Dr. Chong GAO has published a single-authored paper entitled “Understanding social responsibility of Hong Kong’s time-honoured business through the lens of yi-li unity” in International Journal of Anthropology and Ethnology (IJAE, Scopus indexed, published by Springer Nature, CiteScore: 1.4). This paper is one of contributions to a special issue published with IJAE (Dr. GAO serves as a guest editor). The study is supported by a grant from the Research Grants Council of HKSAR (Project No., UGC/FDS15/H17/24).
 
In contrast to the Western Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) discourse, this study represents a new effort to examine how some time-honored businesses have long taken on social responsibilities in an alternative way. Based on data collected from time-honored businesses in Hong Kong, this paper argues that the Confucian-inspired principle of yi-li tongyi (unity of righteousness and profit, 义利统一) has been integrated into daily business operations and has played an important role in driving laozihao businesses to engage in social life and carry out activities akin to CSR. As such, this paper contributes to the anthropology of CSR by bringing to light an endogenous, long-standing Chinese way of practicing social responsibility among long-established businesses in Hong Kong society—one that is new to the CSR literature and rooted in the Confucian principle of yi-li tongyi (the Chinese business spirit). In addition, this study contributes to the literature on corporate culture and business longevity by offering a non-Western, endogenous case in which an ethical culture, rather than imported managerialism, underpins the long-term survival of these firms.