One Evolutionary Path or Many? Corporate Social Responsibility in Comparative Perspective

Time to move to the next level: The CSR concept is “hot” in business and public policy circles and increasingly popular in academic fields such as Org. Theory and International Business. Business-and-society scholars can play a leading role in expanding understanding of CSR if we build on past work and work together to strengthen theoretical and empirical frameworks. How to do this?

Creating a Research Network Gather a group of scholars from many countries willing to commit to the project Agree on a definition of CSR for empirical purposes, e.g., “narrow” and “broad” scope different stakeholder sets Establish a data-gathering methodology and schedule

National Styles of CSR Cross-sectional study, similar to the GLOBE project on leadership Surveys of 17,000+ middle managers 951 organizations 62 societies 9 cultural dimensions from the literature and refined during the research

INITIAL CONCEPTUAL MODEL OF FACTORS INFLUENCING CSR BEHAVIORS Independent Variables ECONOMIC FACTORS Aggregate performance Economy type - Agricultural or Extractive Stage of Industrialization (Low, Medium, High) CULTURAL FACTORS - Power Distance Uncertainty Avoidance Humane Orientation Institutional Collectivism INSTITUTIONAL FACTORS - Role of government - Role of civil society Mediating Variables INDUSTRY LEVEL - Sector Type INDIVIDUAL LEVEL - Executive Values Dependent Variables CSR BEHAVIORS - Type - Scope - Frequency

Evolutionary Paths to CSR Comparative longitudinal research of firms in a country or industry Role of history and culture Tease out pivotal events and persons Identify phases or stages of evolution With enough cases, look for patterns, e.g., Is