Chapter 4 Path dependence and corporate social responsibility The previous two chapters have comprehensively reviewed the concept and barriers of CCL. In this chapter, some conceptual frameworks about path dependence and corporate social responsibility (CSR) will be presented to provide some new perspectives to achieve RO4 of this dissertation. 4.1 Path dependence Path-dependence theory was illustrated by Arthur (1994), trying to describe the choices made in the past would determine the choices prevailing in the future. Håkansson and Waluszewski (2002) further argued that the solutions embedded into a structure would obstruct the application of new solutions, which could even though break the existing structure. In path dependence, an …show more content…
For Zhang et al. (2014), CSR implies that companies should be responsible not only for their shareholders, but also for their stakeholders including suppliers, customers, and communities. Carroll (1979) identified four types of responsibilities that might be subsumed under CSR: economic, legal, ethical, and discretionary expectations. Economic responsibility means that companies are obligated to achieve profitability and satisfy customer needs. Legal responsibility indicates that companies must operate within the framework of legal regulations. Ethical responsibility includes some moral requirements. Discretionary expectation equals philanthropic responsibilities that contribute to society’s development and welfare. Wang and Juslin (2009) held that the western CSR concept does not fit the Chinese market and adopted the Chinese harmony approach to define CSR: enterprises should apply harmony to business and operate in a harmonious way between people and nature. The overall purpose of CSR should be cultivating humaneness, righteousness, ritual, wisdom, sincerity, and responsibility, and becoming a superior company. However, this concept is too abstract to conduct and few Chinese people can truly understand it without a deep understanding of Chinese culture. Many companies in China do not view CSR as an effective investment to improve organizational value unless CSR has considerable payoffs. In contrast to these misunderstandings, Stewart (2006) argued that companies and society actually have the same interests because enterprises cannot make profit in a corrupt, weak, poor society; and social progress can provide a healthy environment for company governance. As compared, Carroll’s (1979) definition emphasizes simultaneous achievement of a company’s economic, ethical, legal, and philanthropic responsibilities, which can be applicable to all countries. In this dissertation,
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is the way a corporation achieves a balance between its economic, social, and environmental responsibilities in its operations so as to address shareholder and other stakeholder expectations. In general, when firms hold this wider encouraging role on the public by being engaged with stakeholders, a variety of profit can be produced for both company and the stakeholders. A key inclination is the combination of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) into the organization strategy, culture, mission and communications. By incorporating corporate citizenship into the company it is no longer an additional “nice thing to do” or something made to obey laws or regulations. Instead, corporate responsibility has become something business leaders and workforce want to engage in, frequently because executives who believe in the long-term see business profit. The four types of social responsibilities a...
Responsibility is a word used improperly too often in one’s everyday life. It is the state, to which one is acting accountably for something within his or her own power, control, and/or management. It is the ability to comprehend rational thoughts and make decisions within one’s moral compass. Beginning at a young age, we are taught the importance of responsibility on a daily basis. Whether it be on the basis of taking responsibility for foolish past actions, or behaving responsibly to develop one’s aptitude of dependability when tasks must be accomplished, the action of being responsible ultimately leads to adding meaning and value to one’s life. After reading The Responsible Company, by Yvon Chouinard and Vincent Stanley, one can begin to comprehend the true meaning behind utilizing corporate social responsibility (CSR) during business practices. Chouinard speaks about the moments in his career, where a company is encouraged and cultivated passed its ordinary human excellence to become more responsible when dealing with the many diverse environmental issues within the business cycle. Although there are many concepts and moments that Chouinard establishes as important, there are a few moments that seemed to have a deeper meaning and deserved another moment of reminiscence because it increased peoples’ sense of responsibility and capability to act responsibly.
Windsor, D. (2001). The future of corporate social responsibility. International Journal of Organizational Analysis, 9 (3): 225-256.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a movement that aims to promote a greater awareness of how business activities and decisions influence corporate environment, stakeholders, and society in general. Adam Lindgreen and Valerie Swaen’s article “Corporate Social Responsibility” addresses this broad topic in a more narrow direction of CSR implementation as it discusses the most important stages of this process. While this article relies only on the previous research, it provides unique insights into CSR and even challenges the common views of this concept as the authors thoroughly analyze their secondary sources.
Davis (1960) assert that concept of CSR is important because businesses are based on trust and foresight. This trust with customers, communities and regulators is not simple and to be successful in long run, a company needs to think beyond what is affecting them today. Thus it is necessary to address changes to technology or the needs of customers taking into account alterations in social, environmental and governance issues (Holme 2010). This essay has made an attempt to explore the role a...
