When Does a Corporate Social Responsibility Initiative Provide a First-Mover Advantage?
基于资源基础观和先发优势的不对称方法，探讨企业社会责任倡议在何种条件下能带来可持续的竞争优势，并分析企业应选择先发还是后发策略。
Theory and research on corporate social responsibility (CSR) have been concerned primarily with identifying stakeholders, categorizing types of CSR initiatives, and linking corporate social performance to firm performance. In this conceptual article, the authors assess strategic CSR initiatives, inquiring into the conditions that might give rise to a sustainable competitive advantage in social performance. In what circumstances does a firm's CSR initiative create a first-mover advantage, and when should a firm prefer an early- or late-adopter position? Using the resource-based view and the asymmetries approach of first-mover advantages, the authors propose that for a CSR initiative to lead to a sustainable first-mover advantage, it must be central to the firm's mission, provide firm-specific benefits, and be made visible to external audiences. These strategic attributes generate internal sustainability and must be complemented to ensure external defensibility by a firm's ability to assess its environment, manage its stakeholders, and deal with social issues.