Reflections on Careers, JBE and Business Ethics (original) (raw)

Defining CSR: Problems and Solutions

Abstract: The ubiquity of the term CSR threatens its carrying any distinctive meaning. Despite its long history no consensus has been developed among the industry participants, academics or other interested parties. After a careful review of the complications and complexities of the CSR debate and distinct disciplinary definitions, the article turns to approach the problem of definition using the philosophy of science. It applies a scientific definitional approach of genus, differentia and species to arrive at a definition of CSR as international private business self-regulation. The article provides an overview of the implications of this definition on CSR as a field of study, a management practice and an approach to improving the dialogue concerning the social contribution of business.

CSR – rethinking the phenomenon

Chartered Secretary Journal, 2016

Origin of CSR [Corporate Social Responsibility] can be traced from the ancient scriptures and it is not a concept borrowed from the foreign country. Theory of “Trusteeship” coined by Late Shri M K. Gandhi is the cornerstone of the modern concept - CSR. Looking to the overall need for the holistic growth and development of India, since CSR is in the larger interest, implementation of the same by compulsion through legal compliance seems justifiable to certain extent. ISO certification and CSR standards are the future lessons that can be helpful for sharpening the overall attitude for taking CSR in its right perspective. Now, it’s a right time to ensure that while dealing with CSR, approach should be that of participatory and not a contributory. Let, CSR be part of company strategy and budget and be treated like an actionable business agenda. CSR agenda should carry the stake holder approach by a corporate and not a charity oriented approach.

CSR 2.0 and the New Era of Corporate Citizenship

Mark Camilleri, Elisa Baraibar-Diez, María Dolores Sánchez-Fernández, Michael Devereux, Misra Cagla Gul, Raquel Gómez-López, Basak Ucanok Tan, Catalina Soriana Sitnikov, José Ramón Cardona, Vesela Milorad Radovic, Roland Berberich, José Ignacio Elicegui-Reyes

