CEOs who respond to ideas from their employees and then oversee the emergence of a new vision for the company, and a managing director with many years of experience in pharmaceuticals with a new vision of a way of doing business that valued employees as people rather than numbers.
The development of CSR as a social movement means that ideas, codes, books and consultants are increasingly available to inject ideas to be taken forward by business leaders. Important, too, have been the repercussions of catastrophic accidents such as Bhopal and Exxon Valdez, and the revelation of child labour and poor working conditions in Far Eastern factories, which not only propelled individual companies to consider their own CSR position but also contributed to the growth of CSR as a social movement.
Pioneers emerge in response to different combinations of events, ideas and experiences. Follower companies are then attracted to CSR because it has become fashionable or they wish to be seen as leaders in their industry. Yet even in follower companies there are passionate advocates of CSR, just as there are in pioneering companies.
shaped by national and local concerns and circumstances, which means that what is viewed as responsible is socially constructed (Roome, 2004).
Whatever drives CSR in an organization and whatever route it takes, the key factor is the success with which CSR is formulated, implemented and embedded in the organization’s practices. CSR is a strategic and operational concern that requires attention across the organization, is a motor for inno- vation and a force for change (CSR Europe, 2002). It is a concept and practice that draws together the owners of capital, senior managers and all other employees in a quest for quality relationships with others in the economic, social and environmental systems of which they are part. The ultimate challenge for CSR is to foster such relationships while ensuring profitability.
We have suggested that there are many motives for adopting CSR. In its most extreme form CSR is emerging in response to the need to reposition the role of business in society. The paradox of this repositioning is that managers and others are often searching for a business case to justify the development of a CSR approach. This business case is rooted in the logic of traditions capitalism, but we maintain that CSR should be founded on the logic of
‘reform capitalism’. We also maintain that in the case of CSR, for those who understand no explanation is necessary, and for those who do not understand no explanation will suffice.
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