Effects Of External Pressures And Internal Motivations Of MNC' S CSR Activities On Firm Performance ——An Empirical Study Of Chinese Companies In Ethiopia

This study aims to investigate the relationship between corporate social responsibilities(CSR)endeavors and firm performance,by testing the effects of internal motivation,external pressure on performance via symbolic and substantive corporate social responsibility activities and taking the moderation role of top management attitudes into account.The research context is Chinese companies in Ethiopia,a developing country in Africa.Data have been collected using both qualitative and quantitative studies.The qualitative study took in-depth interview approach.In our survey data collection,the author conducted survey with CEOs or managers responsible for environmental management of 99 Chinese small and middle-sized companies operating in Ethiopia in July-August 2019 and January-February 2020.In data analysis,multiple regression models by IBM SPSS 23.0 and PROCESS Macro3.5 were employed.The findings reveal significant effect of external pressure on symbolic CSR(+)and substantive CSR(-),whereas the internal motivation has a positive significant effect on substantive CSR and a negative significant effect on symbolic CSR.Moreover,symbolic CSR shows its positive effect on short-term financial performance but negative effect on long-term strategic performance.In contrast,substantive CSR has a positive effect on long-term strategic performance and a negative effect on short-term financial performance.Finally,the top management attitude toward CSR moderates the relationships between the external pressure and internal motivation and the two types of CSR activities.First,CSR attitude will strengthen the positive relationship between external pressure and symbolic CSR and weaken the negative relationship between external pressure and substantive CSR.Second,CSR attitude will strengthen the positive relationship between internal motivation and substantive CSR.However,it has no effect upon the internal motivation-symbolic CSR relationship.This study draws on institutional theory,legitimacy theory and resource-based view to explore the differential effects of symbolic and substantive CSR activities upon company's shortterm and long-term performances,enriching the literature about CSR and performance.Further,this study focuses on CSR activities of middle and small-sized MNCs from emerging economies like China in an African country market such as Ethiopia,and examines their external pressures and internal motivations,thus providing additional knowledge about the antecedents of CSR.In addition,the thesis sheds light on the moderating effect of top management attitude toward CSR between the two types of CSR antecedents and two types of CSR activities undertaken by companies.This thesis has significant practical implications.The huge investment in Africa from emerging economies like China calls for more focused investigation of CSR in relation to this phenomenon.This thesis fills this void in time.The research results help various stakeholders understand better the external pressures and internal motivations of these emerging MNCs engaged in CSR in developing countries,as well as the influences of CSR upon their performances,both financial and strategic.Meanwhile,given the lack of clear policies related to CSR,this study provides insights for policymakers to better monitor CSR activities of foreign companies,too.