Corporate Responsibility, Sustainability and Markets

This book explores the interaction between sustainability, corporate responsibility, consumers, and the market. It aims to discover if consumers are seeking out small, ethical, socially responsible firms to buy from rather than large corporations; if markets and organisations are supported by a new sensitivity to social responsibility and sustainability ideas; if the integration of corporate responsibility strategies and practices change how market sectors are assembled.

Bringing together international case studies - including research on the Italian wine industry, German butchers, Spanish football, Polish marketing and the Portuguese financial sector - this book is valuable reading for scholars working on corporate social responsibility, sustainability, and good governance. Cláudia Simões is a Professor of Management (Marketing and Strategy area) and Dean of the School of Economics and Management at the University of Minho in Portugal. Alin Stancu is Professor of Corporate Social Responsibility and Public Relations in the Department of Marketing from The Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Romania. Georgiana Grigore is Associate Professor in Marketing at University of Leicester, School of Business. She is also chair of an annual international conference in 'Social Responsibility, Ethics and Sustainable Business', which she co-founded in 2012.

Auteur

Cláudia Simões is a Professor of Management (Marketing and Strategy area) and Dean of the School of Economics and Management at the University of Minho in Portugal. Alin Stancu is Professor of Corporate Social Responsibility and Public Relations in the Department of Marketing from The Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Romania. Georgiana Grigore is Associate Professor in Marketing at University of Leicester, School of Business. She is also chair of an annual international conference in 'Social Responsibility, Ethics and Sustainable Business', which she co-founded in 2012.

Contenu

Introduction: an overview of the book, the importance of corporate responsibility and sustainability in the creation of various markets. A summary of every chapter, and how different chapters link together. Editorial team.

Section 1: Changing Market Systems

In this section, we provide chapters that explore changing market systems, including how these can be made more responsible and sustainable. The section includes: models of capitalism and institutions (Chapter 1), a systematic review of CSR and social enterprise literature (Chapter 2), ways to transform linear market systems from linear to circular structural arrangements (Chapter 3), corporate responsibilities towards minority stakeholders like indigenous people or remote communities (Chapter 4), and it ends with an intercultural study on whether consumers' value systems impact sustainable consumption of groceries (Chapter 5). These chapters include both conceptual and empirical work.

Chapter 1. Models of Capitalism, Institutions and Corporate Social Responsibility

Robert Kudlak, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan

One of the intriguing research topics related to corporate social responsibility (CSR) concerns the noticeable discrepancies in terms of the level of CSR uptake across economies. These discrepancies are especially well noticeable among well developed countries such as the USA and Western European countries. The purpose of the paper is to show that the differences in the level of CSR involvement between countries result from the distinct institutional environments characteristic for the different models of capitalism, particularly, for different models of the welfare state. The respective models of welfare stare vary in terms of how the institutional arrangements determine the form and level of public delivery of social services such as health care, pensions, education, culture and social assistance. Using the comparison between Anglo-Saxon (USA) and Western European countries, it is argued that companies operating under stronger institutional pressure occurring in countries with an extensive welfare state model (such as Western European countries) are less likely to engage in voluntary provision of social services such as health care, pensions and education. In contrast, when companies operate in countries with a relatively minor role of the state in creating and redistributing well-being (e.g. the USA) and a relatively low institutional pressure in this regard, it increases the chances of their involvement in socially responsible activities.

Keywords: models of capitalism, welfare state, institutions, social services, corporate social responsibility

Chapter 2. 'Fruits of the Same Tree'? A Systematic Review of Corporate Social Responsibility and Social Enterprise Literature

Sadaf Shariat, University of South Wales & Zahra Khamseh, University of Minho

This paper presents the first systematic review of the literature in the area of intersection between Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Social Enterprise (SE). We have reviewed 50 scholarly articles in social entrepreneurship research focused on the comparative analysis of CSR and SE published during the period 2009 to 2019. Reviewing the selected articles, we identified different views regarding the overlap between SE and CSR. Social Enterprise may be viewed as a CSR model (Permana & Mursitama 2018), and one may argue that SE and CSR seem like 'fruits of the same tree' (Page & Kartz 2011), or that they are 'both socially constructed societal processes' (Grant & Plakshap 2018). Nevertheless, some critics find the differences between CSR and SE more striking than similarities or even 'lamentable' for some CSR proponents. It is argued that they receive support from different sources and that they embrace different social missions and intended beneficiaries (Page & Kartz 2011). This paper investigates the above arguments and many more issues regarding the overlap between the two concepts to shed light on the ambiguity in current SE and CSR literature. The novelty of this research is to develop a better understanding of the relationship between CSR initiatives and SE organisations and activities. The paper presents a comprehensive discussion of comparative studies of CSR and SE to identify future fields of research. Through a review of literature, we demonstrate the key questions and notions that are discussed in the literature, issues that have been previously assessed only to a very limited extent and a number of gaps and shortcomings that deserve further investigation. The results of this study would be beneficial for researcher or practitioners with an interest in CSR and SE.

Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility, Social Enterprise, Social Impact, Literature review

Chapter 3. In Search of Morphogenetic Mechanisms to Transform Marketing Systems from Linear to Circular Structural Arrangements

Nicola Thomas, De Montfort University

Sustainability challenges the linear production and consumption model that currently shapes global marketing systems. In contrast, the Circular Economy (CE) seeks to transform market structures, resources and material flows from linear to circular arrangements. Despite CE's broad appeal, its uptake remains low; scant theoretical attention is paid to how marketing systems transition and transform. This lack of theorising restrains society's ability to shift towards a circular economy. This chapter explores the application of Archer's social realist theory, The Morphogenetic Approach, to better understand how these systemic shifts could be better realised in the global fashion system. Four complex causal mechanisms are identified to illuminate how the system could be causally reconfigured to enable a circular transition. Systemic implications for theory, policy and practice are deliberated.

Keywords: circular economy, marketing systems, systems change, morphogenesis, transit…