IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/jbuset/v125y2014i2p177-191.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Paradox of Corporate Social Responsibility Standards

Author

Listed:
  • Simone de Colle
  • Adrian Henriques
  • Saras Sarasvathy

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to provide a constructive criticism of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) standards. After pointing out a number of benefits and limitations in the effectiveness of CSR standards, both from a theoretical point of view and in the light of empirical evidence, we formulate and discuss a Paradox of CSR standards: despite being well-intended, CSR standards can favor the emergence of a thoughtless, blind and blinkered mindset which is counterproductive of their aim of enhancing the social responsibility of the organization. We analyze three problems that might underlie the Paradox—namely the problem of deceptive measurements; the problem of responsibility erosion and the problem of blinkered culture. We apply the philosophical tradition of American Pragmatism to reflect on these issues in relation to different types of existing standards, and conclude by suggesting a number of considerations that could help both CSR standards developers and users to address the Paradox. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014

Suggested Citation

  • Simone de Colle & Adrian Henriques & Saras Sarasvathy, 2014. "The Paradox of Corporate Social Responsibility Standards," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 125(2), pages 177-191, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:125:y:2014:i:2:p:177-191
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-013-1912-y
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1007/s10551-013-1912-y
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10551-013-1912-y?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gilbert, Dirk Ulrich & Rasche, Andreas, 2007. "Discourse Ethics and Social Accountability: The Ethics of SA 8000," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 17(2), pages 187-216, April.
    2. Magali Delmas & Arturo Keller, 2005. "Free riding in voluntary environmental programs: The case of the U.S. EPA WasteWise program," Policy Sciences, Springer;Society of Policy Sciences, vol. 38(2), pages 91-106, September.
    3. Simone Colle & Patricia H. Werhane, 2008. "Moral Motivation Across Ethical Theories: What Can We Learn for Designing Corporate Ethics Programs?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 81(4), pages 751-764, September.
    4. Terlaak, Ann & King, Andrew A., 2006. "The effect of certification with the ISO 9000 Quality Management Standard: A signaling approach," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 60(4), pages 579-602, August.
    5. Stansbury, Jason & Barry, Bruce, 2007. "Ethics Programs and the Paradox of Control," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 17(2), pages 239-261, April.
    6. Edward Freeman, R. & Evan, William M., 1990. "Corporate governance: A stakeholder interpretation," Journal of Behavioral Economics, Elsevier, vol. 19(4), pages 337-359.
    7. Marens, Richard & Wicks, Andrew, 1999. "Getting Real: Stakeholder Theory, Managerial Practice, and the General Irrelevance of Fiduciary Duties Owed to Shareholders," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 9(2), pages 273-293, April.
    8. Andreas Rasche & Daniel Esser, 2006. "From Stakeholder Management to Stakeholder Accountability," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 65(3), pages 251-267, May.
    9. Harty D. Saunders, 1992. "The Khazzoom-Brookes Postulate and Neoclassical Growth," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 4), pages 131-148.
    10. Lorenzo Sacconi, 2007. "A Social Contract Account for CSR as an Extended Model of Corporate Governance (II): Compliance, Reputation and Reciprocity," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 75(1), pages 77-96, September.
    11. Nicholas Dew & Saras Sarasvathy, 2007. "Innovations, Stakeholders & Entrepreneurship," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 74(3), pages 267-283, September.
    12. Dayna Simpson & Damien Power & Robert Klassen, 2012. "When One Size Does Not Fit All: A Problem of Fit Rather than Failure for Voluntary Management Standards," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 110(1), pages 85-95, September.
    13. Gilbert, Dirk Ulrich & Rasche, Andreas & Waddock, Sandra, 2011. "Accountability in a Global Economy: The Emergence of International Accountability Standards," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 21(1), pages 23-44, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Changhee Lee & Dan Palmon & Ari Yezegel, 2018. "The Corporate Social Responsibility Information Environment: Examining the Value of Financial Analysts’ Recommendations," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 150(1), pages 279-301, June.
