Through a series of studies of aspects of CSR from around the world, this book re-examines the topic though the lenses of various disciplines and cultures. It shows that the subject is much wider than is generally perceived and that CSR is evolving in a way which has not been generally recognized within the academic community.

Through a series of studies of aspects of CSR from around the world, this book re-examines the topic though the lenses of various disciplines and cultures. It shows that the subject is much wider than is generally perceived and that CSR is evolving in a way which has not been generally recognized within the academic community.

The goal of this project is to detail the core, defining principles of strategic CSR that differentiate it as a concept from the rest of the CSR/sustainability/business ethics field. It is designed to be a provocative piece, but one that solidifies the intellectual framework around an emerging concept--strategic CSR.The foundation for these principles comes from my perspective as a management professor within the business school. As such, it is a pragmatic philosophy, oriented around stakeholder theory, that is designed to persuade business leaders who are skeptical of existing definitions and organizing principles of CSR, sustainability, or business ethics. It is also designed to stimulate thought within the community of intellectuals and business school administrators committed to these issues, but who approach them from more traditional perspectives. Ultimately, therefore, the purpose of the strategic CSR concept (and this book) is radical--it aims to redefine both business education and business practice. By building a theory that defines CSR as core to business operations and value creation (as opposed to peripheral practices that can be marginalized within the firm), these defining principles become applicable across the range of operational functions. As such, they redefine how businesses approach these functions in practice, but also redefine how these subjects should be taught in business schools.

Globalization and the growth of multinational enterprises (MNEs) has been accompanied by an increasing call for corporations to take responsibility for their environmental and social impacts, and for greater corporate disclosure and transparency with regard to non-financial risks (collectively known as corporate social responsibility, or CSR). At the same time, governments have increasingly turned to mandatory obligations for formerly voluntary CSR engagement, a trend we call the legalization of CSR. This article analyzes the “hardening” and legalization of CSR, and considers what this process tells us about norms and assumptions regarding the social responsibility of firms in the United States and around the world. Through our analysis of corporate trends, regulations, and case law from the United States, European Union, China, and India, we argue that the process of legalization and redefinition of CSR through a shareholder primacy lens may, troublingly, undermine the very notion of corporate social responsibility. In the face of these trends, this article redefines CSR with a reference to a fresh commitment to corporations' social and ethical responsibility to society.

This innovative book sets out to rethink corporate social responsibility (CSR) in global value chains.

Published in association with the Social Responsibility Research Network, Volume 2 in this new and exciting series takes a global interdisciplinary perspective to the matter of governance in the business environment and includes key topics and contributions from the UK, Portugal, Belgium, Brazil, Japan, China and Malaysia.

This paper helps in understanding the meaning of business beyond financial numbers and tries to explain how even Corporate Social Responsibility (hereinafter referred to as CSR) can be used as a marketing tool and for business benefits. It dwells comprehensively upon the concept of CSR, from its inception as philanthropy till its journey to a form where now it is mandatory to be sensitive about CSR in businesses with special reference to the provisions of the Companies Act, 2013.