The Business Case for Social Responsibility

The Business Case for Corporate Social Responsibility

Oxford Handbooks Online
The Business Case for Corporate Social Responsibility
Elizabeth C. Kurucz, Barry A. Colbert, and David Wheeler
The Oxford Handbook of Corporate Social Responsibility
Edited by Andrew Crane, Dirk Matten, Abagail McWilliams, Jeremy Moon, and Donald Siegel
Print Publication Date: Feb 2008
Online Publication Date: Sep
2009

Subject: Business and Management, Business Policy and
Strategy, Marketing
DOI: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199211593.003.0004

Abstract and Keywords
The purpose of this article is to provide a general summary of the key value propositions evident in the research on the business case for corporate social responsibility (CSR), described as four general ‘types’ of the business case, or four modes of value creation. It then presents a critique of these approaches (including identifying some problems inherent in the construct of CSR itself) and offers some principles for constructing a ‘better’ business case. Its intent is not to conduct a thorough review of studies analyzing the relationship between CSR and financial performance, as that has been well done elsewhere. Rather it seeks to unearth assumptions underlying dominant approaches in an effort to build a more robust business case for CSR that can move beyond existing limitations.
Keywords: research, business case, corporate social responsibility, value creation, financial performance

The old thinking was that if you make money you can do this positive social and environmental stuff—but I think the true philosophy of sustainability is the interdependence. It 's not about charity; it 's about the fact that if you do the right things in the community, the community will do the right things for you. If you do the right things for the environment, you 'll have a stronger business so that you can make more money. It 's not about sort of a condescending view… I don 't know if that 's subtle or if

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