Influence of traditional ethics on the corporate social responsibility reporting of restaurant firms: a comparative study of Taiwan and the U.S.

Despite the increasing importance of corporate social responsibility (CSR), traditional ethics’ influence on CSR implementation in international business remains unclear. To fill this gap, this study investigates how the CSR initiatives of restaurant firms from Taiwan and the US embody the traditional ethics underlying the cultural influence of Confucianism and liberalism, respectively. Analyzing CSR reports with a focus on traditional ethics, we used a multiple case study approach to compare the CSR practices of one Taiwanese and two US restaurant firms that are well known for their CSR accomplishments. These findings suggest that international restaurant firms tend to follow the traditional norms of their main markets and have different CSR foci. Furthermore, some variations exist between the two US firms because they differ in their degree of internationalism. Finally, we discuss the theoretical and practical implications of our findings.