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.

First published in 1998. This is an examination of corporate social responsibility in Britain and Italy. There is a growing interest in businesses rendering themselves more socially active and becoming more involved in addressing social problems. A number of British companies have been adopting many of the community practices that have characterized corporate life in America since the early 1960s. Corporate responsibility is defined as a business engagement in the wider community in order to contribute towards the general well-being of society. This study employs a hybrid methodology using a variety of sources including historical texts, secondary studies and detailed case studies of corporate social programmes. Businesses studied include Shell, BT, Unilever, and BAT Industries in Britain, and Fiat, Olivetti, ENI, IRI and Dioguardi in Italy. The study aims to provide a qualitative explanation of why companies go beyond their commercial remit to become engaged in communitarian and philanthropic action. Ultimately, the book aims to present a socially and politically informed analysis placed in its historical and political context, taking into consideration economic forces.