Scholarlink

<p>Drawing on the rice theory, which links rice cultivation to collectivist cultures, we investigate whether regional collectivist culture affects corporate social responsibility (CSR). We find that Chinese firms in regions with stronger collectivist cultures exhibit higher CSR performance and charitable donations. This relationship is robust across multiple identification strategies, including a quasi-natural experiment using the 2008 Sichuan earthquake and an analysis of firms along the rice-wheat agricultural border. Mechanism analysis reveals that the positive effect of collectivist culture on CSR is more pronounced for firms with closer local ties or those under greater public scrutiny, suggesting this effect operates primarily through social pressure and stakeholder expectations. Additionally, CSR engagement more effectively mitigates firm risk in regions with stronger collectivist cultures, suggesting that local culture acts as a “multiplier” for the social insurance value of CSR. Our cross-national evidence further shows that both rice-based collectivism and conventional individualism measures positively predict CSR outcomes, suggesting these dimensions represent separate continua rather than opposing poles. This finding underscores CSR’s hybrid nature, allowing distinct cultural pathways to converge. For multinational enterprises, our findings highlight the importance of adapting CSR strategies to both national and subnational cultural contexts.</p>

错误：搜索内容不能为空，请输入英文关键词
错误：关键词超出字数限制，请精简
高级检索

Collectivist culture and corporate social responsibility

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年5月24日

查看全文
  • Xin Yu,
  • Shijun Guo,
  • Zhou Zhang

摘要

Drawing on the rice theory, which links rice cultivation to collectivist cultures, we investigate whether regional collectivist culture affects corporate social responsibility (CSR). We find that Chinese firms in regions with stronger collectivist cultures exhibit higher CSR performance and charitable donations. This relationship is robust across multiple identification strategies, including a quasi-natural experiment using the 2008 Sichuan earthquake and an analysis of firms along the rice-wheat agricultural border. Mechanism analysis reveals that the positive effect of collectivist culture on CSR is more pronounced for firms with closer local ties or those under greater public scrutiny, suggesting this effect operates primarily through social pressure and stakeholder expectations. Additionally, CSR engagement more effectively mitigates firm risk in regions with stronger collectivist cultures, suggesting that local culture acts as a “multiplier” for the social insurance value of CSR. Our cross-national evidence further shows that both rice-based collectivism and conventional individualism measures positively predict CSR outcomes, suggesting these dimensions represent separate continua rather than opposing poles. This finding underscores CSR’s hybrid nature, allowing distinct cultural pathways to converge. For multinational enterprises, our findings highlight the importance of adapting CSR strategies to both national and subnational cultural contexts.