    2. Zhimin Zhou & Yucheng Wang & Yaqin Zheng & Shixiong Liu, 2023. "Effects of brand community social responsibility: roles of collective self-esteem and altruism," Journal of Brand Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 30(4), pages 347-366, July.
    3. Tiina Onkila & Marjo Siltaoja, 2017. "One Rule to Rule Them All? Organisational Sensemaking of Corporate Responsibility," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 144(1), pages 5-20, August.
    4. Kirsten Andersen & Rebecca Tekula, 2022. "Value, Values, and Valuation: The Marketization of Charitable Foundation Impact Investing," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 179(4), pages 1033-1052, September.
    5. Dirk C. Moosmayer & Sandra Waddock & Long Wang & Matthias P. Hühn & Claus Dierksmeier & Christopher Gohl, 2019. "Leaving the Road to Abilene: A Pragmatic Approach to Addressing the Normative Paradox of Responsible Management Education," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 157(4), pages 913-932, July.
    6. Claudia Kitsikopoulos & Ute Schwaibold & Douglas Taylor, 2018. "Limited progress in sustainable development: Factors influencing the environmental management and reporting of South African JSE‐listed companies," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(8), pages 1295-1301, December.
    7. Journeault, Marc & Levant, Yves & Picard, Claire-France, 2021. "Sustainability performance reporting: A technocratic shadowing and silencing," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    8. Irene Marcuzzi & Matteo Podrecca & Marco Sartor & Guido Nassimbeni, 2023. "Out of social accountability: Reasons and alternative paths for SA8000 decertification," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(6), pages 3140-3158, November.
    9. Regina F. Bento & Lasse Mertins & Lourdes F. White, 2017. "Ideology and the Balanced Scorecard: An Empirical Exploration of the Tension Between Shareholder Value Maximization and Corporate Social Responsibility," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 142(4), pages 769-789, June.
    10. Agnieszka Janik & Adam Ryszko & Marek Szafraniec, 2020. "Greenhouse Gases and Circular Economy Issues in Sustainability Reports from the Energy Sector in the European Union," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-36, November.
    11. Céline Bérard & Christelle Bruyère & Séverine Saleilles, 2015. "Les PME axées sur la durabilité et à forte croissance : une approche par les paradoxes," Post-Print hal-04010385, HAL.
    12. Julien Boucher & Clotilde Jenny & Zara Plummer & Gerhard Schneider, 2018. "How to Avoid Pigeonholing the Environmental Manager?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-18, July.
    13. Cătălina Silvia Crișan-Mitra & Liana Stanca & Dan-Cristian Dabija, 2020. "Corporate Social Performance: An Assessment Model on an Emerging Market," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-21, May.
    14. Felipe Arenas-Torres & Miguel Bustamante-Ubilla & Roberto Campos-Troncoso, 2021. "The Incidence of Social Responsibility in the Adoption of Business Practices," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-14, March.
    15. Anna Dos, 2017. "Multi-criteria decision methods for CSR management – literature review," Managerial Economics, AGH University of Science and Technology, Faculty of Management, vol. 18(1), pages 63-86.
    16. Witkowska Janina, 2016. "Corporate Social Responsability: Selected Theoretical and Empirical Aspects," Comparative Economic Research, Sciendo, vol. 19(1), pages 27-43, March.
    17. Bruce Martin & Lucia Walsh & Andrew Keating & Susi Geiger, 2024. "The Demise of a Rising Social Enterprise for Persons With Disabilities: The Ethics and the Uncertainty of Pure Effectual Logic When Scaling Up," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 191(1), pages 107-130, April.
    18. Céline Bérard & Christelle Bruyere & Séverine Saleilles, 2015. "Sustainability-driven and high-growth SMEs: A paradox approach [Las PYME de sostenibilidad impulsada y el alto crecimiento: Un enfoque por las paradojas]," Post-Print halshs-01354704, HAL.
    19. Filippo Vitolla & Nicola Raimo & Elbano De Nuccio, 2021. "Integrated Reporting: Development and State of Art —The Italian Case in the International Context," International Journal of Business and Management, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 13(11), pages 233-233, July.
    20. Michael A. Sartor & Paul W. Beamish, 2020. "Private Sector Corruption, Public Sector Corruption and the Organizational Structure of Foreign Subsidiaries," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 167(4), pages 725-744, December.
    21. Federica Murmura & Laura Bravi, 2020. "Developing a Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy in India Using the SA 8000 Standard," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-17, April.
    22. Zhihong Wang & Tien‐Shih Hsieh & Joseph Sarkis, 2018. "CSR Performance and the Readability of CSR Reports: Too Good to be True?," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 25(1), pages 66-79, January.
