The Role of Corporate Social Responsibility in Supporting Second-Order Social Capital and Sustainable Innovation Ambidexterity

This research contributes to the developing literature on CSR, second-order social capital, and sustainable innovation ambidexterity by (1) offering a complete theoretical framework grounded on related theories by clarifying the associations between the four components of CSR proposed by Carroll, because this model suggests a company to be a responsible member of the society by following the required laws while generating profits and conducting philanthropic initiatives, SSC, and sustainable innovation ambidexterity, and (2) testing this framework in a new setting and with a new target population. This study focuses on the top-level management of different manufacturing companies located in Pakistan. A total of 34 manufacturing industries were selected using a cluster sampling technique based on their proximity in the selected cluster. Geographical location and industry type were selected as the criteria to group the industries in clusters. The data collected from 220 top and middle-level managers were analyzed using a partial least square method while the moderation analysis was conducted by using variance analysis. According to the findings of this study, economic, ethical, legal, and philanthropical responsibilities of CSR were all found to have a positive influence on second-order social capital. The economic, ethical, and legal responsibility of CSR did not influence sustainable innovation ambidexterity, whereas the philanthropical responsibility of CSR was found to have a positive influence on sustainable innovation ambidexterity. The findings of this research study will allow the managers to identify the right mix of CSR initiatives required to manage SSC and sustainable innovation exploitation and exploration techniques.