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CSR: UNDERTHEORIZED OR ESSENTIALLY CONTESTED?
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Csr: undertheorized or essentially contested.
Barry Mitnick , University of Pittsburgh Follow Duane Windsor , Rice University Follow Donna J. Wood , University of Northern Iowa Follow
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Academy of Management Review
In the January 2020 Academy of Management Review, associate editors Wang, Gibson, and Zander (hereafter WGZ) posed this question: "Is research on corporate social responsibility undertheorized?" They answered affirmatively, pointing to the field's initial practice orientation and arguing a subsequent lack of "theoretical foundation and coherence" sufficient "to inform practice." We disagree with WGZ on key points concerning the corporate social responsibility (CSR) field. We argue that the field is "essentially contested," not undertheorized. We suggest that the case of CSR raises the larger question of how contesting conceptual interpretations of the literature are created, sustained, and, potentially, reconciled. We characterize and discuss the essentially contesting views of CSR as "instrumental=economic CSR" and "injunctive=social CSR." We believe this characterization and discussion clarifies what exactly is contesting between these views. We note how these contesting views of CSR are generated from differing assumptions and worldviews. We discuss the factors operating in academic fields that tend to support the persistence and defense of such differences in conceptual interpretation. Finally, we offer our approach as a model for scholars to think about other concepts in management science that are also "essentially contested.".
Department of Management
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10.5465/amr.2020.0239
UNI ScholarWorks, Rod Library, University of Northern Iowa
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Mitnick, Barry; Windsor, Duane; and Wood, Donna J., "CSR: Undertheorized Or Essentially Contested?" (2021). Faculty Publications . 50. https://scholarworks.uni.edu/facpub/50
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CSR: Undertheorized or Essentially Contested?
Barry m. mitnick , duane windsor , donna j. wood.
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Editors’ Comments: Is Research on Corporate Social Responsibility Undertheorized?
2020, Academy of Management Review
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Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is an important topic for both academics and practitioners because it potentially influences all aspects of an organization—from relationships with stakeholders to strategy to daily routines and practices. Thus, scholars have explored CSR for close to one hundred years. Prior research has been primarily conducted at the organizational and institutional levels, but has largely overlooked the individual-level of analysis, which is a major gap considering that CSR is enacted by and influences people. Recently, this gap has been addressed by an increased focus on the individual level of analysis—also known as “micro-CSR.” However, CSR is a multilevel construct, so even when focusing on the individual level, all levels need to be taken into consideration at the same time. Moreover, CSR is cross-disciplinary. Prior research has often focused on disciplines such as strategy, but fields such as psychology have much to offer—especially because CSR is con...
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This paper amis to give an overview on the topic and impact of the corporate social responsibility on employee's attitudes and behaviours (CSR), it can be noticed that different scholars still continue to look at the concept of CSR from different perspectives. In 1970, Milton Friedman was the first scholar who wrote an article regarding the responsibilities of corporations. After that academicians started to look at the concept of CSR in more details, and made a move from the general debates discussing about the legitimacy of CSR to other perspectives to get deeper understanding about the concept of CSR. But, most of the researches that have been conducted with regard to CSR were mainly focused on macro perspective with their great emphasis on the relationship between CSR initiatives and financial performance.
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A New Research Horizon for Mass Entrepreneurship Policy and Chinese Firms’ CSR: Introduction to the Thematic Symposium
- Editorial Essay
- Published: 02 July 2020
- Volume 169 , pages 603–607, ( 2021 )
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- Zhenzhong Ma 1 , 2 &
- Maoliang Bu 3 , 4 , 5
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While China has experienced an unprecedented growth over the past decades, sustainability has become a major concern for policymakers and management practitioners. Consideration has been given to the convergence of mass entrepreneurship and innovation as a new economic driver and sustainability as a long-term economic objective. The focus of China’s economic development has moved from a resource-based expansion to a more entrepreneurial and socially responsible one. This is a timely and critical topic that captures the increasing concerns over sustainability and Chinese firms’ increased responsibility under the new governmental initiatives in fulfilling their social mandates from stakeholders at different levels. It is also a rich area for academic research but still under studied in the Chinese context. More indigenous management research on corporate social responsibility is required to adopt Chinese perspectives in conceptualizing CSR-related problems and further formulating more contextualized CSR theories, the emergence of a new research horizon.
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Acknowledgements
We appreciate the great support from JBE editors and staff, in particular Prof. Arno Kourula for his kind and thoughtful guidance. We thank all the authors who have submitted their papers for consideration and all the reviewers whose services are an essential part of this issue. In addition, the guest editors are thankful for the joint support of research grants awarded through DFG and NSFC (#M-0018), the Science Foundation of Ministry of Education of China (#19YJA630002), and the Research Innovation Fund from the Odette School of Business (#37022), and a grant from the Centre for Asia-Pacific Studies (#816058), University of Windsor, Canada.
