Journal of Business & Economic Policy

Business Ethics, Social Responsibility and Competitive Advantage: The Saudi Case
Jalawi M. Alharbi, Samar M. Alharbi

Abstract
This study aims at investigating the impact of business ethics and social responsibility on competitive advantage for industrial Saudi listed companies. A survey was designed and distributed for chief executive officers at Saudi industrial listed companies to collect data about ethics, social responsibility practices and the achieved competitive advantage. The study population included all industrial companies listed on TADAWUL in 2018, The total number of the study population is 71 companies, while the sample consisted of 65 valid surveys. The results revealed that ethical practices including independency and objectivity, trust, integrity and transparency significantly affect the achievement of a competitive advantage. At the meanwhile, corporate social responsibility peroxide by environmental responsibility, customer responsibility and community responsibility, significantly affect competitive advantage. The study recommends both companies and regulators to adopt, monitor and enhance ethical and social responsible practices as drivers for better competitive advantage, and to have more focus on these practices at strategic and operational levels.

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