Pathway Configurations to the Exposure of Unethical and Illegal Corporate Social Irresponsibility, Based on Deterrence Theory

A growing number of incidents of corporate social irresponsibility (CSIR) have been exposed in China and the government aims to investigate and punish the involved companies to "execute one as a warning to others". As being exposed for CSIR harms companies' reputations and economic prospects and deters peer companies, this study establishes the deterrent effect mechanism of CSIR exposure. Using fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis, it considers cases of such exposure among China's top 100 internet companies from 2015 to 2020. Based on seven explanatory factors, this article reveals four paths that activate high-deterrence exposure of CSIR actions. The findings have theoretical and practical implications.