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Although the literature on corporate social responsibility (CSR) has discussed the scope and meaning of CSR extensively, confusion still exists regarding how to define the concept. One controversial issue deals with the changing legal status of CSR (i.e., the voluntary vs. mandatory nature of the concept). Based on a review of CSR definitions and meta-studies on CSR definitions, we find that the majority of definitions leans toward voluntary CSR. However, some recent regulatory amendments toward mandatory CSR have called into question the established idea of CSR as merely a managerial tool of self-regulation. In this paper, we juxtapose the evolution of CSR in India against the scholarly literature discussing voluntary-versus-mandatory CSR to understand the recent shift toward a new conceptualization of CSR as a form of co-regulation that includes elements of both voluntary and mandatory regulation. The Indian Companies Act 2013 (Section 135) is a remarkable example in that it replaced an older version from 1956, taking a bold step toward the integration of voluntary and mandatory aspects in the application of CSR. We present practical implications of the Indian case for businesses and discuss implications for CSR theory development; we particularly consider the evolution of the business and society relationship from a voluntary soft law approach to CSR to an increasingly hard law approach and transitory hybrid forms in-between like soft–hard law and hard–soft law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a globalizing world, governments are not always able or willing to regulate the social and environmental externalities of global business activities. Multi-stakeholder initiatives (MSI), defined as global institutions involving mainly corporations and civil society organizations, are one type of regulatory mechanism that tries to fill this gap by issuing soft law regulation. This conceptual paper examines the conditions of a legitimate transfer of regulatory power from traditional democratic nation-state processes to private regulatory schemes, such as MSIs. Democratic legitimacy is typically concerned with input legitimacy (rule credibility, or the extent to which the regulations are perceived as justified) and output legitimacy (rule effectiveness, or the extent to which the rules effectively solve the issues). In this study, we identify MSI input legitimacy criteria (inclusion, procedural fairness, consensual orientation, and transparency) and those of MSI output legitimacy (rule coverage, efficacy, and enforcement), and discuss their implications for MSI democratic legitimacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we examine the effects of different competitive conditions on the determination and evaluation of strategies of corporate social responsibility (CSR). Although the mainstream of current thinking in business ethics recognizes that a firm should invest in social responsibility, the normative theory on how specific competitive conditions affect a firm's social responsibility remains underdeveloped. Intensity of competition, risks to reputation and the regulatory environment determine the competitive conditions of a firm. Our central thesis is that differential strength of competition produces differential moral legitimacy of firm behavior. When competition is fierce or weak, different acts or strategies become morally acceptable, as well as economically rational. A firm has to develop its own strategy of social responsibility, in light of its competitive position, as well as ethical considerations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyzes the determinants of global standardization of multinational companies' environmental policies. Survey data from the chemical industry show that MNCs standardize different environmental policy dimensions in response to pressures from different external stakeholders. MNC characteristics also affect environmental policy standardization. Findings demonstrate that the nature of stakeholder demands affects firms' responses to stakeholder pressures. Because environmental policy standardization reduces MNCs' ability to exploit cross-country differences in environmental regulations, these findings also have important implications for the self-regulation of MNCs' environmental conduct. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, demands from external stakeholders have created pressures for companies to adopt new environmental management practices. Some industries have developed their own non-regulatory codes of environment, health, and safety (EHS) practice. Have these codes generated substantive change in members' actions or do they simply reinforce existing perceptions and practices? This article examines the response of sixteen chemical companies to the first industry-generated EHS code. Responsible Care. In some cases, companies have adopted uniform practices, while in other cases significant variation persists. The adoption and implementation by companies of non-regulatory environmental codes is a poor indicator that any particular standard practices will be followed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While business self-regulation is often invoked as an alternative to government regulation, it has never lived up to its promise. This article contends that the "undersupply" of business self-regulation is due to the fact that its benefits typically take the form of public goods. It is notorious that public goods, because they are vulnerable to free-rider problems, are inefficiently supplied by the market. Ironically, then the principal means that we rely on to regulate business–the market–undercuts business's capacity for self-regulation in cases of market failure. Moreover, the extreme fragmentation of business in the U.S. and the barriers we have placed in the way of inter-firm collective action have left us heavily dependent on government to regulate market failures. In other societies, collective action by business, typically administered by a peak organization, has provided an alternative to increased government control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) at the macro-level and well-established dimensions of national culture offered by Hofstede’s framework.Design/methodology/approach The authors employ a composite index for quantifying CSR proliferation and present new findings on the role of cultural specificity – proxied by Hofstede’s dimensions – on CSR endorsement among national business sectors.Findings Results indicate that cultural perspectives pertaining to “long-term vs short-term orientation” as well as “indulgence vs restraint” affect positively the composite CSR index, while “uncertainty avoidance” has a negative impact. In contrast, the effect of “power distance,” “individualism” and “masculinity” is found to be insignificant.Originality/value The study offers new insights to institutional theorists as well as political economy researchers for a deeper investigation of informal institutions, such as culture, which shape national or regional specificities of CSR and retain a moderating effect on the voluntary/self-regulation activities of business entities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) codes have gained a prominent role as tools in self-regulation for companies to establish their basic values, norms, and rules that condition the conduct of directors, managers, employees, and--increasingly--of suppliers. This development must be seen in the light of two important paradigmatic changes