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Zhenzhong Ma
Odette School of Business, University of Windsor, Windsor, ON, Canada
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Maoliang Bu
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Ivey Business School, Western University, London, ON, Canada
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Ma, Z., Bu, M. A New Research Horizon for Mass Entrepreneurship Policy and Chinese Firms’ CSR: Introduction to the Thematic Symposium. J Bus Ethics 169 , 603–607 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-020-04549-7
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Published : 02 July 2020
Issue Date : April 2021
DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-020-04549-7
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Creating a Corporate Social Responsibility Program with Real Impact
- Emilio Marti,
- David Risi,
- Eva Schlindwein,
- Andromachi Athanasopoulou
Lessons from multinational companies that adapted their CSR practices based on local feedback and knowledge.
Exploring the critical role of experimentation in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), research on four multinational companies reveals a stark difference in CSR effectiveness. Successful companies integrate an experimental approach, constantly adapting their CSR practices based on local feedback and knowledge. This strategy fosters genuine community engagement and responsive initiatives, as seen in a mining company’s impactful HIV/AIDS program. Conversely, companies that rely on standardized, inflexible CSR methods often fail to achieve their goals, demonstrated by a failed partnership due to local corruption in another mining company. The study recommends encouraging broad employee participation in CSR and fostering a culture that values CSR’s long-term business benefits. It also suggests that sustainable investors and ESG rating agencies should focus on assessing companies’ experimental approaches to CSR, going beyond current practices to examine the involvement of diverse employees in both developing and adapting CSR initiatives. Overall, embracing a dynamic, data-driven approach to CSR is essential for meaningful social and environmental impact.
By now, almost all large companies are engaged in corporate social responsibility (CSR): they have CSR policies, employ CSR staff, engage in activities that aim to have a positive impact on the environment and society, and write CSR reports. However, the evolution of CSR has brought forth new challenges. A stark contrast to two decades ago, when the primary concern was the sheer neglect of CSR, the current issue lies in the ineffective execution of these practices. Why do some companies implement CSR in ways that create a positive impact on the environment and society, while others fail to do so? Our research reveals that experimentation is critical for impactful CSR, which has implications for both companies that implement CSR and companies that externally monitor these CSR activities, such as sustainable investors and ESG rating agencies.
- EM Emilio Marti is an assistant professor at the Rotterdam School of Management (RSM) at Erasmus University Rotterdam.
- DR David Risi is a professor at the Bern University of Applied Sciences and a habilitated lecturer at the University of St. Gallen. His research focuses on how companies organize CSR and sustainability.
- ES Eva Schlindwein is a professor at the Bern University of Applied Sciences and a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Oxford. Her research focuses on how organizations navigate tensions between business and society.
- AA Andromachi Athanasopoulou is an associate professor at Queen Mary University of London and an associate fellow at the University of Oxford. Her research focuses on how individuals manage their leadership careers and make ethically charged decisions.
IMAGES
VIDEO
COMMENTS
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a concept that has brought about both progress and controversy. Under the banner of CSR, we have made progress in addressing some of the world's most pressing challenges, yet corporations still struggle to figure out where, how, and when to devote their social efforts, and doubts abound as to whether corporate efforts are truly in the public's best ...
In the January 2020 Academy of Management Review, associate editors Wang, Gibson, and Zander (hereafter WGZ) posed this question: "Is research on corporate social responsibility undertheorized?" They answered affirmatively, pointing to the field's initial practice orientation and arguing a subsequent lack of "theoretical foundation and coherence" sufficient "to inform practice ...
As a pervasive topic in the business lit-erature, CSR is being addressed not only in the management field but also in the domains of eco-nomics, finance, marketing, operations, and sociol-ogy. Accordingly, various theoretical perspectives, including stakeholder theory, resource-based the-ory, upper echelons theory, institutional theory, be ...
Corporate social responsibility as management idea: Between universal applicability and context dependency. Lutz Preuss. Business, Philosophy. Competition & Change. 2023. The international spread of the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) has ignited a debate whether CSR is universally applicable or context dependent.
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is both a pressing issue for corporate managers in all sectors and a research topic of flourishing interest. It has nevertheless been sometimes described as ...
In this article the editor comments on whether or not they believe research on corporate social responsibility (CSR) to be undertheorized. CSR can apply to the management field but also to the domains of economics, finance, marketing, operations, and sociology.