Corporate social responsibility is globally defined as operating a business in a way that meets or exceeds the ethical, legal, commercial and public expectations that society has of business. The concern of CSR has drastically increased over the last two decades. It has enhanced interactions between governments, businesses, society and internationally. In the past, businesses primarily focus themselves with the economic results of their decisions. Now, businesses must also reflect on the legal, ethical, moral and social consequences of their decisions. Corporate Social Responsibility is no longer defined by how much money a company contributes to charity, but by its overall involvement in activities that improve the quality of people’s lives.
An organization’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) drives them to look out for the different interests of society. Most business corporations undertake responsibility for the impact of their organizational pursuits and various activities on their customers, employees, shareholders, communities and the environment. With the high volume of general competition between different companies and organizations in varied fields, CSR has become a morally imperative commitment, more than one enforced by the law. Most organizations in the modern world willingly try to improve the general well-being of not only their employees, but also their families and the society as a whole.
Businesses have a social responsibility to their consumers and communities. Poor social responsibility can affect a company’s profitability and impact customer loyalty. In the 1990’s, Nike faced allegations of being the villains of child labor laws and running sweat shops. In 2008 JPMorgan’s involvement (or lack of) in Madoff’s Ponzi scheme and 2015, Volkswagen’s emissions scandal are all examples of failed social responsibility. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is more than donating to charities; it’s about doing the right thing and being active members of the community.
The classical view of CSR is a prominent ideology which business organizations are seen merely as profit-driven organizations. Simply put, businesses work for the sole purpose of making a profit. Thus, this profit motive is the sufficient and unique social identifier that separates a business organization from other institutions in society. These business organizations have a limited, yet essential role in society. Social concerns are considered important, but businesses, in the classical view, are focused solely on the economic activities and are judged accordingly. By having a limited role in society (i.e.,...
McWilliams and Siegel (2001) define CSR as, “actions that appear to further some social good, beyond the interests of the firm and that which is required by law.” (p. 117) Corporate social responsibility is considered both strategic, in that it yields a firm benefits, and non-strategic, in that it encompasses an observed behavior (Burke and Logsdon 1996). There is also a perception that CSR encompasses a zero-sum trade-off with the economic interests of the business. It is somewhat accepted that accepting CSR strategies will be a more long-term payoff, while entailing short-term costs, leading modern businesses to abandon it in order to appease the interests of shareholders.
In recent years, companies are becoming socially responsible and now stakeholders almost expect a company to have CSR policies. Therefore, in twentieth century, corporate social responsibility (CSR) became an important development in public life (Barnett, ND).Corporate social responsibility is defined as “the ways in which an organisation exceeds the minimum obligations to stakeholders specified through regulation and corporate governance” (Johnson, Schools and Whittington, N.D cited in March, 2012). Stakeholders can be defined as “those individuals or groups who depend on the organisation to fulfil their own goals and on whom, in turn, the organisation depends” (Johnson, Schools and Whittington, N.D cited in March, 2012). There are many purposes for this essay, the first purpose is to descried the key principles of corporate social responsibility and explain their importance for stakeholders. Secondly, is to show how far this company follows those principles in order to be accountable to at least three of its stakeholders. In this essay, three stakeholders, environment, customers and employees will be evaluated respectively and the key principles of the stakeholders will be examined.
To understand to broad aspect of CSR, it must be considered for a complex perspective. Therefore Mureşan et al. (2010) states that CSR is the expectation related to the company leading to ecological, economical, legal, ethical and philanthropical responsibility and argues that many people do
“CSR implies that firms must foremost assume their core economic responsibility and voluntarily go beyond legal minimums so that they are ethical in all of their activities and that they take into account the impact of their actions on stakeholders in society, while simultaneously contributing to global sustainability” (p 1433).
While the concept of an individual having responsibility is commonly recognized, modern views have lead to the emerging issue of corporate responsibility. Business Directory.com defines corporate social responsibility as, “A company’s sense of responsibility towards the community and environment (both ecological and social) in which it operates. Companies express this citizenship (1) through their waste and pollution reduction processes, (2) by contributing educational and social programs, and (3) by earning adequate returns on the employed resources.” But such a concept has been much disputed since at least the 1970’s.
A company has an economic obligation. It must earn a favorable return for its stockholders in the restrictions of the law. But, corporate social responsibility means that organizations have also ethical and societal responsibilities that go past their economic responsibilities. CSR needs organizations to develop their documentations of their responsibilities to include other stakeholders such as workers, customers, suppliers, local societies, state governments, international organizations, etc. Ethics could be seen as a fundamental component of individual and group activities at the heart of organizations’ errands.