The societal role of business in the context of economic history: An argumentative outline for a conceptual framework and an empirical research program

This paper sketches a plan for developing a conceptual framework capable of reconstructing and analyzing the recorded history of CSR practice in the context of economic history. To this end, the paper combines Axel Leijonhufvud’s conceptual thoughts on the economic conditions during and after the three major milestones in the development of modern market economies—i.e. the Commercial Revolution in the Late Middle Ages, the Industrial Revolution in the modern era and the Next Industrial Revolution of today—with North et al.’s considerations on the relevance of social orders to control violence in historical societies, which address the interdependence of the economy and politics. Building upon these two dimensions, I will argue that measuring the economic conditions against the working properties of the relevant historical social order allows for three important implications for the societal role of business in the respective period, including the world of today. Finally, the paper outlines possible avenues of a research program, including both empirical and conceptual research, which illustrates the framework’s heuristic function with concrete case studies.