We disagree with WGZ on key points concerning the corporate social responsibility (CSR) field. We argue that the field is "essentially contested," not undertheorized. We suggest that the case of CSR raises the larger question of how contesting conceptual interpretations of the literature are created, sustained, and, potentially, reconciled.
Barry M. Mitnick D. Windsor D. Wood. Business, Philosophy. Business & Society. 2022. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is about the moral purpose of business and its proper relationship to society. We map the logical structure of CSR—its canonical core—and identify the view of…. Expand. 4.
We disagree with WGZ on key points concerning the corporate social responsibility (CSR) field. We argue that the field is "essentially contested," not undertheorized. We suggest that the case of CSR raises the larger question of how contesting conceptual interpretations of the literature are created, sustained, and, potentially, reconciled.
We disagree with WGZ on key points concerning the corporate social responsibility (CSR) field. We argue that the field is "essentially contested," not undertheorized. We suggest that the case of CSR raises the larger question of how contesting conceptual interpretations of the literature are created, sustained, and, potentially, reconciled.
We disagree, however, with WGZ's assessment of the developmental history of the 27 28 29 CSR literature and believe that their "undertheorized" perspective unduly narrows the future path 30 31 for CSR research. We think CSR is "essentially contested" rather than "undertheorized." 32 33 Larger questions grow from these two ...
This study provides a bird's eye view of research on corporate social responsibility (CSR) by text-mining 14,523 articles published in reputed scholarly journals spanning the period from 1991 to ...
Who matters to CEOs? An investigation of stakeholder attributes and salience, corporate performance, and CEO values. Academy of Management Journal, 42: 507-525.Link, Google Scholar; Aguinis, H., & Glavas, A. 2012. What we know and don't know about corporate social responsibility: A review and research agenda. Journal of Management, 38: 932 ...
Duane Windsor (PhD, Harvard University) is the Lynette S. Autry Professor of Management at Rice University, Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business. His research interests focus on corporate social responsibility and stakeholder theory. His articles have appeared in such journals as Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, Business & Society, Business Ethics Quarterly ...
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a concept that has brought about both progress and controversy. Under the banner of CSR, we have made progress in addressing some of the world's most pressing challenges, yet corporations still struggle to figure out where, how, and when to devote their social efforts, and doubts abound as to whether corporate efforts are truly in the public's best ...
Although corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices can increase firm attractiveness, this process can be undermined if CSR activities signal the "wrong" motives to job seekers. ... Editors' comments: Is research on corporate social responsibility undertheorized? Academy of Management Review 45(1): 1-6. Crossref. Google Scholar ...
2016. TLDR. A research agenda is put forward that goes beyond addressing gaps and focuses on how organizational psychology and CSR can be partners in helping move both fields forward—specifically, through a humanistic research agenda rooted in positive psychology. Expand.
Editors' comments: Is corporate social responsibility research undertheorized? Heli WANG Singapore Management University, [email protected] Cristina GIBSON ... Is Research on Corporate Social Responsibility Undertheorized? Heli Wang, Cristina Gibson and Udo Zander Published in Academy of Management Review, Vol. 45, No. 1, 9 Jan 2020 ...
The Researches on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) tends to focus on stakeholders and external outcomes. The impact of CSR on employee performance is still rarely discussed in many studies.
Editors' comments: is research on corporate social responsibility undertheorized? Heli Wang, Cristina Gibson, Udo Zander ... Is research on corporate social responsibility undertheorized? Year of publication: 2020. Authors: Wang, Heli; Gibson, Cristina; Zander, Udo: Published in: The Academy of Management review : AMR. - Briarcliff Manor, NY ...
What we know and don't know about corporate social responsibility: A review and research agenda. Journal of Management, 38: 932-968. Google Scholar; Almandoz J. 2012. Arriving at the starting line: The impact of community and financial logics on new banking ventures. Academy of Management Journal, 55: 1381-1406.Link, Google Scholar
The concept of corporate social responsibility has been evolving over the time (Ma 2009).While contemporary CSR is commonly defined as the economic, legal, ethical, and discretionary expectations that the society has of a firm at a given point in time (Carroll 1979), scholars also argue that a firm's social responsibility is simply to increase its profits (Friedman 1970).
Summary. Exploring the critical role of experimentation in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), research on four multinational companies reveals a stark difference in CSR effectiveness ...
We outline a supply and demand model of corporate social responsibility (CSR). Based on this framework, we hypothesize that a firm's level of CSR will depend on its size, level of diversification, research and development, advertising, government sales, consumer income, labor market conditions, and stage in the industry life cycle. From these hypotheses, we conclude that there is an "ideal ...