Introduction: establishing the art of contextualizing CSR as a research area

Abstract

CSR has lately become a hugely popular concept (see, for example, Görpe and Öksüz, Chapter 2 in this volume). As Görpe and Öksüz (Chapter 2 in this volume) note, the more irresponsible organizations are, the more reason there could be said to be for organizations to develop plans and strategies for CSR (see also Athanasopoulou and Selsky, Chapter 4 in this volume). Something which is often the case with popular ideas is that in the literature they are described as if they were universally applicable. The following quotes show that this may also be the case for CSR, in at least some of the literature: 'A company that intends to remain competitive in its industry must be seen to be socially responsible' (Idowu and Papasolomou 2007, p. 145); 'We can turn to more independent research about the benefits of CSR. The positive reports in a wide range of examples and in a variety of industries are worth considering. I have not been able to find any research that shows CSR to be a bad thing' (Holme 2010, p. 181); 'Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is of increasing concern and holds strategic implications to companies across industries' (Hsu 2012, p. 189). However, if any organization believes that CSR could work for them, without actors first reflecting upon it, then there is a risk that the organization might adopt elements that could prove to be fatal. For this reason there is a need to explore whether a broad, general model of CSR is relevant for organizations in various generalized contexts and, if not, then there is also reason to suggest what kind of CSR model would fit organizations in the generalized contexts where the general model of CSR has shown not to fit fully. Another thing that is common among popular ideas is that they are vague, which also has been argued to be true for CSR (for example,

Corporate social responsibility as management idea: Between universal applicability and context dependency

“…The starting point for this study was the debate whether CSR can be universal or should be context-specific (Örtenblad, 2016; Gjølberg, 2009). At a first glance, the successful diffusion of the BITC guidance document seems to strengthen the case for universal applicability of this management technique.…”

“…This constellation raises the question whether all organizations around the world, regardless of industry, size, national culture, etc. should be recommended to adopt the same version of CSR or whether CSR is better treated as having a contextually embedded nature (Örtenblad, 2016; Gjølberg, 2009). In the wider management and organization studies literature, the importance of context has increasingly attracted attention (see e.g.…”

“…Likewise, CSR literature has acknowledged the importance of industry context (Sweeney and Coughlan, 2008) as well as national context (Matten and Moon, 2008), not least differences in approaches to CSR between developed countries and emerging economies (Jamali and Mirshak, 2007). Proponents of context dependency argue that, if context is not addressed, then organizations risk adopting solutions that could be devastating or rejecting solutions that might be beneficial (Örtenblad, 2016). Yet, the allure of the universal approach to CSR has remained strong, whether it is seen as appropriate strategy in an increasingly global market place (Cruz and Boehe, 2008) or as driven by an emerging global CSR infrastructure as exemplified by the UN Global Compact (Voegtlin and Pless, 2014).…”

The Importance of Emerging Technologies to the Increasing of Corporate Sustainability in Shipping Companies

“…Research into the meaning, implementation, and results of a CSR strategy have various contexts. One of them, which, on a general level, can be shared by many organisations, are national cultures, sectors, or industries [18]. The role of technology in the pursuit of the CSR goals is one of the contexts discussed in the literature.…”

Sustainable Management Practices and Stakeholder Pressure: A Systematic Literature Review

“…The role of contextual variables is crucial because they enable organizations to practice the appropriate sustainable management practices, which are beneficial to the organizations [75]. Meixell and Luoma [17] called for the investigation of the association between stakeholder pressure and the adoption/implementation of sustainable management practices under different contexts.…”