A History of Corporate Social Responsibility

Abstract

The purpose of this article on corporate social responsibility (CSR) concepts and practices, referred to as just ‘social responsibility’ (SR) in the period before the rise and dominance of the corporate form of business organization, is to provide an overview of how the concept and practice of SR or CSR has grown, manifested itself, and flourished. It considers how the CSR concept, expanded from its focus on a few stakeholders, close at hand, to be more far reaching and inclusive, eventually becoming global in scope. In addition, it briefly considers what organizational activities and changes have taken place to accommodate these new initiatives, to the point at which it has become fully institutionalized today. It becomes apparent that today, well into the first decade of the 2000s, CSR in many firms is moving towards full integration with strategic management and corporate governance.