CSR through the CEO’s pen: Comparing CEO letters from CSR reports from Asia, Europe, and the U.S.

Following institutional theory, a corporate social responsibility (CSR) approach depends on the institutional environment. This study addresses country-specific differences in CSR motivating principles and corporate virtues as well as industry-specific differences and thus contributes to the notion of cultural relativity of corporations in international contexts. To do so, we content analyzed chief executive officers’ letters to internal and external stakeholders published in the CSR reports of Asian, European, and U.S. companies. The results demonstrate significant differences with regard to motivating principles and virtues among regions and industries, supporting the notion of a country-specific CSR approach based on the institutionalism argument.