May, S. K., Cheney, G., and Roper, J. (Ed.) (2007). The Debate over Corporate Social Responsibility. NY: Oxford University Press.

Should business strive to be socially responsible, and if so, how? The Debate over Corporate Social Responsibility updates and broadens the discussion of these questions by bringing together in one volume a variety of practical and theoretical perspectives on corporate social responsibility. It is perhaps the single most comprehensive volume available on the question of just how “social” business ought to be. The volume includes contributions from the fields of communication, business, law, sociology, political science, economics, accounting, and environmental studies. Moreover, it draws from experiences and examples from around the world, including but not limited to recent corporate scandals and controversies in the U.S. and Europe. 

A number of the chapters examine closely the basic assumptions underlying the philosophy of socially responsible business. Other chapters speak to the practical challenges and possibilities for corporate social responsiblilty in the twenty-first century.

One of the most distinctive features of the book is its coverage of the very ways that the issue of corporate social responsibility has been defined, shaped, and discussed in the past four decades. That is, the editors and many of the authors are attuned to the persuasive strategies and formulations used to talk about socially responsible business, and demonstrate why the talk matters. For example, the book offers a careful analysis of how certain values have become associated with the business enterprise and how particular economic and political positions have been established by and for business. This book will be of great interest to scholars, business leaders, graduate students, and others interested in the contours of the debate over what role large-scale corporate commerce should take in the future of the industrialized world.

Perrini, Francesco, Pogutz, Stefano, and Tencati, Antonio (2006) Developing Corporate Social Responsibility: A European Perspective, Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar Publishing

'Perrini et al provide a detailed, authoritative look at the evolving European perspective on corporate social responsibility. They show how Europe has moved from follower status to leading edge practice. The book is the best current indicator of what the next stages of CSR will look like.'  - Thomas W. Dunfee, University of Pennsylvania, US uthors provide a European perspective on corporate social responsibility.

The rapidly increasing attention devoted to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has resulted in the term `CSR' being applied to myriad dissimilar phenomena. The authors therefore aim to dispel this confusion by presenting a multi-faceted view of socially responsible corporate behavior and related themes. They provide a conceptualization of CSR that emphasizes the role of the adoption and implementation of specific CSR strategies and their impact on corporate social and economic performance.

An overview of the CSR literature is presented, and the managerial tools required for creating and sustaining social, economic and competitive value are explored. Case studies and extensive empirical evidence are used as a basis for the analyses of the benchmarking of European and international standards and initiatives, and a new CSR performance evaluation and reporting framework is proposed.

An excerpt from the Preface of the book written by David Vogel:

“While the concept of corporate social responsibility (henceforth CSR) is more than a century old, the last decade has witnessed an unprecedented explosion of interest in this subject on the part of the business, academic and policy communities. This growth of interest in CSR is notable on several dimensions. These include the number of global firms, as well as global industries that have issued codes of conduct governing various aspects of their social, environmental and human rights policies and practices, the expansion in the number of social or ethical brands, labeling and certification schemes, the increase in the number and size of ethical or social investment funds, the expansion in the number of non-governmental organizations that monitor and assess corporate practices, the growth in the number of firms that issue annual social reports, and the increasing interest in governments in promoting more responsible business practices.

Perhaps most significantly has been the change in global business norms and public expectations. CSR is not longer a marginal or contested ideology. The notion that the social contribution of firms extends beyond maximizing shareholder value and that managers have an affirmative responsibility for both reducing the negative social impacts of their business operations and increasing the supply of various public goods is now widely accepted — by firms, the public and governments.
Perhaps nowhere is the increasing legitimacy of CSR more striking than in Europe. Two decades ago, CSR was largely an American construct, rooted in the distinctive historical role played by business and government in American society capitalism. Specifically, CSR reflected the limited role of the state in the development of American capitalism and the reliance of America on private institutions, such as the corporation, in supplying a wide range of public services that in Europe were traditionally delivered by governments.

The contemporary growth of interest in CSR has taken place on both sides of the Atlantic. Yet it is clear that the global center of gravity of CSR has now switched to Europe. London has replaced New York City and Washington as the intellectual and organizational locus of CSR activity. It is where a disproportionate amount of NGOs engaged in lobbying corporations are headquartered and is the location for a major share of international conferences on CSR. European based multi-nationals are more likely to subscribe to the United Nations Global Compact and to utilize the Global Reporting Initiative in reporting on their social impact. The market share of a number of ethical brands and labels is higher in much of Europe than in the United States.
Perhaps most importantly, European governments, including the European Union, have become much more active in promoting CSR than has the American government. In particular, several European countries have enacted legislation that both requires institutional investors to consider social and ethical criteria in making investment decisions and mandates corporate social and environmental reporting.

