Reflections on the 2018 Decade Award: The Meaning and Dynamics of Corporate Social Responsibility

Abstract

We reflect on our 2008 article, "'Implicit' and 'Explicit' CSR: A Conceptual Framework for a Comparative Understanding of Corporate Social Responsibility," first recalling its origins. We contextualize this reflection piece with a stylized interpretation of CSR "then" (the turn of the twenty-first century) and "now" (2019). We then focus on two themes: CSR's meaning and its dynamics. Regarding the meaning of CSR, we indicate the advantages of our capacious CSR definition and elaborate on the underlying theorization of our CSR framework regarding corporations' need for legitimacy with their core stakeholders, societies they operate in, and regulators they are subject to. We propose that the configuration of these legitimacy relationships informs the nature and balance of implicit and explicit CSR. Turning to CSR dynamics, we build on research on the hybridization of implicit and explicit CSR and explore two underlying phenomena-explicitization and implicitization of CSR. We conceptualize explicitization as the process by which norms and rules associated with implicit CSR are adopted in explicit CSR policies, practices, and strategies. We conceptualize implicitization of CSR as the process by which norms and rules of business responsibility are informed by what were hitherto explicit CSR policies, practices, and strategies of corporations, and are built into general obligations of business.a These changes are discussed in the section titled "The Dynamics of CSR." 2020 9 Matten and Moon

Does engaging in corporate social responsibility activities influence firm performance? The moderating effects of risk preferences and performance measurement systems

“…2. Background and hypothesis development 2.1 Corporate social responsibility activities and firm performance CSR is broadly defined as the range of obligations that businesses have to society, including economic, ethical, legal and philanthropic (Aguinis and Glavas, 2012;Carroll, 1979Carroll, , 1999 Performance measurement systems Matten et al, 2003;Matten and Moon, 2020;McWilliams and Siegel, 2001). Furthermore, CSR activities can be classified into two broad categories, external and internal, which span several topical areas such as consumerism, discrimination, environment, occupational and product safety and shareholders (Tang et al, 2012).…”

When Do CEOs Engage in CSR Activities? Performance Feedback, CEO Ownership, and CSR

“…Our findings also have some managerial implications. CSR activities are becoming increasingly more crucial for firms' sustainable businesses by providing legitimacy and facilitating exchange relations with their stakeholders [1,25]. However, we showed that firms are more likely to engage in CSR activities when their performance is near their targets and not as much when they are performing well below or above their aspirations, especially if their CEOs have small or no stock ownership.…”

“…Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become an important determinant of firms' sustainability due to stakeholders' growing expectations [1]. Nevertheless, the extents and patterns of CSR activities vary widely among firms.…”

Systematic Literature Review: The Role of Government Institutions in Corporate Social Responsibility in Nigeria.

“…A study of the recent literature shows that the delicate method of CSR strategies agrees with a broader development of public administration overall, that takes a step from ordered rule to more network-like and associating methods of self-and co-rule. According to (Matten and Moon, 2020), "CSR is not a feature of the new worldwide corporation but is also gradually a feature of new societal governance". This review shows logical literature undertaken on the role of government institutions in CSR.…”