Exploring the Fit Between Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Innovation in the Search for Corporate Reputation

Abstract

This paper aims to argue that the current wave of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and innovation concepts and guidelines lead to a mutually supportive and/or complementarities effect, i.e., strategic approaches to CSR and innovation increasingly strengthens companies' ability to draw on their relationships. This mutually supportive and/or complementarities effect can effectively address the multitude of CSR and innovation approaches that companies face. This conceptual paper uses stakeholder theory as a lens and, in turn, draws on organisational legitimacy and organisational learning to develop under which conditions claims of mutually supportive and/or complementarities effect will be considered. It provides evidence for the existence of a mutually supportive and/or complementarities effect as defining the characteristics of CSR and innovation approaches. The author argues that the increasing dissemination of CSR and innovations approaches among companies reinforce the mutually supportive and/or complementarities effect, with strategic approaches to CSR and innovation increasingly strengthens companies' ability to draw on their relationships, while the scope of CSR and innovation actions within the companies and their stakeholder relationships become increasingly expanding (incremental) over time. There appears to be existence of three forms of relationships between CSR and innovation: bi-directional, i.e., CSR affects innovation, and innovation, in turn, affects CSR, innovation provides opportunities for CSR and CSR, in turn, provides opportunities for innovation. Ultimately, this mutually supportive and/or complementarities effect, i.e., strategic approaches to CSR and innovation increasingly strengthen companies' ability to draw on their relationships. The paper contributes by exploring how CSR and innovation approaches follow a similar underlying rationale rather than isolated (unrelated) phenomena in the context of companies' quest for survival and reputation. While CSR and innovation research follow different theoretical perspectives, the two concepts are, in fact, both driven by similar considerations.