in the concepts both of CSR and corporate governance. The former is no longer purely voluntary and the latter has become inclusive of CSR, each with far-reaching consequences for the raison d'être and the place and function of the codes in the smart regulatory mix governing corporations. While the codes were based originally on voluntary adherence by companies to international soft law instruments such as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (dating from 1976) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) Tripartite Declaration (dating from 1977), increasingly, governance and compliance-oriented soft and hard laws, including but not limited to criminal, administrative, and private laws, stimulate or even require companies to adopt codes of conduct, to monitor compliance and to enforce them. In this sense, corporate codes must be characterized increasingly as co-regulation instruments, mandated by soft and hard law as meta-regulation. Thus, the still widely held view, that the codes are merely voluntary instruments must be challenged on two levels: first, adoption of a code as corporate governance and CSR instrument is for many companies no longer voluntary, and, second, the content of the code is no longer optional in many respects. In order to enable the reader to appreciate the implications of these paradigmatic changes for corporate codes of conduct, this contribution will first briefly address these paradigmatic changes. Following these preliminary remarks, this contribution will describe the code's place in the corporate governance regulatory framework as one of the primary governance tools for the company. This contribution will also describe how meta-regulation has transformed corporate codes from pure self- regulation to responsive co-regulation. In conclusion, this contribution will analyze the implications of this transformation process for corporate management and it will address best practices in creating, monitoring, and enforcing the codes along with their identified problems through a legal and a business organizational lens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As forms of private self-regulation, multi-stakeholder initiatives (MSIs) have emerged as an important empirical phenomenon in global governance processes. At the same time, MSIs are also theoretically intriguing because of their inherent double nature. On the one hand, MSIs spell out CSR standards that define norms for corporate behavior. On the other hand, MSIs are also the result of corporate and stakeholder behavior. We combine the perspectives of institutional theory and club theory to conceptualize this double nature of MSIs. Based on a stage model that looks at the interplay of actor and institutional dynamics, we generate insights into why actors join a voluntary MSI, how the various motivations and intentions of the actors influence the standard development, and how these as well as the MSI design are subsequently influenced by both external (institutional) and internal (club) dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The convergence of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate governance (CG) has changed the corporate accountability mechanism. This has developed a socially responsible 'corporate self-regulation', a synthesis of governance and responsibility in the companies of strong economies. However, unlike in the strong economies, this convergence has not been visible in the companies of weak economies, where the civil society groups are unorganised, regulatory agencies are either ineffective or corrupt and the media and non-governmental organisations do not mirror the corporate conscience. Using the case of Bangladesh, this article investigates the convergence between CSR and CG in the self-regulation of companies in a less vigilant environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To encourage corporations to contribute positively to the environment in which they operate, voluntary self-regulatory codes (SRC) have been enacted and refined over the past 15 years. Two of the most prominent are the United Nations Global Compact and the Global Reporting Initiative. In this paper, we explore the impact of different stakeholders' pressures on the selection of strategic choices to join SRCs. Our results show that corporations react differently to different sets of stakeholder pressures and that the SRC selection depends on the type and intensiveness of the stakeholder pressures as well as the resources at hand to respond to those pressures. Our contribution offers a more specific and finely variegated analysis of firm-stakeholder interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the influence of three components of corporate social responsibility on team performance. In the proposed model of this study, team performance is indirectly affected by three dimensions of perceived corporate citizenship (i.e., economic, legal, and ethical citizenship) via the mediation of team efficacy and team self-esteem. Surveying members of 172 teams confirms most of our hypothesized effects. Our results show that economic citizenship influences team performance via the mediation of both team efficacy and team self-esteem. However, legal citizenship influences team performance via team efficacy alone, whereas ethical citizenship influences team performance only via team self-esteem. We discuss the theoretical and managerial implications of our findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whistleblowing has emerged as a key element of regulatory strategy. This article provides a brief, theoretical analysis of the claimed affinities between whistleblowing, self-regulation and corporate social responsibility. It then addresses a series of key issues in relation to whistleblowing: the individual, organisational and social characteristics associated with the decision to blow the whistle (or not); the consequences of reporting organisational harm for whistleblowers; and the robustness of legal protections for those who report such harm. Finally, it raises a series of challenges to the idea, reality and potential of whistleblowing as part of an effective self-regulatory strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and government. CSR is often viewed as self-regulation, devoid of government. We attribute the scholarly neglect of the variety of CSR-government relations to the inadequate attention paid to the important differences in the way in which CSR has ‘travelled’ (or diffused), and has been mediated by the national governance systems, and the insufficient emphasis given to the role of the government (or government agency) in the CSR domain. We go on to identify a number of different types of CSR-government configurations, and by following empirically the CSR development trajectories in Western Europe and East Asia in a comparative historical perspective, we derive a set of propositions on the changing dynamics of CSR-government configurations. In particular, we highlight the varied role that the governments can play in order to promote CSR in the context of the wider national governance systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the social enterprise as an alternative for corporate social responsibility (CSR). It mentions that it was Adolf Berle who started the debate on CSR. It states that CSR movement advocates for self-regulation, monitoring, and responsible investigating. It says that social enterprise advocate generation of profit and engagement on social mission which was adopted through state legislations.

