Strategic CSR for Performance and Sustainable Competitiveness: A Strategic and Multilevel Analysis

Abstract

Despite a considerable body of literature focused on the CSR-financial performance nexus, results have been inconclusive. Further, prior research has called for a deeper examination of strategic CSR, particularly in emergent economies. Therefore, drawing on the integration of stakeholder theory, resource-based view, and dynamic capability view, this study extends that line of research by developing a strategic and multilevel model explicating how and when strategic CSR can fuel performance (financial and job performance) and sustainable competitiveness in the hospitality industry in Egypt. The proposed multilevel model is structured into two sub-models- single/manager-level and cross-level models. The organisational-level model examines the direct and indirect effects of strategic CSR on financial performance and sustainable competitiveness through strategic resources and corporate social innovation as mediating mechanisms. Given the limitation of RBV in considering business external forces, the study also explores the boundary condition role of dynamic capabilities in the connection between strategic resources and both financial performance and sustainable competitiveness. The cross-level model adopts a multi-perspective approach, integrating managers’ and employees’ views, to assess the influence of strategic CSR- at the organisational level- on employee-related outcomes (i.e., employees' social innovation and job performance)- at the individual level- as well as how employees' social innovation underpins the strategic CSR-job performance linkage. Utilising data from 340 hotel managers, the manager-level model was tested by PLS-SEM. Additionally, the study employed multi-source matched data from 340 hotel managers and 460 employees to test the cross-level model using hierarchical linear modelling. The results validated the proposed hypotheses with few exceptions. Based on the results, this study adds to the CSR and strategy literature by extending the theoretical frameworks underpinning the developed model, offering novel insights into the dynamics of strategic CSR's multifaceted ramifications. It also offers practical implications for the hospitality industry and new avenues for future research.