would seem that the effects of thebankingcrisiswillbeawarningfortheseinstitutionsformanyyears.However,the authors cite another example of socially irresponsible activities of banks in Poland, whichconcernedcreditagreementsinCHDthatregards500thousandagreements.It turnedoutthat95%ofthecasescontainillegalclauses.Itmaybeconcludedthatinthe areaofethicalbankingandresponsibleinvestmentthereisstillmuchtodoinPoland. PartIII.Legal,FinancialandEnvironmentalAspectsofCSR The chapter of Tomasz Słoński and Magdalena Ligus is a “theme bridge” between the legal, financial and environmental aspects of CSR. The authors present the legal regulations developed by the European Commission (Impact viii Preface Assessment Guidelines), which are the reference point for the Polish legal frame- workregulatingtheactivitiesofcompaniesintherenewableenergysector(RES). Ecological activities in this sector are not free from price risk (prices are deter- mined administratively) and also risk of volume component. These legal and administrative constraints cause perturbations in other sectors closely related to RES—companiesintegratedinthesupplychain,customers,banksandotherfinancial intermediaries. BożenaRyszawskainherchaptercontinuesthesubjectofsustainabledevelop- mentand,inparticular,raisestheroleandplaceofgreeneconomyinCSR2.0.The author presents the transition of green economy through the prism of developing regulationsandproceduresregulatingbusinessactivitiesinthisareaintheEuropean Union. However, in real activities, the green economy in Poland has not gained visiblerecognitionsofarandcomparedtotheEUcountriesisquiteunfavourablein thisrespect.Nevertheless,since2015ingovernmentalandindustryplanningstudies such activities have been undertaken to fill the legal gap and provide financial instruments supporting the implementation of elements of the green economy in Poland. Part IV. Practical Aspects of CSR Part IV presents practical aspects of CSR activity in Poland in the dynamics of systemic transformation and from the perspective of different types of organisa- tions like small enterprises, multinational corporations and sports organisations which can act as limited liability companies but also as foundations, associations orevenstudentsportsclubs.ThispartalsopresentstheCSRreportingpracticein Poland. Rojek-Nowosielska presents the results of her empirical research of the CSR levelofenterprisesinPoland—beforeandafterthetransitionof1989.Shepresents the socially responsible activities of organisations created before the transition as obligationsofthestatewhichwereshiftedonenterprisestobeperformedunderthe then applicable provisions of law. The economic and social reforms of the new system resulted in a systemic change. The author claims that the character of the community-oriented activities of an enterprise was reactive, whereas CSR is proactive.Theauthorproposesananalysisoftheenterprisesinthecorporatesocial responsibility continuum model which corresponds with the models of potential performance perspective. Thefive general areashavebeenidentified: employees, customers,suppliers,naturalenvironmentandlocalcommunity. AgnieszkaSokołowska-Durkalecattemptstoclarifytheinstrumentaldimension of social responsibility concept in small enterprises and presents the results of her research—selected problems, best practices and recommendations. She underlines theroleofownersinbuildingtrustbysharingtheirvalueswiththestakeholdersand byinstitutionalisingthevaluesandtheroleoftheowner/owners’expertiseinoverall CSR implementation and results. She discusses further that most entrepreneurs Preface ix in the researched group recognise the existence of organisational culture in their enterprises, but they do not declare that it is based on universal ethical values, but rathermoreoftenonthepragmatism. BożenaDancewiczandFranziskaStruvediscussintheirchaptertheinfluence of MNEs on CSR in Poland and the evolution of CSR in Poland based on the countries’ specific historical background. They examine the role of MNEs, NGOs andthesocial societywithinthedevelopmentprocessofCSRandethical business behaviourinPoland. As anexample,they take thedevelopment stages ofthefood retail branch and show based on the consumption industry the impact of ethical behaviourofMNEsintheirlocalbranches.Thepracticalperspectiveiscoveredby theexamplesofMarsandAvon,whichgetevaluatedbasedonqualitativeinterviews aswellasbasedontheirpubliccommunication. Paweł Kuźbik presents in his chapter the results of his study on the current relationship between sport and social responsibility in its real, strategic dimension and analyses how the CSR concept is understood and implemented in sports organisationsinPoland.Theauthoranalyses85sportsclubsofprofessionalnature and shows a broad perspective oftheir environment, function and changing condi- tions during the transformation in Poland. The cases presented reveal two ways of CSR in sports clubs: CSR through sport, where sport itself is supported, and CSR withinsport,wheresportsorganisationsaresociallyresponsible.Theauthorclaims thatalthoughtheuseofCSRinpolishsportsorganisationshasnostrategicdimen- sion, and its understanding is mainly focused on charitable activities, it is still possible to point out recurring procedures that allow to create an up-to-date model ofactivitiesinthearea:sportsclubs—CSR. Part V. CSR Reporting Justyna Fijałkowska and Małgorzata Macuda present the results of their empiricalstudiesonvoluntaryCSRreportingpracticesinPolandamongcompanies (including listed in the RESPECT Index), NGOs, associations, foundations and public institutions in the period of 2005–2017. The analysis embraces 357 CSR reportspreparedby109organisationsfrom29sectorsinthelast13years.Theresults oftheresearchindicatethatCSRdisclosuresarenotverywidespreadinPolandand, even though evolving, are still in their early stage of development. This chapter concludes recommendations on how to improve the credibility and utility of CSR reportspublishedbyPolishcompanies. Maria Aluchna and Maria Roszkowska-Menkes introduce the non-financial reporting inconceptualframework ofCSR and stakeholder theory.Authorsofthis chapter underline that non-financial reporting has developed from CSR and envi- ronmentalcommunicationtosustainabilitydisclosuretowardsintegratedreporting. Based on the analysis of companies listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, they concluded that non-financial reporting is slowly becoming a mainstream practice
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