Corporate social responsibility: an empirical investigation of U.S. organizations

Organizations that believe they should give something back to the society have embraced the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR). Although the theoretical underpinnings of CSR have been frequently debated, empirical studies often involve only limited aspects, implying that theory may not be congruent with actual practices and may impede understanding and further development of CSR. The authors investigate actual CSR practices related to five different stakeholder groups, develop an instrument to measure those CSR practices, and apply it to a survey of 401 U.S. organizations. Four different clusters of organizations emerge, depending on the CSR practice focus. The distinctive features of each cluster relate to organizational demographics, perceived influence of stakeholders, managers perceptions of the influence of CSR on performance, and organizational performance

A nice thing to do but is it critical for business? Corporate responsibility and Australian business

There is said to be a "new paradigm in business" proposing that business has far broader social and environmental responsibilities than simply making profits for shareholders. This paper examines the concept of corporate responsibility to see how far Australian business has moved towards the new paradigm. Fifty-four different stakeholders from one large business were interviewed about the meaning of corporate responsibility. Most acknowledged that business has a responsibility beyond simply making profits, however, profit remained the primary motivation in moves towards corporate citizenship, community involvement and social responsibility

A reluctant stakeholder? On the perception of corporate social responsibility among European trade unions

Seen from a national business system perspective, the notion of corporate social responsibility (CSR) emerges as a specifically US-American response to challenges regarding the corporate place in society. With the spread of American capitalism, however, CSR is bound to come into contact - and conflict - with other approaches to the role of business in society that have been shaped by different national cultures. Within Europe, one such area of potential conflict concerns the role of organised labour in representing employee interests. Studying the perceptions held by European trade unions on stakeholding, as one of the important concepts in the CSR discourse, does indeed reveal a considerable degree of union scepticism of CSR and its terminology. There is, however, also embryonic evidence of at least some unions attempting to link the CSR discourse to traditional union goals. Furthermore, national differences in union responses to CSR are beginning to emerge, which may, in turn, further shape the evolution of national business systems in Europe