MISGUIDED CORPORATE VIRTUE: THE CASE AGAINST CSR, AND THE TRUE ROLE OF BUSINESS TODAY<sup>1</sup>

Henderson, David W.

doi:10.1111/j.1468-0270.2009.01941.x

Cited by 35 publications

(32 citation statements)

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“…The CSR discipline studies important aspects of the role of business in society (Carroll 1991, Henderson 2001). CSR refers to companies ‘integrating social and environmental concerns in their business operations and in the interaction with their stakeholders on a voluntary basis … not only fulfilling legal expectations, but also going beyond compliance’ (European Commission 2001).…”

Section: Misunderstandings and Fallacies Of Formalisation Of Csr And mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Perhaps surprisingly, CSR has few overt critics (Henderson 2001). Apart from a few sceptical articles in academic journals (Kapstein 2001, Jenkins 2004, Conley & Williams 2005, Haigh & Jones 2006, 2007, Kallio 2006, Nijhof & Fisscher 2006) the most critical comments on the ambiguity and hypocrisy of CSR come from recent articles in the Economist (2005a).…”

Section: Misunderstandings and Fallacies Of Formalisation Of Csr And mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…On the international scene, imposing common international standards, despite variable circumstances in different countries, can also have drawback effects on employment and on the development of poor countries if made without gradual transition. Regulations, made in the name of ‘social justice’ or ‘positive’ human rights, and boycott actions are not always the best solution for the local people (Henderson 2001). Moreover, there is a growing concern that social audits fail to uncover the ‘hidden’ problems such as discrimination, harassment and freedom of association.…”

Section: Additional Fallacies Of Csr and Smesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One can put forward a sound argument that only growing, medium‐size enterprises with a global market, or SMEs in critical sectors, need a formal assessment and report. The voluntary aspect of many CSR actions should remain important (Henderson 2001), and this is especially true with SMEs.…”

Section: The View From Smesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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SMEs and the fallacy of formalising CSR

Fassin

2008

Business Ethics: A European Review

224

206

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There exists increasing pressure for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to engage in corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices, including social reporting. Curiously in this promotional programme of CSR reporting, the only group whose ideas are not sought in this debate are the SME leaders themselves. The present ethnographic field analysis, based on discussions within entrepreneurs' circles, tends to suggest that the argument for expanding formalisation of CSR to SMEs rests upon several fallacies. It implicitly assumes that an apparent solution for large multinationals can be transposed to SMEs, and it underestimates the drawbacks of bureaucracy. Moreover, many SMEs experience inconsistency between the idealistic CSR communication of some large companies and their actions, especially in the supply chain. The author concludes that reports do not constitute the validation for real CSR, nor the proof of superior ethical behaviour. Formalisation can even be counterproductive. Conversely, the absence of social reporting does not imply that SMEs do not behave responsible. CSR in SMEs needs a specific approach, adapted to the informal nature and entrepreneurial character of the small business. The essence of CSR lies in the implementation of responsible business practices. It lies in the right attitudes, in the corporate culture, not in formalisation

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Section: Misunderstandings and Fallacies Of Formalisation Of Csr And mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Misunderstandings and Fallacies Of Formalisation Of Csr And mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Additional Fallacies Of Csr and Smesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The View From Smesmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

SMEs and the fallacy of formalising CSR

Fassin

2008

Business Ethics: A European Review

224

206

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Indeed, an important number of scholars follow totally divergent approaches guided by influential scholars' thoughts (e.g. Levitt, 1958;Carr, 1968;Friedman, 1970;May, 1992;Henderson, 2001), also supported by practitioners arguing that only those agents possessing characteristics such as free agency, consciousness, intentionality and corporeality can be considered morally responsible (Silver, 2005). Based on that assumption, corporations cannot be charged with moral responsibility because: they can not fall into a state of guilt or suffering (Velasquez, 1983); they are unable to originate an action by themselves, due to their lack of free agency which impedes them from acting freely or autonomously (May, 1983); and they neither have bodies nor intentional states such as beliefs and desires (Silver, 2005).…”

Section: The Responsibility Of Business: "Profit-maximization" Versusmentioning

confidence: 99%

Morals in business organizations: an approach based on strategic value and strength for business management

Ruíz-Palomino¹,

Gomis²,

Amaya³

2011

cuadernosgestion

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In the last decades, the topic of business ethics has attracted great interest at the academic and professional levels. Nowadays business ethics is being increasingly implemented as a necessary discipline in universities' study plans on business management. Moreover, its importance is also evident according to the worldwide increase of organizations and/or institutions that have implemented ethics systems. However, some approaches thoroughly do not consider the importance and the need of an ethical behaviour and are still guiding the actions and the way of thinking of many academics and professionals led to consider that the only responsibility of business is limited just to profit maximization. After analyzing and debating the postulates of this line of thought, this paper concludes that the companies bear the responsibility of behaving ethically. This responsibility does not exclusively imply serving and being fair to its shareholders as the only actors to care about. Its fulfilment requires the recognition of other actors in scene, its stakeholders, to constitute a consistent basis on which companies can satisfactorily operate in the market. The implementation of an ethical management system (from now on EMS) can contribute to the generation of an ethical culture and to the improvement of the moral quality of the whole organization. As a consequence, together with the achievement of the desired Top Managers "best place to work", the corporate reputation related to its stakeholders can be improved redounding in the value creation for the company.

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Environmental, social, and governance factors in emerging markets: The impact on firm performance

2021

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This article investigates whether firm‐level financial performance is positively associated with environmental, social, and governance (ESG) scores in emerging markets. The vast majority of extant research in this area has been conducted in developed countries, and in light of this research gap, our study examines these issues using a multi‐industry sample of firms located in 24 leading emerging markets. Using the stakeholder management and institutional theories, we develop and test our hypotheses by applying linear regression analyses on panel data from over 600 firms drawn from the Thompson Reuters Eikon database between the years 2014 and 2018. The results suggest that, after controlling for firm size and leverage, firms with higher ESG scores experience greater levels of profitability. A number of policy and managerial implications are explored based on these findings. This study adds to our further understanding of the relationship between ESG activities and firm performance in emerging markets.

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MISGUIDED CORPORATE VIRTUE: THE CASE AGAINST CSR, AND THE TRUE ROLE OF BUSINESS TODAY¹

Cited by 35 publications

References 0 publications

SMEs and the fallacy of formalising CSR

SMEs and the fallacy of formalising CSR

Morals in business organizations: an approach based on strategic value and strength for business management

Environmental, social, and governance factors in emerging markets: The impact on firm performance

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MISGUIDED CORPORATE VIRTUE: THE CASE AGAINST CSR, AND THE TRUE ROLE OF BUSINESS TODAY1

Cited by 35 publications

References 0 publications

SMEs and the fallacy of formalising CSR

SMEs and the fallacy of formalising CSR

Morals in business organizations: an approach based on strategic value and strength for business management

Environmental, social, and governance factors in emerging markets: The impact on firm performance

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

MISGUIDED CORPORATE VIRTUE: THE CASE AGAINST CSR, AND THE TRUE ROLE OF BUSINESS TODAY¹