Abstract
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) attributes economic, legal, social, and philanthropic responsibilities within the corporate sector. Sustainable financial social responsibility is primarily addressed by socially responsible investment (SRI). This chapter addresses the concepts of CSR and SRI in emerging markets and the developing world with special attention to top-down and bottom-up approaches. Theoretical descriptions discuss the human constituents of responsibility and the international emergence of CSR, with special attention to multi-stakeholder partnerships. The rise of SRI in the international arena in the wake of stakeholder activism and intrinsic socio-psychological motives are outlined. Recommendations target ingraining social responsibility in economic systems by global governance, multi-stakeholder management, and governmental assistance of the implementation and administration of corporate and financial social responsibility.
TopIntroduction
The 2008/09 World Financial Recession heralded the ‘Age of Responsibility’, as the societal call for responsible market behavior reached unprecedented momentum. Responsibility is part of human nature, and complements corporate activities and financial considerations. The economic, legal, social, and philanthropic responsibilities within the corporate sector are attributed in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Sustainable Financial Social Responsibility is primarily addressed by Socially Responsible Investment (SRI). Globalization, political changes and societal trends, but also the current state of the world economy, have leveraged a societal demand for ingraining responsibility into market systems.
Corporate and Financial Intergenerational Leadership explores corporate and financial social responsibility by the cases of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) in order to draw attention to contemporary and prospective future opportunities for intergenerational equity (Puaschunder 2011, 2015a, b, 2016b, c, f). Theoretical descriptions discuss the human constituents of responsibility and the international emergence of CSR, with special attention to multi-stakeholder partnerships. The rise of SRI in the international arena in the wake of stakeholder activism and intrinsic socio-psychological motives are outlined.
Recommendations target ingraining social responsibility in economic systems by global governance, multi-stakeholder management, and governmental assistance of the implementation and administration of corporate and financial social responsibility. Transparency and accountability are key for monitoring corporate and financial social responsibility. As for the ongoing adaptation and adoption of CSR and SRI in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, future research must attribute the newly-defined role of social responsibility in the interplay of public and private actors, given concurrent anti-globalization trends.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Financial Social Leadership: SRI appears as a window of opportunity for implementing financial social responsibility whilst re-establishing trust in financial markets.
Accountability: Accountability refers to the expectation of having to justify actions to others (Lerner & Tetlock, 1994 AU114: The in-text citation "Lerner & Tetlock, 1994" is not in the reference list. Please correct the citation, add the reference to the list, or delete the citation. ). Accountability provides an external quality control feedback by public and private actors periodically monitoring corporate social contributions. Civil society must maintain a watch-dog function on corporate social impacts and thereby implicitly supervise the CSR implementation.
Transparency: Transparent corporate conduct is ensured by governmental legal obligations (e.g., freedom of information legislation), the removal of industrial information transfer barriers, economic incentives, stakeholder campaigns and CSR reporting. Information disclosure will help verify the quality and accuracy of CSR conduct. As the basis for monitoring and benchmarking, transparent CSR information will help identify areas for improvement, grow the confidence of the stakeholder community, and therefore secure investment capital.
United Nations Global Compact (UNGC): The United Nations Global Compact is a non-binding United Nations pact to encourage businesses worldwide to adopt sustainable and socially responsible policies, and to report on their implementation.
Financial Social Responsibility: Is primarily addressed by socially responsible investment (SRI), which embraces the social, ethical and economic dimensions of financial allocation strategies.
Public-Private-Partnerships (PPPs): Involve collaboration between a government agency and a private-sector company that can be used to finance, build, and operate public projects. In the international arena, PPP-administered CSR should be backed up by international organizations.
Corporate Social Engagement: Paying attention to strategic opportunities and risks of societal challenges, CSR departments must assign leaders to adopt social responsibility policies, integrate social responsibility in corporate mission plans, and assist the implementation of ethical codes of conduct. Corporate leaders must promote a shared CSR vision and provide responsible leadership throughout the corporation and supply chain. At the operational level, the integration of CSR must be guided by action plans on day-to-day corporate social practices.