The role of corporate social responsibility in corporate governance in the context of employment: a comparative study of the United Kingdom and China

Yun, Chong (2014) The role of corporate social responsibility in corporate governance in the context of employment: a comparative study of the United Kingdom and China. PhD thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to study the role of corporate social responsibility (hereinafter ‘CSR’) in corporate governance in the context of employment. This is done through a comparative study of the United Kingdom (hereinafter ‘UK’) and China in which it is determined whether Chinese companies can adopt UK companies’ CSR practices in employment.

The thesis begins with an overview of the theory of corporate governance and the necessity of CSR in corporate governance. The different models and principles of corporate governance and CSR, and how the main corporate organs operate in corporate governance and apply CSR in decision-making to meet stakeholders’ needs are introduced. The study then demonstrates the rationale behind the emergence of CSR, the legal impact of CSR on stakeholders and the global application of CSR initiatives, especially the techniques and mechanisms adopted in the UK and China.

The research specifically presents CSR practices in employment in the UK and China against a theoretical background. This comparative study is mainly dependent on companies’ information disclosure, since all data were collected from their official CSR reports. The quality of the information disclosure is assured through effective monitoring as stated in the various reports.

The implication of the comparative research on the information disclosure collected demonstrates the difference in CSR implementation in employment between UK and Chinese companies. The thesis analyses the possibility of adopting UK CSR practice in employment in Chinese companies in terms of the economic, social and political barriers to, and current situation of, CSR in China.

As China has opened up the global market, overseas companies have invested in the Chinese market. This comparative study of CSR implementation in the context of employment in the UK and China, and the analysis of the current status of Chinese CSR practices also provide foreign enterprises experience to relate their CSR policies in corporate governance to Chinese context.

• Item Type: Thesis (PhD)
• Qualification Level: Doctoral
• Keywords: Corporate decision-making, corporate governance, corporate social responsibility, employment, information disclosure, stakeholder theory
• Subjects: K Law > K Law (General); K Law > KD England and Wales
• Colleges/Schools: College of Social Sciences > School of Law
• Supervisor's Name: MacNeil, Prof. Iain and Dukes, Dr. Ruth
• Date of Award: 2014
• Depositing User: Ms Chong Yun
• Unique ID: glathesis:2014-5851
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 19 Dec 2014 16:37
• Last Modified: 19 Dec 2014 16:52
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/5851