IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/hal/journl/halshs-03759518.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

T(w)alking responsibility: a case of CSR performativity during the COVID‐19 pandemic

Author

Listed:
  • Hugo Letiche

    (IMT-BS - DEFI - Département Droit, Economie et Finances - TEM - Télécom Ecole de Management - IMT - Institut Mines-Télécom [Paris] - IMT-BS - Institut Mines-Télécom Business School - IMT - Institut Mines-Télécom [Paris], LITEM - Laboratoire en Innovation, Technologies, Economie et Management (EA 7363) - UEVE - Université d'Évry-Val-d'Essonne - Université Paris-Saclay - IMT-BS - Institut Mines-Télécom Business School - IMT - Institut Mines-Télécom [Paris], Business University Nyenrode - Nyenrode Business Universiteit)

  • Ivo de Loo

    (Business University Nyenrode - Nyenrode Business Universiteit)

  • Jean-Luc Moriceau

    (LITEM - Laboratoire en Innovation, Technologies, Economie et Management (EA 7363) - UEVE - Université d'Évry-Val-d'Essonne - Université Paris-Saclay - IMT-BS - Institut Mines-Télécom Business School - IMT - Institut Mines-Télécom [Paris], Université Paris-Saclay, IMT-BS - DEFI - Département Droit, Economie et Finances - TEM - Télécom Ecole de Management - IMT - Institut Mines-Télécom [Paris] - IMT-BS - Institut Mines-Télécom Business School - IMT - Institut Mines-Télécom [Paris])