    23. Jean-Marie Courrent & Sonia Chassé & Waleed Omri, 2018. "Do Entrepreneurial SMEs Perform Better Because They are More Responsible?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 153(2), pages 317-336, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Sartor, Marco & Orzes, Guido & Di Mauro, Carmela & Ebrahimpour, Maling & Nassimbeni, Guido, 2016. "The SA8000 social certification standard: Literature review and theory-based research agenda," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 175(C), pages 164-181.
    2. Andreas Rasche & Frank Bakker & Jeremy Moon, 2013. "Complete and Partial Organizing for Corporate Social Responsibility," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 115(4), pages 651-663, July.
    3. Giorgia Nigri & Mara Del Baldo & Armando Agulini, 2020. "Governance and accountability models in Italian certified benefit corporations," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(5), pages 2368-2380, September.
    4. Giacomo Degli Antoni & Elisa Portale, 2009. "The effect of corporate social responsibility on social capital creation: an empirical study on participation in social cooperatives," Econometica Working Papers wp03, Econometica.
    5. Wenlong He & Wei Yang & Seong-jin Choi, 2018. "The Interplay Between Private and Public Regulations: Evidence from ISO 14001 Adoption Among Chinese Firms," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 152(2), pages 477-497, October.
    6. Joseph Heath, 2011. "Business Ethics and the ‘End of History’ in Corporate Law," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 102(1), pages 5-20, March.
    7. Silke Machold & Pervaiz Ahmed & Stuart Farquhar, 2008. "Corporate Governance and Ethics: A Feminist Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 81(3), pages 665-678, September.
    8. Dirk Gilbert & Michael Behnam, 2009. "Advancing Integrative Social Contracts Theory: A Habermasian Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 89(2), pages 215-234, October.
    9. Bertrand Venard & Kezang Tshering, 2021. "Barriers to transparency in Bhutan's public administration: A new typology of opacity," Public Administration & Development, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 41(4), pages 203-216, October.
    10. Marjo Elisa Siltaoja, 2014. "Revising the Corporate Social Performance Model – Towards Knowledge Creation for Sustainable Development," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 23(5), pages 289-302, July.
    11. Diego Pérez‐López & Ana Moreno‐Romero & Ralf Barkemeyer, 2015. "Exploring the Relationship between Sustainability Reporting and Sustainability Management Practices," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(8), pages 720-734, December.
    12. Fabrizio Zerbini, 2017. "CSR Initiatives as Market Signals: A Review and Research Agenda," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 146(1), pages 1-23, November.
    13. Ninghua Zhong & Shujing Wang & Rudai Yang, 2017. "Does Corporate Governance Enhance Common Interests of Shareholders and Primary Stakeholders?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 141(2), pages 411-431, March.
    14. Giovanni Ferri & Angelo Leogrande, 2015. "Was the Crisis due to a shift from stakeholder to shareholder finance? Surveying the debate," Mo.Fi.R. Working Papers 108, Money and Finance Research group (Mo.Fi.R.) - Univ. Politecnica Marche - Dept. Economic and Social Sciences.
    15. Lars Moratis, 2018. "Signalling Responsibility? Applying Signalling Theory to the ISO 26000 Standard for Social Responsibility," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-20, November.
    16. Andreas Rasche, 2009. "Toward a model to compare and analyze accountability standards – the case of the UN Global Compact," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 16(4), pages 192-205, July.
    17. Samantha Miles, 2017. "Stakeholder Theory Classification: A Theoretical and Empirical Evaluation of Definitions," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 142(3), pages 437-459, May.
    18. Lorenzo Sacconi, 2006. "A Social Contract Account for CSR as an Extended Model of Corporate Governance (I): Rational Bargaining and Justification," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 68(3), pages 259-281, October.
    19. Mary Gugerty, 2009. "Signaling virtue: voluntary accountability programs among nonprofit organizations," Policy Sciences, Springer;Society of Policy Sciences, vol. 42(3), pages 243-273, August.
    20. Silvia Ayuso & Mercè Roca & Jorge A. Arevalo & Deepa Aravind, 2016. "What Determines Principle-Based Standards Implementation? Reporting on Global Compact Adoption in Spanish Firms," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 133(3), pages 553-565, February.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:125:y:2014:i:2:p:177-191. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.