This study used an institutional perspective to analyze corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices in Vietnam, which is a developing country with institutional voids and competing normative systems. Data were collected using a survey of 463 managers of 463 Vietnamese companies. Then, a PLS-SEM model was used to assess the roles of individual-level (IND) variables and the organizational context (ORG) in CSR, as well as the influence of the external social context (EXT). The results showed that ORG is the internal factor most strongly associated with CSR (β = 0.258; p < 0.001). IND exhibits a weak negative association with CSR (β = −0.074; p = 0.033), contrary to theoretical expectations. EXT positively moderates the IND–CSR relationship, with governance and tradition being more significant than modernity. The implications suggest that CSR in transition economies may be hybrid and that there is an institutional hierarchy.

This study sought to utilize a multilevel institutional perspective to analyze corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices in Vietnam, which is a developing country with institutional voids and competing normative systems. Data were collected using a survey of 463 managers of various Vietnamese companies. Then, a PLS-SEM model was used to assess the roles of individual-level (IND) variables and the organizational context (ORG) in CSR, as well as the influence of the external social context (EXT). The results showed that ORG is the primary internal factor of CSR (β = 0.258; p < 0.001). IND has a slight influence on CSR (β = -0.074; p = 0.033) in opposition to theoretical expectation. EXT is positively moderating the IND–CSR and ORG–CSR relationships, with Governance and Tradition being more significant than Modernity. The implications are that CSR in countries undergoing transition has a hybrid nature and that there is an institutional hierarchy.