The Effects of the Economy, Perception of Business Law, External Anchors, and Ethical Behavior on Corporate Social Responsibility in Developing Countries

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a concept that has attracted worldwide attention and gained a new resonance in the global economy. According to Werther and Chandler (2006), the meaning of CSR can be discerned from the three words in the phrase: corporate, social, and responsibility. Corporate social responsibility covers the relationship between the corporation and the societies with which it interacts (Werther & Chandler, 2006).;While CSR has received increasing attention in recent years, as a postulate for ethical and responsible behavior in business, Belal (2001) noted that most CSR studies have been conducted in developed countries, such as most Western European countries, the United States, and Australia, but little is known about CSR practices in developing countries and emerging economies.;Thus, there is a certain level of academic curiosity about the understanding and practice of diverging CSR in light of vastly different economic, social, and cultural conditions. In this context, there is value in exploring CSR concepts and perceptions in a developing country to gauge the extent to which CSR practice in developing countries has matured beyond the boundaries of compliance and public relations.;Therefore, this research examines the important issue of CSR in developing countries, taking into consideration the following four socioeconomic dimensions: (a) economic openness, (b) the perceptions of business law, (c) external anchors, and (d) the level of ethical behavior.;The study used a quantitative, non-experimental, exploratory cross-national comparative design to explore and describe the differences between Lebanon and Egypt with regard to economic openness, the perceptions of business law, external anchors, the level of ethical behavior, and CSR. The questionnaire and historical data from the World Development Indicators from The World Bank database were used to test the hypotheses and answer the research questions. The target population was derived from two major private Lebanese banks (Bank Audi and BLOM Bank) operating in Lebanon and Egypt. The study used a sample of 200 participants: 100 bankers in Egypt, 100 bankers in Lebanon, and 50 from each bank in each country.;The effects of external anchors and economic openness were measured by testing the average values for 2010 and 2011 of foreign direct investment and international trade, respectively, for both Lebanon and Egypt. A t-test was conducted. Both these measures were higher for Lebanon than they were for Egypt, but the Pearson r correlation did not result in significant differences.;When testing the differences in the perceptions of business law and CSR between Lebanon and Egypt, the Pearson r correlations did result in significant correlations between CSR and law.;When testing the differences in ethical behavior and CSR between Lebanon and Egypt, the Pearson r correlations also resulted in significant correlations between CSR and ethical behavior.