The Managerial Sources of Corporate Social Responsibility

Abstract

Why and under which conditions do companies voluntarily adopt high social and environmental standards? Christian Thauer looks inside the firm to illustrate the internal drivers of the social conduct of business. He argues that corporate social responsibility (CSR) assists decision-makers to resolve managerial dilemmas. Drawing on transaction cost economics, he asks why and which dilemmas bring CSR to the fore. In this context he describes a managerial dilemma as a situation where the execution of management's decisions transforms the mode of cooperation within the organization from a hierarchy to one in which managers become dependent on, and vulnerable to, the behavior of subordinates. Thauer provides empirical illustration of his theory by examining automotive and textile factories in South Africa and China. Thauer demonstrates that CSR is often driven by internal management problems rather than by the external pressures that corporations confront.

Determinants of Nigerian managers’ environmental attitude: Africa's Ubuntu ethics versus global capitalism

“…With the rapid spread and intensification of global capitalism, it is not baffling that norms inherent in capitalism, such as competition, survival, profit, and competitive dynamics, are becoming embedded in different societies around the world and leading to the acculturation of developing‐country managers. A similar observation has been made by scholars working from the institutional theory perspective who aptly note the role of globalization and managerial values in diffusing global management practices and standards (e.g., Prakash & Potoski, ; Thauer, ). Ananthram and Nankervis () have discovered that the quest for a “global mind‐set” is pushing more Indian managers to try to become more like their North American Western counterparts, while Huang and Staples () found that Chinese MNCs are keen to export their governance practices as they internationalize.…”

Beyond market, firm, and state: Mapping the ethics of global value chains

“…Fourth, it can help mitigate information asymmetries and improve lines of communication with suppliers. When lead firms ask their suppliers to adhere to a third‐party environmental management system (e.g., ISO 14001), they are simultaneously reducing their environmental footprints, while controlling and verifying the production unit's adherence to standardized and centralized procedures (Thauer, ). Of course, there are also barriers to the market uptake of eco‐labels.…”

The Choice for CSR: Strategic Rationale versus Values?

“…My approach does apply to labor-intensive industries. The empirical evaluation of the arguments, which my 'strategic' approach makes, shows their applicability, plausibility and validity in highly diverse settings (Thauer 2014b(Thauer : 52-69, 2014a. It features firms in the car sector, and it also assesses labor-intensive industries in the context of the textile sector.…”

“…I disagree and actually think that the opposite is true: my approach is relevant for our understanding of these phenomena. It analyzes CSR practices (Thauer 2014b(Thauer : 44-48, 2014a; thus when Fair Trade and other CSR norms have an effect 'on the ground'. In the realm of CSR, what firms say they aim to do in their policies is not always -and in fact often masks -what they actually do.…”