Leading with Innovation: Transforming Corporate Social Responsibility

Abstract

Over the past several decades Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has matured as a function within business adding increased value by moving through stages of compliance, integration, strategy and value creation (Googins et al. Beyond “good company”: next generation corporate citizenship, Palgrave-McMillan, New York, 2007; World Business Council for Sustainable Development, From challenge to opportunity: the role of business in tomorrow’s society, 2006). In earlier stages, CSR took the form of philanthropy and compliance along the good citizen route. More recently reporting, cause marketing, and sustainability initiatives reflected a greater responsiveness to emerging stakeholder activism and the perceived tie in to brand and reputation (Hatch and Mirvis, Positive design and appreciative construction: from sustainable development to sustainable value. Emerald, New York, 2010). More recent iterations sought greater legitimacy and strategic value for CSR which in turn led to a search for the business case, strategic philanthropy, new models of value creation, and widely adopted frameworks of win-win propositions and shared value (Porter and Kramer, Harv Bus Rev 1–17, 2011). This developmental journey reflects a heightened set of expectations and demands of an environment in which social and environmental issues have become blended into the business model itself (Matten and Crane, Acad Manage Rev 30(1):166–179, 2005).