This unique supplemental text offers a well-structured and thorough introduction to corporate social responsibility (CSR). Author Brent D. Beal introduces the basic concept of CSR, briefly discusses the challenges of defining it, and summarizes important conceptual models. CSR is examined in the context of the perfect competition market model, market failure, and social dilemmas. Three different types of CSR—systemic, strategic, and philanthropic—are highlighted. Finally, arguments both for and against CSR are outlined and several conceptual frames are proposed. Readers are encouraged to think about what businesses should be responsible for in society and how a society’s economic system should be structured, bounded, and ultimately, controlled. This text is appropriate for any business course in which the introduction of CSR would complement other course content.
What is CSR? Can there be a single definition possible? What is CSR anyway? Until, last few decades of twentieth century, there was no explicit mention of the term Corporate Social Responsibility or CSR anywhere, though it was present. So this book will give in-depth overview of the theoretical aspects such as definitions, evolution, and philosophical impetus of the term CSR.
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) expresses a fundamental morality in the way a company behaves toward society. It follows ethical behavior toward stakeholders and recognizes the spirit of the legal and regulatory environment. The idea of CSR gained momentum in the late 1950s and 1960s with the expansion of large conglomerate corporations and became a popular subject in the 1980s with R. Edward Freeman's Strategic Management: A Stakeholder Approach and the many key works of Archie B. Carroll, Peter F. Drucker, and others. In the wake of the financial crisis of 2008–2010, CSR has again become a focus for evaluating corporate behavior. First published in 1953, Howard R. Bowen’s Social Responsibilities of the Businessman was the first comprehensive discussion of business ethics and social responsibility. It created a foundation by which business executives and academics could consider the subjects as part of strategic planning and managerial decision-making. Though written in another era, it is regularly and increasingly cited because of its relevance to the current ethical issues of business operations in the United States. Many experts believe it to be the seminal book on corporate social responsibility. This new edition of the book includes an introduction by Jean-Pascal Gond, Professor of Corporate Social Responsibility at Cass Business School, City University of London, and a foreword by Peter Geoffrey Bowen, Daniels College of Business, University of Denver, who is Howard R. Bowen's eldest son.
The role of Corporate Social Responsibility in the business world has developed from a fig leaf marketing front into an important aspect of corporate behavior over the past several years. Sustainable strategies are valued, desired and deployed more and more by relevant players in many industries all over the world. Both research and corporate practice therefore see CSR as a guiding principle for business success. The “Encyclopedia of Corporate Social Responsibility” has been conceived to assist researchers and practitioners to align business and societal objectives. All actors in the field will find reliable and up to date definitions and explanations of the key terms of CSR in this authoritative and comprehensive reference work. Leading experts from the global CSR community have contributed to make the “Encyclopedia of Corporate Social Responsibility” the definitive resource for this field of research and practice.
CSR encompasses broad questions about the changing relationship between business, society, and government. An authoritative review of the academic research that has both prompted, and responded to, these issues, the text provides clear thinking and perspectives on CSR and the debates around it.
This book is a concise and authoritative reference work and dictionary in the field of corporate social responsibility, sustainability, business ethics and corporate governance. It provides reliable definitions to more than 600 terms and concepts for researchers and professionals alike. By its definitions the dictionary helps users to understand the meanings of commonly used terms in CSR, and the roles and functions of CSR-related international organizations. Furthermore, it helps to identify keynotes on international guidelines, codes and principles relevant to CSR. The role of CSR in the business world has developed from a fig leaf marketing front into an important and indispensable aspect of corporate behavior over the past years. Sustainable strategies are valued, desired and deployed more and more by relevant players in business, politics, and societies all over the world. Both research and corporate practice therefore see CSR as a guiding principle for business success.
Corporate Social Responsibility: Definition, Core Issues and Recent Developments offers a well-structured and thorough introduction to corporate social responsibility (CSR). Author Brent D. Beal introduces the basic concept of CSR, briefly discusses the challenges of defining it, and summarizes important conceptual models. CSR is examined in the context of the perfect competition market model, market failure, and social dilemmas. Three different types of CSR—systemic, strategic, and philanthropic—are highlighted. Finally, arguments both for and against CSR are outlined and several conceptual frames are proposed. Readers are encouraged to think about what businesses should be responsible for in society and how a society’s economic system should be structured, bounded, and ultimately, controlled. This text is appropriate for any business course in which the introduction of CSR would complement other course content.
A number of disparate but interconnected forces such as deregulation and globalization, rapid advances in communications technology and the rise in the power of the consumer and civil society have now combined to bring corporate responsibility to prominence in many corporate boardrooms. In this information age, the ramifications of not addressing best practice in environment, workplace, marketplace and community could range from bad press coverage to complete market exclusion. These are perilous times for the social construct of modern capitalism.In today's society successful companies will increasingly be those that recognize that they have responsibilities to a range of stakeholders that go beyond compliance with the law. If in the past the focus was on enhancing shareholder value, now it is on engaging stakeholders for long-term value creation. This does not mean that shareholders are not important, or that profitability is not vital to business success, but that in order to survive and be profitable a company must engage with a range of stakeholders whose views may vary greatly. If in the past corporate social responsibility was simply seen as profitability plus compliance plus philanthropy, now responsible corporate citizenship means companies being more aware of and understanding the societies in which they operate. This means senior executives and managers being able to deal with a wide range of issues including greater accountability, human rights abuses, sustainability strategies, corporate governance codes, workplace ethics, stakeholder consultation and management.The aim and scope of Perspectives on Corporate Citizenship is to help capture and distil these and other emerging trends in terms of content, context and processes, in one concise volume. With contributions from the *crème de la crème* of leading thinkers from around the world, Perspectives on Corporate Citizenship is essential reading for students, scholars and all serious thinkers on one of the most critical issues of our time.
