The perceived trade-off between corporate social and economic responsibility

We study cross-nationally whether managers view corporate social and economic responsibility as compatible, or incompatible. The conceptual framework builds on different theories that support alternative views of corporate responsibility compatibility. A set of hypotheses relates differences in cultural values, corporate governance systems, and managerial education to corporate responsibility compatibility. A corporate responsibility scale is developed and its cross-national invariance is tested. Data analysis, controlling for gender and work experience, shows that in countries with large power distance, with less strict corporate governance, and more integrated business education, social responsibility is perceived as relatively incompatible with economic responsibility, whereas in countries with smaller power distance, with stricter corporate governance, and more functional business education, social and economic responsibility are perceived as more compatible.