The factors underlying the ‘Europeanization’ of CSR are complex. One has to do with the increased role of markets and market competition due to the reduction of trade barriers both within Europe and globally and the movement toward privatization and deregulation, both of which have focused increased public attention on the social role and responsibilities of firms. A second factor is the increase in public concern with the global dimensions of CSR and in particular with the extent to which the impact of economic globalization has adequately benefited citizens and employees in developing countries. In part because of their heritage of colonialism, citizens and policy-makers in many European countries have had a heightened interest in the social role and responsibilities of European-based global firms. In addition, CSR, with its emphasis on voluntary standards, soft law, and business-government cooperation is consistent with the regulatory style of many European governments. Interest in CSR in Europe also flows from a core mission of the EU, namely to make the development of the single market consistent with the achievement of broader social objectives.

For all these reason, the essays in this volume fill an important, and timely objective: they provide an invaluable window on how CSR is evolving in Europe, at the level of both public policy and corporate policies and practices. […]” (p. xi-xiii)

Hawkins, D. E. (2006). Corporate Social Responsibility: Balancing Tomorrow’s Sustainability and Today’s Profitability. Palgrave Macmillan Publishing.

This new approach to corporate social responsibility, drawing upon many contemporary examples, demonstrates the importance of balancing short term profitability with long term sustainability and shows how this relates to business issues including environmental change, ethical trading, corporate governance, risk management, sustainable development. and competitive balance.

David E. Hawkins is Director of Operations for PSL. He has an extensive career in projects and procurement, particularly in the construction industry, working in many parts of the world. He has developed training programs and has been a leading speaker in the field of exploiting relationship management through effective leadership and strategy development. He is a regular contributor to professional magazines and journals, is the joint author, with Shan Rajogopal of Sun Tzu and the Project Battleground, and is the author of The Bending Moment: Energizing Corporate Business Strategy, both published by Palgrave Macmillan.

An excerpt from the Preface of the book:

“There can be few in the business community who have not had to address some aspect of sustainability within the past few years. It has proved almost impossible in recent times to pick up any business publication or newspaper and not be faced with an article addressing some aspect of corporate social responsibility (or CSR). The focus of these initiatives has ranged across a wide and diverse landscape of social and ethical challenges, from tree-hugging to criminal exploitation. These in turn have led to regulatory and non-governmental organization (NGO) pressures raining down on corporate leaders, in addition to the changes that have emerged at both customer and shareholder levels towards an expectation of a more respon­sible approach to business.

There is no doubt that many of the actions of a few major corporations have shown the worst side of commercial exploitation, whether this has been in the form of social or environmental exploitation or through manipulation leading to major financial catastrophes that have harmed many at all levels of society. On the other hand, there has been a growth in support for NGOs that have set their sights on raising awareness and stopping exploitation of any natural resources, using any and all means to further their particular cause irrespective of the impacts on others in society, such as the business community.

The difficulty is that many of these individual crusades are in fact interlinked and, whilst in isolation each may present a very good and valid case, the overall impact tends to present business leaders with the problem of trying to satisfy every possible implication whilst being the central focus for all ills. These leaders are frequently being held up as failing in what is perhaps an impossible task given the diversity of demands and integrated nature of operating within an aware market place.
This predicament often creates an environment where, instead of appropriate strategies being developed, the focus is on urgent compliance, public relations projects and short-term protection. At the same time, the customer or consumer still requires product development and innovation provided at a competitive price, whilst the shareholder looks for dividends and security of investment from organizations which can also demonstrate they adhere to the vast number of legal and moral codes, which are continuously being added to. […]” (p. ix)

Tulder, Rob van and Zwart, Alez van der (2006) International Business-Society Management: Linking Corporate Responsibility and Globalization, NY: Routledge

The number of books on Business-Society Management, Business Ethics and Corporate Communication has seen an exponential growth, but most do not treat the issues, strategies and societal interaction in a homogenous manner. At last, here is a book that does just that.

International Business-Society Management covers conflicts in which primarily large multinationals were targeted by non-governmental organizations. The conflicts surrounding Burma, blood diamonds, child labor, oil spills, food safety, patents on HIV/AIDS medication and labor rights, have resulted in a large number of disciplining activities. The authors formulate clear conditions for effective functioning of the reputation mechanism and of (self) regulation.

Drawing on a wealth of experience both in research and teaching, the authors have developed a text that integrates reputation, responsibility, ethics and accountability. Clearly constructed around a carefully designed framework including an in-depth analysis of the issues, fascinating cases to illustrate the theory in practice and providing the reader with a strategic point of view, International Business-Society Management is a must-have book for all those studying or teaching business ethics, reputation, public relations, corporate social responsibility or corporate accountability.