Values and Corporate Responsibility

In this book we capture and explore different aspects of value in corporate social responsibility (CSR). This includes the historical development of value in CSR, how value is linked to a positive vision of the future, and how it is communicated by a range of private and public organisations to various audiences. The book contrasts corporate strategic value with co-operative value, and community value in the context of sustainable development. It explains how leaders' values can drive responsible business practice and enhance social cohesion, solidarity and resilience in fractured and unequal communities. The book asks the reader to consider what value means in CSR for business and society, where it comes from and how it is enacted, alongside its broader purpose and value to the community. Finally, the book presents CSR as a global project by noting how values are cultural and how sustainability has become an urgent international priority.

Auteur

Dr Francisca Farache is a Principal Lecturer in Marketing and Subject Group Leader for Marketing, Events and Tourism at Brighton Business School. Her research interests include CSR and business ethics. She has published in the Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Consumer Market and Latin American Business Review.

Dr Georgiana Grigore is an Associate Professor in Marketing at University of Leicester, School of Business, UK. She is also chair of an annual international conference in 'Social Responsibility, Ethics and Sustainable Business'. Her major area of research is in marketing and corporate responsibility concepts and practices, including changes that result from digital media.

Dr Alin Stancu is Professor of Corporate Social Responsibility and Public Relations, Department of Marketing at the Bucharest University of Economic Studies. His main research areas include customer care, consumer experience, corporate responsibility and public relations. He is the co-founder of the International Conference on Social Responsibility, Ethics and Sustainable Business (www.csrconferences.org).

Dr David McQueen is a researcher, author and lecturer in the Faculty of Media and Communication at Bournemouth University, UK. His research interests include broad questions of media, power and politics; critical perspectives on PR and the media; lobbying; CSR, energy issues and 'greenwashing'.

Contenu

Introduction

Introduction from the editors of the book that brings together all chapters.

Chapter 1. The value of philanthropy some economic and ethical perspectives from Adam Smith to the post-WW2 era

Atle Andreassen Raa, Norwegian Business School, BI

The aim of this chapter is to discuss the value of philanthropy from the perspective of economic theory. It starts with Adam Smith and the classical economists in the18th and 19th century and continues with the neoclassicals from the late 19th century. Philanthropy has been seen as being inconsistent with the standard neoclassical theory of the self-interested man (homo economicus), which has its roots in Smith's 'invisible hand' metaphor. I argue that this interpretation of Adam Smith is too narrow. Adam Smith integrated moral philosophy into his economic theory and made room for altruism. Later in the 19th century, the neoclassical economists constructed formal models based on individual self-interest, with no room for philanthropy. In the 1930, some economists saw the dissociation of economics and ethics as necessary. After WW2, however, we see a revival in interest in philanthropy among economists. Gary Becker in 1974 presented a utility function, which also included another person's welfare. In that way, the economic models acknowledge that philanthropy was of value for society. Economists after WW2 also presented strategic and ethical arguments for the values of philanthropy. Finally, the chapter contains an empirical case in order to throw more light on the potential value of philanthropy.

Chapter 2. Personal Values and Corporate Responsibility Adoption

Dr Candice Chow and Professor Nada Kakabadse, Henley Business School

This chapter highlights the importance of executive values in shaping enterprises' Corporate Responsibility (CR) practices. Past management studies often examine organisational strategies and CR practices as two separate streams of organisational decisions. Current institutional norms dictate decision rationality to be grounded in seeking techno-optimisation. Economic theories often underpin how strategic decisions are being made and CR investment is an instrument to economic maximisation versus being an integral part of how businesses operate. Businesses are our wealth creation engines. They draw upon available environmental and social resources in order to achieve their economic objectives, and, in turn have a significant impact on the sustainability and well-being of our planet and our society. Our current environment is laced with complex global challenges such as climate change, social inequality, political unrest, resource depletion, all affecting humanity, planet sustainability and business longevity. Many of these issues are accounted for in the 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs), each having a list of targets that are measured with indicators. Enterprise business strategies cannot be divorced from CR and sustainability effort. Building responsible and sustainable futures in our current tumultuous environment requires advanced values - including virtues, systems-thinking, and complex, paradoxical management framing of issues and forward-looking consciousness. These advanced values permit acceptance of the centrality of humanity and moral responsibility within the business context. Values influence perception and inform our actions. Enterprises increasingly require a more complex, paradoxical management frame and futures literacy in order to adopt more transformative and more proactive responses to global sustainability issues. These in turn require human talent which holds advanced values along with high intellectual capacity to manage complexity in order to build the foundation for sustainable futures. The upper echelon of corporations hold enormous power in their organisation and are responsible for shaping their businesses' strategic direction. Values are central to behaviour. Executives' value systems therefore have a significant influence on organisational approaches to CR adoption. Executives are often faced with competing values and tensions amongst personal, professional, organisational and situational challenges. How executives' personal values influence organisational decisions depend on a myriad of external situational factors, as well as their own internal awareness of their value priority and value strength. We argue that the bifurcation of...