Theories of business ethics or corporate responsibility tend to focus on justifying obligations that go above and beyond what is required by law. This article examines the curious fact that most business ethics scholars use concepts, principles, and normative methods for identifying and justifying these beyond-compliance obligations that are very different from the ones that are used to set the levels of regulations themselves. Its modest proposal-a plea for a research agenda, really-is that we could reduce this normative asymmetry by borrowing from the normative framework of 'regulation' to identify and justify an important range of beyond-compliance obligations. In short, we might think of 'self-regulation' as a language and a normative framework with some distinct advantages over other frameworks like stakeholder theory, corporate social responsibility, corporate citizenship, and the like. These other frameworks have been under attack in the business ethics literature of late, primarily for their vagueness and their disappointing inability to distinguish clearly between genuine beyond-compliance moral obligations, on the one hand, and charitable acts that are laudable but not morally obligatory, on the other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyzes the phenomenon of 'corporate social responsibility' (CSR; specifically: social private regulation) in light of two sociological paradigms of globalization: 'world-culture' and 'world-capitalism.' The study treats three analytically distinct features of CSR: the political contestation over its meaning, the role of business studies in transforming it into a managerial model, and its consolidation as a market of authorities. The study finds that (1) while CSR may be theorized as a emergent 'world cultural' model, the culture paradigm does not take sufficient account of the role of corporations in shaping it, and (2) while both paradigms recognize the transition from political contestations over the character of CSR to its deployment by means of private regulation, the world-capitalism paradigm offers stronger tools for theorizing the mechanisms of change that mediate between political agency and institutionalized regulatory outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses five stages of corporate social responsibility (CSR) compliance that should be considered to reduce corporate liability risks. The first stage is rhetorical deference to CSR compliance. The second level of CSR compliance is self-regulatory compliance with industry standards. The third stage is alien tort statute compliance and the European dimension. The fourth stage is compliance strategies to manage and reduce risks. The final level of CSR compliance is entering a new phase of compliance.

While many rating systems seek to help buyers overcome information asymmetries when making purchasing decisions, we investigate how these ratings also influence the companies being rated. We hypothesize that ratings are particularly likely to spur responses from firms that receive poor ratings, and especially those that face lower-cost opportunities to improve or that anticipate greater benefits from doing do. We test our hypotheses in the context of corporate environmental ratings that guide investors to select ‘socially responsible,’ and avoid ‘socially irresponsible,’ companies. We examine how several hundred firms responded to corporate environmental ratings issued by a prominent independent social rating agency, and take advantage of an exogenous shock that occurred when the agency expanded the scope of its ratings. Our study is among the first to theorize about the impact of ratings on subsequent performance, and we introduce important contingencies that influence firm response. These theoretical advances inform stakeholder theory, institutional theory, and economic theory. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Citizenship, such as corporate citizenship and organizational citizenship, has been an important issue in business management for decades. This study proposes a research model from the perspectives of social identity and resource allocation, by examining the influence of corporate citizenship on organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs). In the model, OCBs are positively influenced by perceived legal citizenship and perceived ethical citizenship, while negatively influenced by perceived discretionary citizenship. Empirical testing using a survey of personnel from 18 large firms confirms most of our hypothesized effects. Theoretical and managerial implications of our findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The view that CSR performance can be improved most effectively through external pressures is shown to be invalid for most firms. In exploring why this is the case, the authors demonstrate that most small and medium enterprises are not exposed to the same pressures as large firms, and that this undermines many of the assumptions that underpin the externally driven business case (EDBC) for voluntary CSR practices. The analysis does this by looking at the external drivers of one of the components of CSR; namely, the environmental behaviour of firms. This shows that the strength of the EDBC is largely determined by five factors. Importantly, the analysis provides the basis for the claim that – and helps to explain why – the EDBC for voluntary environmental behaviour is likely to remain a weak form of pressure for many small firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

National TV channels in Spain signed a self-regulation code to protect rights of children on December 2004. This code developed a special protected schedule for children from 8.00 am to 9.00 am and 17.00 pm to 20.00 pm. This article studies this measure as a social responsibility action to protect children as stakeholders. We also offer the results of an analysis content made in four different periods that measures howoften TV channels have ignored the code. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the debate regarding the development of a framework for corporate social responsibility (CSR) that includes both state regulation and voluntary CSR initiatives. The intellectual, policy sciences, and business trends that have fed support for voluntary CSR programs are presented. A section of the paper critiques the assumptions concerning voluntary CSR programs in developing countries. CSR initiatives are consistent with a trend toward corporate-level self-policing and self-regulation.

