Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

The concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) comprises stakeholder expectations of the social, ethical, legal, and economic impacts of an organization. These expectations and the perceptions stakeholders have of an organization's corporate social responsibility are central outcomes of business planning, management and operations, →  Marketing , →  advertising , →  corporate communication , and →  public relations. Organizations seek to be perceived to be meeting their obligations to society, thereby gaining and maintaining a license to operate. Legitimacy is a major driver of corporate social responsibility ( Sethi 1979 ). Increasing their attractiveness to potential and existing employees, investors and investment fund managers, and consumers is another motivation for organizations to adopt CSR principles. As such, CSR forms a central charter for public relations in communicating and creating mutual understanding, managing potential conflicts, and to achieving organizational legitimacy (→  Corporate Reputation ; Organizational Image ). CSR is studied from communication, management, legal, ethical, and political perspectives. These various strands of research focus on the ethical and moral rationales for organizations, the institutional pressures from legal, economic, and political imperatives, and the management of perceptions about the alignment of organizational practice ... log in or subscribe to read full text