Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of figures
- List of tables
- Acknowledgements
- Preface
- Part I The genesis of stakeholder theory
- Part II Stakeholder theory and the traditional disciplines of business
- Part III Stakeholder theory, ethics, and corporate social responsibility
- 7 Stakeholder theory and business ethics
- 8 Stakeholder theory and corporate social responsibility
- Part IV Stakeholder theory: some future possibilities
- Bibliography
- Index
8 - Stakeholder theory and corporate social responsibility
from Part III - Stakeholder theory, ethics, and corporate social responsibility
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of figures
- List of tables
- Acknowledgements
- Preface
- Part I The genesis of stakeholder theory
- Part II Stakeholder theory and the traditional disciplines of business
- Part III Stakeholder theory, ethics, and corporate social responsibility
- 7 Stakeholder theory and business ethics
- 8 Stakeholder theory and corporate social responsibility
- Part IV Stakeholder theory: some future possibilities
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
This chapter focuses on the connections between stakeholder theory and the corporate social responsibility (CSR) literature. After more than half a century of research and debate, there is not a single widely accepted definition of CSR. Researchers in the field of CSR have claimed that “the phrase ‘corporate social responsibility’ has been used in so many different contexts that it has lost all meaning” (Sethi 1975: 58). There are many different ideas, concepts, and practical techniques that have been developed under the umbrella of CSR research, including corporate social performance (Carroll 1979; Wartick and Cochran 1985; Wood 1991); corporate social responsiveness (Ackerman 1975; Ackerman and Bauer 1976; Sethi 1975); corporate citizenship (Wood and Logsdon 2001; Waddock 2004); corporate governance (Jones 1980; Freeman and Evan 1990; Evan and Freeman 1993; Sacconi 2006); corporate accountability (Zadek, Pruzan, and Evans 1997); sustainability, triple bottom line (Elkington 1994); and corporate social entrepreneurship (Austin, Stevenson, and Wei-Skillern 2006). All these are different nuances of the CSR concept that have been developed in the last fifty years – and beyond. Each of these diverse efforts shares a common aim in the attempt to broaden the obligations of firms to include more than financial considerations. This literature wrestles with and around questions of the broader purpose of the firm and how it can deliver on those goals.
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- Stakeholder TheoryThe State of the Art, pp. 235 - 264Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2010
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