An investigation into the influences shaping organisational CSR practices in Vietnam

The thesis provides an examination of corporate social responsibility (CSR) from a particular context of the developing and transitional economy of Vietnam. The study focuses on investigating factors that influences CSR practice at organisational level as shown through the five aims of research. Investigation of how national and international regulatory frameworks do have impact on CSR practice in Vietnam is the first aim. Second, the extent to which Vietnam’s transitional economy’s dynamics influence organisational CSR practices is considered. Third, the thesis examines CSR activities that organisations actually engage in. Following the third aim, the research takes into account the influences of managers and leaders on organisational CSR practices. Furthermore, the focus of study involves understanding how company members respond to and engage in organisational CSR practices. This research work involves the use of a multi-level and multi-theory framework. After the process of data collection, six case studies are presented. Companies that are examined operate in different industries including dairy, real estate development, financial conglomerate, hospitality, transportation and finance. The five aims of the present research are consistent with the findings that various factors influence CSR in Vietnam. First, in terms of how national and international regulatory frameworks impact CSR practice in Vietnam, the study shows that national regulatory frameworks play an important role in shaping organisational CSR through legal compliance. In terms of international regulations, majority of the companies adopt some type of international standards and practices. Second, the study finds that Vietnam’s transitional structures, that is, the unions, are the main actors of CSR across companies. Third, the results show that most companies focus on community CSR which mainly includes philanthropic and charitable activities. The performance and perception of CSR also vary between a minimum of two companies in different industries. Fourth, leaders play a decisive role in the development and implementation of CSR activities across organisations. The role of leaders is significant in companies with highly concentrated family ownership. Finally, company members in majority of the cases responded positively to their companies’ CSR practices. Overall, the study finds that although the country’s specific institutions represent the divergence of CSR, the results show that CSR in Vietnam is hybrid; it is both explicit and implicit (e.g. Matten and Moon, 2008). This means that the development of CSR in the country is heading towards a more explicit stage with globalisation which promotes its convergence with Western standards. Moreover, the results also have implications with regards to research and practice. In terms of theory, the findings support the relevance of institutional, social exchange, organisational identity theories without excluding the leadership contextual frameworks in explaining CSR. With such implications, this study provides a number of recommendations for future research such as CSR study from the perspective of small and medium-scale enterprises or subsidiaries of multinational corporations in Vietnam. In sum, this thesis presents certain recommendations for businesses. Such include the establishment of independent audit for their CSR reports. Finally, it is important to acknowledge the role of government in shaping and promoting CSR policies in the country. Based on this, a number of recommendations which includes tax exemptions or stricter enforcement of regulations are proposed to policymakers