Determinants of corporate social responsibility practices in Bangladesh garment sector

The research on corporate social responsibility (CSR) practice has grown exponentially over the last few decades. However, further research is required to understand the CSR practice within a complex industry like garment Thus, the current study aims to investigate the determinants of CSR practice within the supply chain of the Bangladeshi garment sector. It is interesting to note that research on CSR has only recently focused on the social responsibility within supply chains due to the increasing operation of multinational companies (MNCs) in developing countries. While early studies examined CSR practise of large companies, only a handful of studies examined the determinants behind CSR practices, especially within the subsidiaries located in emerging economies. Although these studies have their own contributions in terms of identifying determinants, as well as re-examining the old determinants in different country contexts, they are limited in understanding how some particular determinants directly, and others indirectly mediate the relation between different determinants and CSR practices within the supply chains. Therefore, the current study argues that this is partly due to the fact that most previous studies are based on developed countries and used qualitative research methods. Hence, the researcher conducted a survey to understand the CSR practice within the supply chain of the garment industry in Bangladesh. The 'drop off and collect' survey administration techniques were selected as the method. The researcher collected 120 data and employed structural equation modelling with the help of SMART-PLS 3 software.The finding suggests that the level of CSR practice is improving. Furthermore, it has been observed that there is buyer pressure, media interest and government policy influence on CSR practice within the supply chains. Moreover, top management commitment (TMC) plays an important role in mediating the influence among the determinants.