Finalist for the OMT Division Responsible Research Award
Organizations are increasingly called upon to address grand societal challenges such as climate change, inequality, and social welfare. Yet, despite facing strong external pressures and operating under similar institutional environments, organizations continue to interpret their societal responsibilities in strikingly divergent ways. What accounts for this persistent heterogeneity? Drawing on an analysis of 1,870 Chinese firms’ CSR reports from 2008 to 2022, we show how founding period socio-political contexts create persistent differences in how organizations conceptualize their societal roles. Firms founded during the socialist era (1949-1976) emphasize employee welfare and national fiscal responsibility, reflecting the collective and state-driven priorities of their founding context. In contrast, firms founded during the market reform era (1977-2002) prioritize profit maximization over environmental concerns, consistent with their founding era’s market-oriented imperatives. However, these historical imprints evolve as they interact with contemporary influences: geographic proximity to organizations founded in different eras facilitates exposure to alternative interpretive frameworks, while the standardization of CSR reporting practices accelerates convergence towards global norms. Our study advances theoretical understanding of how founding conditions create persistent differences in organizational attention to societal issues, while identifying specific contemporary forces that reshape these historical influences. We conclude by discussing the implications of these findings for research on imprinting, grand challenges, and the interplay between socio-political contexts and organizational behavior.
