CSR Dynamics in the Midst of Competing Injunctions: The case of Danone

Abstract

This study examines how firms manage competing injunctions for corporate social responsibility (CSR) across time. We first develop a theory of CSR dynamics that accounts for the idea that a firm's actual CSR (what the firm does) and its professed CSR (what it says it does): (i) depend on both internal injunctions (a firm's identity orientation) and external injunctions (stakeholder demands); and (ii) are not necessarily constant over time, that is, there might be discernible phases of CSR. We illustrate our theory with a longitudinal case study of Danone, a French food-processing company. We show that in the midst of conflicting injunctions, Danone adopted a multiphase strategy that consisted of proactively managing opponents in the short term to better impose CSR in the long term. During the different phases, decoupling actual from professed CSR was a key instrument to maintain organizational cohesion.

Corporate social responsibility practices incomes and outcomes: Stakeholders' pressure, culture, employee commitment, corporate reputation, and brand performance. A Polish–German cross‐country study

“…As Marais, Reynaud, and Vilanova's (2018) study of the Danone brand shows, employee job satisfaction is an important moderator that bolsters the effect of CSR practice on employee identification and company reputation. A moderator is a variable that moderates the impact of one variable on another (Hayes, 2018).…”

“…A moderator is a variable that moderates the impact of one variable on another (Hayes, 2018). In 2015, Danone ranked first among French companies in the survey of global employee satisfaction, including CSR issues (Marais et al, 2018;UDA, 2015).…”

“…A moderator is a variable that moderates the impact of one variable on another (Hayes, 2018). In 2015, Danone ranked first among French companies in the survey of global employee satisfaction, including CSR issues (Marais et al, 2018;UDA, 2015). Thus, job satisfaction is a "climate variable" that supports companies' desired outcomes, such as strong employee engagement and corporate brand reputation.…”

Legitimizing a Diversity Policy in a Challenging Environment: A Case Study of a French Business School

“…While strategies of decoupling and impression management have been discussed critically in the business and society literature (Palazzo and Richter, 2005;Weaver et al, 1999), they appear in this case to be key instruments for managing the inevitable imbalance of stakeholder interests and building organizational cohesion around the development of a renewed business school model. In the midst of competing injunctions, manipulation strategies enabled the top managers to reassure the stakeholders that felt threatened by potential tensions between social and economic benefits (Marais et al, 2018). Indeed, the tensions around cognitive legitimacy identified by our case study may be derived from the need to articulate the social equality perspective supported by the institutional context with the business case perspective due to market conditions.…”

L'alimentation pour se relier à soi

“…Ce statut ne génère aucune contrainte sur la redistribution des dividendes ou sur la politique salariale, au contraire de l'ESS. Et le risque subsiste qu'en continuant de privilégier le rendement financier, les objectifs sociaux et environnementaux soient marginalisés et empêchent la création d'un impact sociétal véritable (Marais et al, 2020). Il n'empêche que cette loi marque une évolution vers la reconnaissance de la responsabilité sociale et environnementale des entreprises, même si les conditions de sa mise en oeuvre et son véritable impact posent encore question (Morteo et Tchotourian, 2019).…”