Development of a Classification of Spanish Credit Institutions Based on the Concept of Stakeholder

Abstract

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) assumes that banks voluntarily incorporate social and environmental criteria in their economic activities and relationships with stakeholders. The reason why a credit institution decides to involve itself in social activities is a question which the literature on economics has tried to answer. We highlight the relationship created between the credit institution as a social organization and its various stakeholders, analyzing the importance assigned to each of them. Our goal is to find distinct profiles of credit institutions, depending on their degree of concern about CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility). The field work was conducted by means of a survey answered by 57 Spanish credit institutions. The results show the interest of such institutions in CSR in relation to the entire Spanish financial sector. Three clusters are distinguished according to how they think about CSR. In the first cluster there are institutions with responsibility focused on employees. It includes entities whose priority stakeholders are shareholders and employees.  In the second cluster, we find institutions with responsibility focused on society. Among the stakeholders they act primarily towards customers, society and the environment. The third cluster is made up of institutions with responsibility focused on legislation (norms). In the third cluster, there is Friedman's vision, which considers the social responsibility of the bank as the maximization of Profit.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.ee.23.5.667