CSR 2.0 and the New Era of Corporate Citizenship, 2017

This book’s theoretical underpinnings and empirical studies suggest that businesses can do well by doing good. It builds on the previous theoretical underpinnings of the CSR agenda, including Business Ethics (Crane and Matten, 2004); Stakeholder Engagement (Freeman, 1984); Corporate Citizenship (Carroll, 1998; Waddock, 2004; Matten and Crane, 2004), Creating Shared Value (Porter and Kramer, 2011; 2006), as it presents the latest Corporate Sustainability and Responsibility (CSR2.0) perspective (Visser, 2011,2014; Camilleri, 2015). This promising notion is being recognized as a concept that offers new ways of thinking and behaving. It has potential to deliver significant benefits to both business and society as it is an easy term that may appeal to business practitioners. CSR2.0 is linked to improvements in economic performance, operational efficiency, higher quality, innovation and competitiveness. At the same time, it raises awareness on responsible behaviors. Therefore, CSR2.0 can be considered as strategic in its intent and purposes, as businesses are capable of being socially and environmentally responsible ‘citizens’ whilst pursuing their profit-making activities. This latter perspective suggests that responsible behavioral practices may be re-conceived to confer competitive advantage over rival firms. Therefore, this contribution makes reference to laudable investments that could unleash value business and society. It implies that CSR2.0 demands business to build adaptive approaches with stakeholders for the benefit of the firm and for societal advancement. Chapter 1 provides a thorough literature review on the CSR strategy. It presents relevant theoretical underpinnings and empirical studies that may have used other related constructs, including corporate citizenship, stakeholder engagement and business ethics. Hence this chapter reported on how CSR has evolved to reflect the societal realities. At the same time, it raises awareness of the key notions representing CSR. In conclusion, it implies that CSR2.0 demands business to build adaptive approaches with stakeholders for the benefit of the firm and for societal advancement. Chapter 2 reviews the different definitions of the corporate responsibility paradigms and draws comparisons between related concepts. It also explains the evolution of corporate responsibility as it provides a brief overview of how corporate responsibility has changed in the past 30 years. The author contends that organization studies; economic, institutional, cultural and cognitive perspectives are shaping the corporate responsibility agenda. She cleverly presents the benefits of integrating multiple perspectives and discusses about the possible research avenues in the realms of corporate responsibility. Chapter 3 suggests that the field of CSR is ushering a new era in the relationship between business and society: the CSR 2.0 era. The author puts forward a Total Responsibility Management (TRM) approach that may be useful for business practitioners who intend adopting CSR behaviors. This chapter posits that CSR strategies including managing relationship with stakeholders will contribute to the companies´ success and will also bring community welfare. Chapter 4 focuses on the national governments’ regulatory role of raising awareness on CSR behaviors among businesses. The author suggests that there is scope for the state agencies to promote CSR as a business case for companies. She provides an outline of the current state of “supranational regulative policies on public procurement” within the European Union context. Chapter 5 uses a stakeholder perspective to encapsulate the CSR concept. The authors investigated social value cocreation (SVCC) through a qualitative study among different stakeholders (customers, employees, and managers). They implied that businesses ought to clarify their motives, by opening channels of communication with stakeholders. This way, there will be a higher level of SVCC with increased (stakeholder) loyalty toward the firms. Chapter 6 sheds light on Porter and Kramer’s (2011) shared value proposition. The author explains how collaborative stakeholder interactions could lead to significant improvements in the supply chain. Chapter 7 involved a longitudinal study that investigated how four different State Owned Enterprises communicated with Māori communities between 2008 to 2013. This study contributes to the extant literature research on the legitimacy theory and CSR communication with ethnic minorities in the Aotearoa (New Zealand) context. Chapter8 links the CSR paradigm with risk management. The author suggests that Serbian businesses ought to adopt corporate sustainable and responsible approaches in terms of their disaster risk reduction in case of environmental emergencies. Chapter 9 involved a quantitative analysis that explored the CSR practices within the hospitality industry. The authors suggested that there were distinct social and environmentally responsible behaviors in different geographical areas. They argued that institutions can take their results into account when drawing up policies that are aimed at fostering responsible tourism practices. Chapter 10 examined how CSR communication of self-serving motives can lead to more credibility and corporate reputation. The authors implied that the marketers should be aware of how the public perceive CSR behaviors. Chapter 11 suggests that corporate or organizational storytelling, is being used as a promotional tool to communicate CSR information to stakeholders. The authors present four companies that have used storytelling with the aims of transmitting values, fostering collaboration, leading change and sharing knowledge: Chapter 12 relates corporate sustainability to emotional capital. The authors maintain that emotional capital enables businesses to attract and retain talent. This results in significant improvements to the firms’ bottom lines. Chapter13 suggests that the transition from the CSR to CSR 2.0 requires the adoption of five new principles - creativity, scalability, responsiveness, glocality and circularity. The authors posit that these principles ought to be embedded within the organizations management values and culture. The authors propose a new framework that can be used to manage the processes of socially responsible organization. Chapter 14 investigated the banks’ behavior during the economic crisis in Turkey. The author reported on the bank’s CSR strategies as they supported small and medium sized enterprises, as well as local communities during the financial turmoil. Chapter 15 offers insights on sustainable tourism as the authors investigated the constraints that explain why an attitude–behavior gap exists as they analyzed the responsible tourists’ behavior. Chapter 16 examines three leading networks that are intended to promote corporate sustainability and responsibility. The author explores their growing influence as he reviews their objectives, organizational structures, types of activities, practices and impacts Why should you choose this book? This publication is primarily intended to academia, including post graduate students pursuing research degrees. It explores the core aspects of contemporary corporate strategies, public policies and practices that create value. This publication is a concise and authoritative guide on the business case for corporate social responsibility (CSR). It provides a thorough understanding on the theoretical underpinnings of corporate social responsibility, business ethics, corporate citizenship and creating shared value, among other notions. Moreover, its empirical studies show how stakeholder engagement and sustainability strategies can create synergistic value for both business and society in a global context. It suggests that both academia and business practitioners can employ corporate sustainability and responsibility practices as a guiding principle for their business success. Mark Anthony Camilleri, PhD (Edinburgh)

CSR as a concept covers many issues.doc

The concept, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a strongly debated topic and until recently, there was hardly any disagreement that the objective of a corporation was to maximize long-term shareholder wealth. Then corporate executives struggled with the issue of the corporation’s responsibility to society. However, it became quickly apparent to everyone that this pursuit of financial gain for the shareholders had to take place within the provisions of the laws of a given society, which encourages the interests of all others stakeholders be considered in this pursuit of financial gain. Matters arising from this debate, bring to the fore certain questions. Should businesses attempt to solve societal problems? What is the role of government to society? Should businesses merely maximize shareholder wealth? If we claim corporations have responsibilities to society, what support can this assertion be based on? It follows that, to understand CSR as a multidimensional concept and its impact on corporation’s behaviour, it is necessary to understand the progression of CSR concept and the two sides’ arguments concerning CSR.