More cooperative ... more competitive? Improving competitiveness by sharing value through the supply chain

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to analyze how corporate social responsibility (CSR) affects a company's value. It does this specifically by analyzing the effect of socially responsible behaviors on shared value (SV) creation, in order to foster higher performance (PRF) and greater competitive advantages, considering the moderator role of the supply chain leadership dependency (SCLD). It provides new insights into CSR management to ensure business sustainability for supply chain management.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses a structured questionnaire to gather data from a cross-sectional sample of 425 supply chain partners for Portugal's biggest energy supplier. Structural equation modeling is used to test the proposed hypotheses, and a multigroup analysis is conducted to find how a supplier's dependency can impact the suggested relationships.

Findings

The findings suggest that CSR positively impacts CA, SV and PRF. Additionally, this study reveals that SV has a positive impact on PRF. Additionally, the SCLD appears to moderate some of the proposed relationships.

Research limitations/implications

This paper provides some empirical evidence of the influence of CSR on organizational value creation, contributing toward a better understanding of the impacts of socially responsible behaviors on business sustainability. The overall results may support the importance of CSR, identifying how a socially responsible company may create value for itself and share it with partners, thereby improving performance and competitiveness, while considering the role of dependency in moderating these relationships. Yet, the research considers only one company supplier. The relationships between variables need to be explored in other practical case studies and longitudinal investigations to improve upon the potential for making generalizations.

Practical implications

Results show that being cooperative might make a company more competitive, which might be one of the foundations of CSR and sustainability.

Social implications

This study claims that profit alone is no longer sufficient for the legitimization of business. As an alternative, SV creation has become the new goal for businesses seeking to regain and improve societal trust.

Originality/value

The overall results may support the importance of CSR, identifying how a socially responsible company may create value for itself and share it with partners, thereby improving performance and competitiveness, while considering the role of dependency in moderating these relationships.

Citation

Fontoura, P. and Coelho, A. (2022), "More cooperative ... more competitive? Improving competitiveness by sharing value through the supply chain", Management Decision, Vol. 60 No. 3, pp. 758-783. https://doi.org/10.1108/MD-09-2020-1225