competitive advantage, corporate social responsibility, industry, research and development, resource-based view theory,

PurposeThe concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) has a long history associated with how it impacts on organizations' behavior. In order to understand CSR's impact on organization behavior, therefore, it is necessary to comprehend its progression. Subsequently, the purpose of this paper is to trace the conceptual evolution of CSR.Design/methodology/approachThe paper reviews the literature and adopts a chronological structure organized on a decade‐by‐decade basis. The results demonstrated that CSR research has changed constantly during the last 60 years.FindingsIn the 1950s the primary focus was on businesses' responsibilities to society and doing good deeds for society. In the 1960s key events, people and ideas were instrumental in characterizing the social changes ushered in during this decade. In the 1970s business managers applied the traditional management functions when dealing with CSR issues, while, in the 1980s, business and social interest came closer and firms became more responsive to their stakeholders. During the 1990s the idea of CSR became almost universally approved, also CSR was coupled with strategy literature and finally, in the 2000s, CSR became definitively an important strategic issue.Research limitations/implicationsThe focus of this work is on researches that have generated much of the original discourse on this issue, since it is difficult to cover all of the existing literature. In addition, this analysis of the conceptual evolution of CSR started with Bowen's, although earlier references can be found.Originality/valueThis paper provides didactical information of the conceptual evolution of CSR, also it advances on the discussion of the progress of CSR throughout time that has caught the attention of several researchers and finally it provides recommendations for further studies.

Purpose -This study aims to revisit the relative importance of industry and firm level effects on corporate social responsibility (CSR), with the objective of clarifying their diverse effects on CSR. Design/methodology/approach -The authors suggest that CSR is a shared strategic asset based on insights from the industrial organization and institutional schools, taking into account that there are determinants of CSR that may be operating inside the corporation according to the resource-based view. They employ a variance components method and a sample compiled of 495 US firms from 19 industries using five-year periods. Findings -The study indicates that firms retain considerable self-determinism regarding their CSR trajectories, but the latter also represent a shared strategic asset. Thus, these results combined imply that CSR needs to be examined on both levels simultaneously. Practical implications -The results of this study can provide non-governmental organizations and governmental and regulatory institutions with an indicator that explains the performance variation levels of each dimension of CSR, and can help improve tools designed to promote it. Furthermore, the authors' research provides managers with evidence of CSR variability among CSR dimensions that could help in strategic decision-making. In addition this research can provide assistance and give perspective regarding selection criteria for investment portfolios in responsible investment funds. Originality/value -The industry effect is an important factor to consider in CSR intensity. The variation in firm and industry effects on CSR strategies has not been extensively studied; hence, explaining the sources of performance differences regarding industry and firm factors is a key theoretical and empirical issue in the field of management.

The main objective of this research is to provide knowledge on the impact that nonparticipation in controversial business can have on corporate financial performance. Accordingly, the stakeholder theory perspective was adopted and the effect of nonparticipation in controversial business on corporate financial performance was tested by using market-based and accounting-based economic measures. In addition, the effect of primary stakeholders' management activities on corporate financial performance was tested, whereby it can be seen whether this nonparticipation in controversial business reveals a different causal relationship with certain aspects of economic performance.

Purpose: This article analyzes the effect that Research and Development (R&D) intensity has on corporate reputation, and how this effect can be positively moderated when innovation yields some kind of social benefits. Design/methodology/approach:As a theoretical framework we use the resource based view theory and the institutional theory. For the empirical analysis we used the panel data technique to estimate our models, the sample is composed of 257 US firms and covers a four-year period from 2004 to 2007. Findings:The results of this research demonstrates that R&D with the moderation of innovation with high social benefits will produce a greater positive effect on corporate reputation than R&D by itself, since R&D activities can produce innovations that do not produce any social benefit which may not be perceived by stakeholders. Practical implications:Innovative firms should focus their efforts on identifying opportunities in their R&D processes to initiate related corporate social responsibility activities that could help them build a good reputation, which in the long run can give them a competitive advantage and profitable results.Intangible Capital -http://dx.doi.org/10.3926/ic.336 -217 -Originality/value: Recently several studies have demonstrated that R&D is related with corporate social responsibility and that it is important to include both variables when studying financial performance. Our research is novel in the sense that we are applying the same logic but studying the relationship with corporate reputation, which has been scarcely talked about in existing literature.