Can Trade Unions Promote Corporate Social Responsibility?

Although many studies have focused on the relationship between corporate social responsibility and corporate performance, discussions on the role of trade unions have been very limited. Based on the stakeholder perspective, this study predicted that the union would have a significant impact not only on the economic performance of a company, but also on its social responsibility activities. Although corporate social responsibility includes internal responsibilities to employees as well as environmental and community responsibilities, union priorities have frequently been understood as in competition with corporate social responsibility. Unlike this previous assumption, this study focused on the influence of trade unions in increasing corporate social performance through institutional pressure, which also affects economic performance. Specifically, we hypothesized a moderating role of the union in the relationship between corporate social responsibility and corporate financial performance. The results of our analysis of 601 firms in manufacturing industries indicated that corporate social responsibility has a positive relationship with corporate economic performance, and this relationship is stronger in workplaces where labor unions are organized. The results of this study shed new light on the role of trade unions in the context of corporate social responsibility, and have theoretical implications about how trade unions and corporate social responsibility can play complementary roles rather than competing..