Rajat Panwar

Students' perceptions regarding CSR success of the US forest products industry

Purpose - From the standpoint of the future of corporate social responsibility, students perceptions are an important research proposition. Several studies have been conducted to examine this phenomenon, yet sector-specific studies are rather scant. The primary purpose of this work is to examine students perceptions regarding social responsibility in the context of the US forest products industry. Design/methodology/approach - A total of 257 graduate and upper level undergraduate students from Oregon State University and University of Montana, pursuing different academic majors, were surveyed to examine the differences in their perceptions of the US forest products industrys success in fulfilling its corporate social responsibilities. Findings - Results suggest that business and forest ecology/environmental science students were least satisfied with industry fulfilling its economic responsibilities. Regarding fulfillment of socio-environmental responsibilities, forest ecology/environmental science students were significantly less satisfied than any other study major. Additionally, a comparison between male and female students suggested that males and females have a similar level of satisfaction regarding industry fulfilling its economic responsibilities. However, males were found to be more satisfied with industry fulfilling its socio-environmental responsibilities than females. Research limitations/implications - Students for the study were not selected randomly and as such the results of the study can, at best, be considered indicative. Study findings have implications for academic curriculum designers as well as for industry policy makers. Originality/value - This is the first attempt to examine students perceptions about the social responsibility success of the US forest products industry.

Connecting market orientation, learning orientation and corporate social responsibility implementation: is innovativeness a mediator?

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has been a topic of interest to both practitioners and researchers in the forest products sector. However, the existing literature falls short of examining the connections between CSR implementation and firm cultures, a key link to further our understanding for CSR implementation. This current study investigates the relationship between firm cultures and CSR implementation in the global forest, paper & packaging industry companies. Specifically, the authors propose firm cultures, including market orientation, learning orientation and innovativeness potentially support CSR implementation. Also, innovativeness is proposed to mediate the market orientation-CSR and learning orientation-CSR relationships. Data are collected through a mail survey with responses from 58 companies (87 individuals) of the Top 100 global forest, paper & packaging industry companies, identified by PricewaterhouseCoopers in its 2008 Global Forest, Paper & Packaging Industry Survey. Results confirm the hypothesized relationships between market orientation and CSR and learning orientation and CSR. However, the proposed mediating effect of innovativeness is not significant.

Examining Social Responsibility Orientation Gaps between Society and Industry Executives

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to examine the social responsibility orientation (SRO) gaps between the forest industry executives and societal members in the US Pacific Northwest.Design/methodology/approach – Using mail survey responses to pre‐existing SRO scales, the two samples are grouped into distinct social orientation clusters and compared based on demographic and firm characteristic variables.Findings – The forest industry executives were found to have a significantly lower SRO than societal members, indicating a more individualistic social orientation. Demographic analyses suggested that individualistic beliefs were more prominent in males and rural residents among general society respondents. However, SRO among business executives showed no significant differences based on demographics or firm characteristics.Research limitations/implications – The research was conducted within a specific region of the USA and as such these findings may not be generalized to other regions. The paper argues th...

Corporate responsibility performance in the forest industries: A comparative analysis of student perceptions in Finland and the USA

Purpose – The basic purpose of this research is to compare and describe various aspects related to student perceptions of forest industry CR performance in Finland and the USA.Design/methodology/approach – With a quantitative research method, this study investigated 568 students. CSR and CSR reporting are the fundamental concepts that shape the development of the hypotheses and thus are integral to this empirical study.Findings – Finnish students have a stronger belief that reporting is reliable and open than their US counterparts. Finnish students show more positive views on the way forest industry companies implement environmental responsibility than their US counterparts. US students show more positive views on social responsibility, especially those connected with stakeholder relations, than their Finnish counterparts.Originality/value – The obvious connections between reporting views and perceptions of corporate responsibility highlight the significance of reliable reporting in the context of CR. Maj...