Mainsteaming corporate social responsibility: A triadic challenge from a general management perspective

Abstract

Based upon an examination of CSR initiatives of approximately 75 companies, this study examines how programs of corporate social responsibility (CSR) are designed, implemented, and monitored. Specifically, three key and interconnected challenges, which should be considered when companies embed CSR in their organizational processes, are identified: an action challenge, an activation challenge, and an aspiration challenge (referred to as the '3A framework for mainstreaming CSR in a company'). The objectives for mainstreaming CSR can be reached through the combination and interplay between the development of societal understanding and ongoing dialogue and engagement between the company and its stakeholders; the presence and maintenance of relevant skills and competencies at the various levels of the company; and CSR-related capacities linked to the existence of actual CSR leadership within the company. © 2010 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.