The Organization of CSR as a Means of Corporate Control: From Do-Gooding Sideshow to Mainstream?

Abstract

Taking as its starting point Neil Fligstein’s well-known claim that firms strive to control their internal and external environment to secure firm survival,¹ this chapter asks the following question: how do firms organize their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)² initiatives in order to control their business environment? This question has become increasingly important because during the last few decades normative expectations about the role of the firm in society have shifted from a traditional shareholder focus to include a diverse range of stakeholder interests. Investors, NGOs, employees, customers and the media have become adept at holding firms accountable for social and environmental activities.³ Many firms have therefore adopted a range of CSR initiatives in order to ensure that their actions are seen as legitimate, such as labor rights or human rights requirements in the supply chain, anti-corruption schemes or gender equality programmes.⁴ The focus of this chapter extends beyond human rights to include a wider range of voluntary corporate social and environmental initiatives.