Corporate Social Responsibility: A Governable Space

The rise in the discourse and practice of corporate social responsibility (CSR) has been significant over the last few years, driven largely by a dominant business case logic. The CSR concept though, as suggested here, is more complex, loaded and problematic than is acknowledged within mainstream CSR scholarship. In this chapter, we present the view that CSR should be re-conceptualised as being situated within a relational space, ever unfolding and constituted by a range of forces, be they political, institutional, economic or social. This allows governmentality and spatiality as analytical instruments to deconstruct CSR at the level of the political economy. In this way, it is possible to capture the construction, dissemination and the lived experience of CSR. We also indicate that the impact of global social forces such as the prevailing neoliberal mentalities and the global accumulation agenda are for example better understood when taking this perspective.