Corporate Social Performance and Politics

The role of governments in corporate social responsibility: characterising public policies on CSR in Europe

“…What follows are 'new embedded-relational models' of business-state co-regulation (or perhaps accommodated forms of neocorporatism) rather than variations of the neo-liberal or Keynesian welfare state models (Midttun 2005). Likewise, Rubin (2008) and Liston-Heyes and Ceton (2007) show that CSR is more popular in Democratic rather than Republican US states. Liston-Heyes and Ceton (2007) explain this finding by the 'symmetry hypothesis', in turn stating that in states where governments are more in favour of redistribution, firms also engage in more progressive CSR redistribution practices because pleasing governments by doing so may result in political and administrative advantages.…”

Is the Socially Responsible Corporation a Myth? The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Corporate Social Responsibility

“…Is "responsibility" prescribed so as to equate with legal requirements (e.g., the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002), or are corporations held to a higher standard only revealed ex post facto? The malleability of this sanction is seen in the fact that firms in U.S. states with more liberal governments engage in more corporate profit "redistribution" than their counterparts in less liberal states (Liston-Heyes & Ceton, 2007), implying that corporate social activity reacts to a political purpose.…”

India's Journey with Corporate Social Responsibility-What Next?

“…Thirdly, a macro-level issue that arises is that of the true intent and spirit of CSR-that of the inclusion of CSR in the core strategies of the company- The impending CSR provision in the recent Companies Bill, 2011 has been criticized for being a mechanism that redistributed funds from firms to the public, a mechanism that is also undertaken by taxation. 180 This has been met with considerable resistance and protest. However, if one could be persuaded to expand the narrow view of CSR being an expenditure, to an opportunity for socially beneficial and profitable investment, the presence of Clause 135 would be rendered moot.…”