Abstract

This paper centers on a case study of CSR performativity during the Covid-19 pandemic. In the extant CSR literature, CSR performativity has focused on 'walking the talk' and/or 'talking the walk,' wherein narrative and action around CSR are typically treated as two different things with their relationships questioned. We focus on what has been called 't(w)alking' wherein speech is understood to be performative and wherein speech acts and CSR are merged, becoming one and the same thing. Performativity then entails what is (and what is not) said, whereby CSR involves taking responsibility for speech and/or silences. Our thesis is that the Covid-19 pandemic led to the 'presenting' of CSR as performativity, in the presence of Levinas' Other, as noble (speech) acts. We examine what became of CSR performativity in a for-profit medical services provider when the Covid-19 pandemic turned fatal for its main client group: the infirm elderly. The performativity of the statement: "The elderly and their carers must be protected" turned out to be crucial and set the stage for the provider's emergency action. Following on insights derived from Nietzsche and Levinas, and more specifically from their views on the particularity of ethical action, we find that CSR morphed into ethical performativity in the case study at hand. Against the backdrop of the views of these thinkers, the research potential of the performativity of 't(w)alking' in future CSR studies emerges and is critically discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Hugo Letiche & Ivo de Loo & Jean-Luc Moriceau, 2023. "T(w)alking responsibility: a case of CSR performativity during the COVID‐19 pandemic," Post-Print halshs-03759518, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-03759518
    DOI: 10.1111/beer.12473
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://shs.hal.science/halshs-03759518v1
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://shs.hal.science/halshs-03759518v1/document
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/beer.12473?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
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. McCarthy, Lauren, 2017. "Empowering Women Through Corporate Social Responsibility: A Feminist Foucauldian Critique," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 27(4), pages 603-631, October.
    2. Huang, Xiaobei “Beryl†& Watson, Luke, 2015. "Corporate social responsibility research in accounting," Journal of Accounting Literature, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 1-16.
    3. David Campbell & Ken McPhail & Richard Slack, 2009. "Face work in annual reports," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 22(6), pages 907-932, July.
    4. Christensen, Lars Thøger & Morsing, Mette & Thyssen, Ole, 2020. "Timely hypocrisy? Hypocrisy temporalities in CSR communication," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 327-335.
    5. Roberts, John, 2018. "Managing only with transparency: The strategic functions of ignorance," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 53-60.
    6. Roberts, John, 2009. "No one is perfect: The limits of transparency and an ethic for 'intelligent' accountability," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 34(8), pages 957-970, November.
    7. Andrew Sturdy & Peter Fleming, 2003. "Talk as Technique – A Critique of the Words and Deeds Distinction in the Diffusion of Customer Service Cultures in Call Centres," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(4), pages 753-773, June.
    8. Roberts, John, 2001. "Corporate Governance and the Ethics of Narcissus," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 11(1), pages 109-127, January.
    9. Abagail McWilliams & Donald S. Siegel & Patrick M. Wright, 2006. "Corporate Social Responsibility: Strategic Implications," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(1), pages 1-18, January.
    10. Mohamed Arouri & Guillaume Pijourlet, 2017. "CSR Performance and the Value of Cash Holdings: International Evidence," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 140(2), pages 263-284, January.
    11. Banu Ozkazanc-Pan, 2019. "CSR as Gendered Neocoloniality in the Global South," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 160(4), pages 851-864, December.
    12. Andreas Georg Scherer & Guido Palazzo, 2011. "The New Political Role of Business in a Globalized World: A Review of a New Perspective on CSR and its Implications for the Firm, Governance, and Democracy," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(4), pages 899-931, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Frey-Heger, Corinna & Barrett, Michael, 2021. "Possibilities and limits of social accountability: The consequences of visibility as recognition and exposure in refugee crises," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    2. Aurélien Acquier & Bertrand Valiorgue & Thibault Daudigeos, 2017. "Sharing the Shared Value: A Transaction Cost Perspective on Strategic CSR Policies in Global Value Chains," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 144(1), pages 139-152, August.
    3. Danny Zhao‐Xiang Huang, 2022. "An integrated theory of the firm approach to environmental, social and governance performance," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 62(S1), pages 1567-1598, April.
    4. Dolores Gallardo-Vázquez & Luis Enrique Valdez-Juárez & José Luis Lizcano-Álvarez, 2019. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Intellectual Capital: Sources of Competitiveness and Legitimacy in Organizations’ Management Practices," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(20), pages 1-29, October.
    5. Łukasz Matuszak & Ewa Różańska, 2019. "A Non-Linear and Disaggregated Approach to Studying the Impact of CSR on Accounting Profitability: Evidence from the Polish Banking Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-21, January.
    6. Joern H. Block & Marcus Wagner, 2014. "The Effect of Family Ownership on Different Dimensions of Corporate Social Responsibility: Evidence from Large US Firms," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 23(7), pages 475-492, November.
    7. Silvia Gherardi & Oliver Laasch, 2022. "Responsible Management-as-Practice: Mobilizing a Posthumanist Approach," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 181(2), pages 269-281, November.
    8. Cooper, Christine & Lapsley, Irvine, 2021. "Hillsborough: The fight for accountability," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    9. Tolossa Fufa Gulema & Yadessa Tadesse Roba, 2021. "Internal and external determinants of corporate social responsibility practices in multinational enterprise subsidiaries in developing countries: evidence from Ethiopia," Future Business Journal, Springer, vol. 7(1), pages 1-19, December.
    10. Hyung Il Oh & Hyunpyo Kim & Jeong‐Bon Kim & Yong Gyu Lee, 2021. "Corporate social responsibility and operating cash flows management: An examination of credit market incentives," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(7-8), pages 1494-1522, July.
    11. Robert C. Bird & Vivek Soundararajan, 2020. "The Role of Precontractual Signals in Creating Sustainable Global Supply Chains," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 164(1), pages 81-94, June.
    12. Saeid Homayoun & Bita Mashayekhi & Amin Jahangard & Milad Samavat & Zabihollah Rezaee, 2023. "The Controversial Link between CSR and Financial Performance: The Mediating Role of Green Innovation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-15, July.
    13. Som Sekhar Bhattacharyya & Sumi Jha, 2020. "Explicating micro foundations of corporate social responsibility: a moderated-mediation study of customer, investor and employee roles," International Journal of Ethics and Systems, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 36(4), pages 619-640, September.
    14. Solomon, Jill F. & Solomon, Aris & Joseph, Nathan L. & Norton, Simon D., 2013. "Impression management, myth creation and fabrication in private social and environmental reporting: Insights from Erving Goffman," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 38(3), pages 195-213.
    15. Gottlieb, Uliana & Johed, Gustav & Hansson, Helena, 2022. "Accounting and accountability for farm animals: Conceptual limits and the possibilities of caring," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    16. Anica Zeyen & Markus Beckmann & Stella Wolters, 2016. "Actor and Institutional Dynamics in the Development of Multi-stakeholder Initiatives," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 135(2), pages 341-360, May.
    17. Christopher Wickert & Andreas Georg Scherer & Laura J. Spence, 2016. "Walking and Talking Corporate Social Responsibility: Implications of Firm Size and Organizational Cost," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(7), pages 1169-1196, November.
    18. Pablo Rodrigo & Ignacio J. Duran, 2021. "Why Does Context Really Matter? Understanding Companies’ Dialogue with Fringe Communities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-26, January.
    19. Sébastien Mena & Daniel Waeger, 2014. "Activism for Corporate Responsibility: Conceptualizing Private Regulation Opportunity Structures," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(7), pages 1091-1117, November.
    20. May Tan-Mullins & Giles Mohan, 2013. "The potential of corporate environmental responsibility of Chinese state-owned enterprises in Africa," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 15(2), pages 265-284, April.

    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:hal:journl:halshs-03759518. 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: CCSD (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/ .

    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.