Corporate Social Responsibility:

Chapter 12: The Future of CSR in a Global Context

Links to Further Reading

Barton, D. 2011. Capitalism for the long term. Harvard Business Review, 89(3): 84-91.

http://hbr.org/2011/03/capitalism-for-the-long-term/ar/1

The financial crisis that began in the late 2000s has led to pressing questions about the societal value of our current capitalist system. As key protagonists of capitalism, corporate leaders have begun to take up these questions and Dominic Barton’s article is one such example. Writing as the Global Managing Director of the consulting giant McKinsey & Co., he suggests that overcoming short-termism, shareholder dominance, and lack of commitment to a firm through dispersed ownership are key steps towards a capitalist system which allows companies to live up to their responsibilities beyond short term profit maximization.

Mair, J., & Marti, I. 2006. Social entrepreneurship research: A source of explanation, prediction, and delight. Journal of world business, 41(1): 36-44.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jwb.2005.09.002

Johanna Mair and Ignasi Marti provide an overview of the burgeoning field of both emerging business practice and research in social entrepreneurship. The area is of interest as CSR related concerns – in this book often discussed as an add-on to ‘normal’ business operations – in social enterprises are at the core of the purpose of these businesses. The discussion around this new form of firm is interesting not only as a new future area of business practice and research but also provides a backdrop for discussions about the general social purpose of private business enterprise in the first place.

Links to Practice

CWS 12.1: Visit the Companion Website for more international examples in the field of social entrepreneurship.

(Article) “Social entrepreneurship increases in popularity,” this article from China Daily discusses the benefits and challenges of the burgeoning social entrepreneurship movement in China: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2012-09/20/content_15769587.htm
Ashoka: Innovators for the Public is a US based non-profit organisation that supports social entrepreneurship and this web-page provides the organisation’s vision of social entrepreneurship: http://www.ashoka.org/social_entrepreneur
Community Enterprise Solutions (CE Solutions) is a Guatemalan social enterprise which lowers risks for small entrepreneurs to start and run businesses through a pioneering micro-consignment model: http://www.cesolutions.org/

CWS 12.2: Visit the Companion Website for more material on the Occupy movement and the business response to it.

Occupy Wall Street is a leaderless resistance movement which was established in 2011 to protest against social and economic inequality: http://occupywallst.org/
(Article) “Occupy Wall Street: Reactions From Big Names In Politics, Business, Media,” this article from the Huffington Post summarises a range of responses from influential leaders on the Occupy Wall Street Movement: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/07/16-big-time-reactions-on-occupy-wall-street_n_1000398.html

CWS 12.3: Visit the Companion Website for details of these and other CSR initiatives by governments in different countries

The Office of the Extractive Sector CSR Counsellor is a new office that was set up as part of the Government of Canada’s CSR strategy for the Canadian International Extractive Sector in 2009: http://www.international.gc.ca/csr_counsellor-conseiller_rse/index.aspx?view=d
The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act is a bill that was launched in 2010 to promote the financial stability of the U.S. by improving accountability and transparency in the financial system: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/111/hr4173
(Article) “Companies Bill Gets Cabinet Nod,” this article from the Indian Express discusses the 2011 Companies Bill which provides regulation on CSR activity in India: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/companies-bill-gets-cabinet-nod/1011972
The Government of Dubai outlines its initiatives towards CSR: http://dubai.ae/en/Lists/Topics/DispForm.aspx?ID=30&category=home

CWS 12.4: Visit the Companion Website for more examples of CSR-related self-regulation by industry

(Video) Drinkaware is a UK based charity that is funded by donations from the alcohol industry to promote responsible drinking. This video educates consumers on what is a unit of alcohol: http://www.youtube.com/user/drinkawaretrust?v=jCcLlEQVX1E
(Article) “Loopholes in Tobacco Regulation,” this article from the New York Times examines some of the approaches tobacco companies have adopted to avoid regulation: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/02/opinion/sunday/loopholes-in-tobacco-regulation.html?_r=0

CWS 12.5: Visit the Companion Website for links to various platforms where CSR related jobs are advertised.

2 degrees: http://www.2degreesnetwork.com/jobs/
Alertnet: http://www.trust.org/alertnet/
Allen & York: http://www.allen-york.com/
BSR: https://www.bsr.org/our-network/csr-jobs
CSR Jobs: http://www.csrjobs.nl
Ethical Corporation: http://www.ethicalcorp.com/jobs
Ethical Performance: http://www.ethicalperformance.com/recruitment/
Green Jobs: http://www.greenjobs.com/
Grist: http://jobs.grist.org/
Just Means: http://www.justmeans.com/jobsearch
Lifeworth: http://www.lifeworth.com/
Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/jobs/at-csr
Net Impact: http://netimpact.org/careers
StopDoDo: http://www.environmentjobs.com/aboutus.asp
US SIF: http://ussif.org/resources/jobs/
World Bank: http://web.worldbank.org/external/default/main?contentMDK=23158967&hlPK=8470978&menuPK=8453611&pagePK=8453982&piPK=8453986&theSitePK=8453353

CWS 12.6: Visit the Companion Website for links to numerous academic courses, research centres and institutes in CSR.

Centre of Excellence in Responsible Business (COERB) at Schulich School of Business in Toronto, Canada, is a global leader in creating and disseminating new knowledge about the social, ethical, environmental and political responsibilities of business: http://schulich.yorku.ca/client/schulich/Schulich_LP4W_LND_WebStation.nsf/page/coerb-home?OpenDocument
Centre for Research into Sustainability (CRIS) is a multidisciplinary, international group of researchers and educators at Royal Holloway, University of London, UK actively engaged with the understanding of organisational responses to the multiple facets of sustainability.
The International Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility (ICCSR) at the University of Nottingham Business School, UK aims to lead the international development of responsible and sustainable corporate practice: http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/business/ICCSR/
Stanford Graduate School of Business places significant emphasis upon CSR and sustainability within its MBA programme: http://www.gsb.stanford.edu/
China CSR Map (CCM) is an initiative which aims to promote CSR information exchange through an English-Chinese directory of major organizations and practitioners with CSR-relevant projects in China: http://www.chinacsrmap.org/index_EN.asp