The corporate governance and social responsibility nexus in the Lebanese banking industry

Gali, N.; Hajjar, D.; Jamali, I.

Abstract

Purpose: This research seeks to explore the contrasting views of banks and banking authorities in Lebanon regarding the corporate governance and corporate social responsibility nexus. Design/Methodology/Approach: Using survey responses collected from managers of five Lebanese banks and banking authorities, we conduct a qualitative comparative study of the opinions on CG, CSR and CG-CSR nexus. Findings: Our findings reveal that while a CG culture is well-instituted by the authorities and that some forms of CSR are already practiced by banks, disagreements exist between the Lebanese banks and banking authorities in defining the CG-CSR nexus. While CG is viewed as an allencompassing concept by the banking authorities, most banks ascribe to the paradigm that CG is component of CSR. Research Limitations/Implications: Our sample consists of large banks that have clear CG and CSR agendas. Our results therefore cannot be generalized for the wider population of Lebanese companies that are characterized by family ownership and the non-separation of ownership and control. Practical Implications: This study informs both managers and policy-makers on the differing views of the CSR-CG nexus while also contributing to informing the policy dialogue. Theoretically, our study sheds light on the CG-CSR nexus in a developing country context. Originality/Value: There is a paucity of research on the CG-CSR nexus in the context of developing countries and in the banking sector in specific. This paper aims to address the gap in the literature by providing an in-depth qualitative examination of the CG, CSR and the CG-CSR nexus in the context of the Lebanese banking sector.

Citation

Gali, N., Hajjar, D., & Jamali, I. (2016). The corporate governance and social responsibility nexus in the Lebanese banking industry. Corporate Governance, 16(3), 609-636. https://doi.org/10.1108/cg-08-2015-0109

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Mar 31, 2016
• Online Publication Date: Jun 6, 2016
• Publication Date: Jun 6, 2016
• Deposit Date: Apr 13, 2016
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 1, 2016
• Journal: Corporate governance.
• Print ISSN: 1472-0701
• Publisher: Emerald
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 16
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 609-636
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/cg-08-2015-0109
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1384376