The multifaceted government influence on CSR activities: CSR decoupling in an emerging market

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) decoupling — the misalignment between reported and actual CSR performance — represents a significant challenge in emerging markets. While existing research treats government as a monolithic entity in shaping CSR practices, we argue that varying priorities across governmental levels create multiple government demands that systematically affect firms' CSR decoupling behaviors. Drawing upon neo-institutional theory, we examine how administrative hierarchical distance influences CSR decoupling in China’s regionally decentralized authoritarian regime. Using data from Chinese publicly listed companies, we find that greater administrative hierarchical distance increases firms' propensity to engage in CSR decoupling. This relationship is attenuated in regions with more developed institutions and economies. Our study advances neo-institutional theory by demonstrating how vertical complexity within governmental systems shapes organizational responses to institutional pressures. These findings extend our understanding of CSR decoupling in emerging markets by revealing how layered governmental influences, rather than unified governmental pressure, affect firms' CSR practices.