We present a model of CSR as a set of mechanisms for aligning corporate behaviour with the interests of society in reducing externalities and promoting a sustainable corporate sector. These mechanisms include voluntary action by companies to go above minimum legal standards, with the aim of enhancing competitiveness (“action beyond compliance”); interventions by regulators designed to promote self-regulation by industry (“reflexive law”); and steps taken by shareholders to put pressure on companies to make effective use of corporate assets (“shareholder engagement”). We then assess the degree to which the model is realised in current British practice. Focusing on the issue of working conditions, we find managerial resistance to the linking of CSR with internal employee relations, and obstacles to shareholder engagement on this issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Self-Policing Policy (more commonly referred to as the Audit Policy) waives or reduces penalties when regulated entities voluntarily discover, disclose, and correct environmental violations. This study draws upon a rational choice model of corporate crime to determine if traditional regulatory efforts such as inspections and enforcement actions are associated with the odds of disclosing an environmental violation under the Audit Policy. A case control design is used to compare companies that self-police to companies that do not self-police. The event group consists of all 551 companies that disclosed at least one environmental violation under the Audit Policy between October 1, 1998 and September 30, 2000. The control group consists of a simple random sample of 551 companies that did not use the Audit Policy but were discovered to have violated at least one environmental law during the same time period as the event group. There is no evidence that inspections and enforcement increase Audit Policy use. However, the results do suggest, first, that the Audit Policy is more likely to be used by large companies than by small companies and, second, that it is likely to be used for reporting violations as opposed to more serious emissions or permit violations. In terms of public policy these findings suggest that regulatory agencies such as the EPA can do relatively little to increase the self-policing of environmental violations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose ? The purpose of this article is to discuss the role that law plays for corporate social responsibility (CSR) in substance, action and reporting, including whether CSR functions as informal law.Design/methodology/approach ? The theoretical point of departure is based in legal science. Through a discussion of various contexts of CSR in which law and legal standards feature, the article questions the conception that CSR is to do ?more than the law requires?. CSR is discussed with the triple bottom line as a point of departure, focussing on social (esp. labour and human rights) and environmental dimensions.Findings ? It is argued that CSR functions as informal law, and that important principles of law function as part of a general set of values that guide much action on CSR. Furthermore, it is argued that aspects of law in the abstract as well as in the statutory sense and as self-regulation influence the substance, implementation and communication of CSR, and that the current normative regime of CSR in terms of demands on multinational corporations may constitute pre-formal law.Originality/value ? Through its discussion, observations and examples of the role played in CSR by law in the abstract as well as the statutory sense, by international, supranational and national soft and hard law and documents, and by public regulation as well as corporate self-regulation, the paper is of value to corporate managers, public regulators, NGOs and individuals with an interest in CSR, including as an aspect of corporate governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although many challenges remain, business ethics is flourishing in North America. Prominent organizations give annual business ethics awards, investments in socially screened mutual funds are increasing, ethics officers and corporate ombudspersons are more common and more influential, and new ideas are being tested in practice. On the academic side, two major journals specializing in business ethics are well-established and other major journals often include articles on business ethics and new organizations emphasizing ethics have been initiated. Within business schools, the number of endowed chairs is growing and the ethics curriculum is expanding. Canada is a major player in the business ethics discipline while business ethics in Mexico is just beginning to emerge as a focus of interest in both the business and academic communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the changing concept of business responsibilities in the insurance industry. Although the evidence is scattered, unscientific, and unreliable, an examination of recent literature suggests certain trends in executive attitudes toward business responsibilities. Traditional approach appears to be steadily losing favor. The responsible approach to business responsibilities seems to be gaining some support among executives although it is still far from fashionable. Acceptance to the enlightened approach, wherein executives justify social actions in terms of long-run profits, and especially its new extension, the confused approach, are rationalized in the form of ultimate shareholder benefits.

In this article the authors discuss their opinions on proposals which have been suggested for the creation of a partnership between socially responsible gambling operators and government agencies which could lead to methods which promote responsible gambling. They are critical of the proposals, saying that they are not feasible. Also discussed is the gambling industry's inability to regulate itself.