Social Construction as a Mode of Regulation: Reconstructing CSR in Denmark

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to show how social construction operates as a mode of self-regulation for businesses that voluntarily seek to become corporate citizens. Modes of regulation are of much contemporary interest. As the economic context is changing, new ways of regulating business behaviour are emerging. There is much debate, and little consensus, on appropriate business behaviour and acceptable modes of regulation. Regulation tends to be associated with one of two approaches: positive reinforcement of desirable behaviour, or negative reinforcement of undesirable behaviour. The former uses incentives (i.e., a carrot) to reward businesses for good behaviour. The incentives are often financial rewards (e.g., profit) that are seen as the direct or indirect result of good business behaviour. The aim is to encourage good behaviour. Negative reinforcement of undesirable behaviour comes as a punishment (i.e., a stick) for bad behaviour and takes the form of sanctions that are imposed on actors to prevent them from behaving in undesirable ways. For instance, legal sanctions can make it highly undesirable for businesses to act in certain ways. The objective here is to prevent bad behaviour.