Examining the impact of core competence on corporate social responsibility: evidence from international engineering contracting enterprises

Purpose This paper focuses on international engineering contracting enterprises (IECEs), exploring the impact mechanism of core competence on corporate social responsibility (CSR) as well as the mediating role of employee participation, customer expectations and CSR strategies in this relationship. Thereby, which helps IECEs leverage their core competence to better fulfill CSR. Design/methodology/approach This study used the questionnaire method to collect 272 valid questionnaire data. Based on the questionnaire data, this study employs partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to examine the relationship between core competence and CSR as well as the mediating effects within the model. Findings The PLS-SEM results indicate that in IECEs, core competence has a positive impact on CSR. Strong core competence provides a guarantee for enterprises to fulfill CSR and enables them to do so more effectively by leveraging their core competence advantages. In addition, the three mediating variables of this study, employee participation, CSR strategies and customer expectations, play a positive mediating role between core competence and CSR. Originality/value This study enriches the research on the factors influencing CSR and provides useful insights and suggestions on how IECEs can better fulfill their social responsibilities.