The research aims to analyze the different theoretical perspectives under which corporate social responsibility (CSR) has been analyzed. Based on the narrative review conducted, five motivations have been identified that drive the implementation of CSR practices: (1) the alignment of interests between agents and principal, (2) the satisfaction of stakeholder demands, (3) compliance with the institutional context, (4) obtaining a competitive advantage, and (5) maintaining congruence between the objectives of society and the objectives of the organization. These objectives are not mutually exclusive, but complementary. Thus, the reason why organizations develop CSR practices can be an accumulation of the five factors mentioned above.
TopIntroduction
It is understood that the adoption of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) criteria in business management entails the formalization of policies and management systems in the economic, social and environmental fields; also, informative transparency with respect to the results achieved in these fields; and, finally, external scrutiny of the same. In this sense, it is said that organizations exercise their social responsibility when they pay attention to the expectations that the different stakeholders have regarding their behavior, with the ultimate purpose of contributing to a socially and environmentally sustainable and economically viable development (Lindgreen & Swaen, 2010; Velte, 2021).
By stakeholders, interested parties, or participants, we usually mean, in a broad sense, any individual, group or organization that can affect or may be affected by the company's activities; in a narrower version, the identifiable and relevant individuals, groups or entities on which the firm depends for its survival (Baxi & Ray, 2012). The CSR management model proposes that the articulation of the expectations of the various stakeholders involved in the business activity results in better anticipation of risks and, ultimately, in the stable creation of shareholder value (Okafor et al., 2021). The adoption of the CSR philosophy by companies begins with the adoption of formal policies and management systems in the economic, social and environmental fields, transparency of information on the results achieved in these fields and, finally, external scrutiny of the results (Ye et al., 2020).
CSR seems to be gaining international importance. Its observance by companies conditions access to certain segments of the capital market and tends to influence the market value of shares. This is evidenced by the involvement of organizations such as the European Union (EU), the United Nations (UN) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and the perception on the part of large institutional investors that CSR is a good indicator of the quality of corporate management and governance practices. In recent times, the debate on CSR has moved into the realm of public policy, especially the role to be played by public authorities in promoting the CSR philosophy. Many governments in the advanced economies have adopted formal policies for disseminating the corporate culture of CSR, on the understanding that it can favor the competitive advantages of companies in certain markets, channel their activities in emerging or developing countries, or provide access to certain segments of the capital market (Singh & Misra, 2021).
To a certain extent, the CSR philosophy is understood to be opposed to the philosophy of creating shareholder value, advocated by Friedman, as the ultimate goal of business activity (Sánchez‐Torné et al., 2020). This conception of creating shareholder value is reductionist in comparison with the philosophy underlying the concept of CSR (stakeholder value), which sees the company as an organization called upon to play an active role in shaping society, whose mission should be to create value for stakeholders beyond the shareholder. This philosophy goes further: the creation of value for the various stakeholders results in greater value creation for the shareholder. Following the impact of the pathogen on all economic sectors worldwide, CSR and the fulfillment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by organizations is becoming increasingly necessary to achieve economic, social and environmental well-being (Marco-Lajara et al., 2021a; Marco-Lajara et al., 2021b; Marco-Lajara et al., 2021c; Marco-Lajara et al., 2022a; Marco-Lajara et al., 2022b; Marco-Lajara et al., 2022c; Marco-Lajara et al., 2022d; Marco-Lajara et al., 2022e; Marco-Lajara et al., 2022f; Marco-Lajara et al., 2022g; Marco-Lajara et al., 2022h; Marco-Lajara et al., 2022i; Marco-Lajara et al., 2022j; Marco-Lajara et al., 2022k; Marco-Lajara et al., 2022l; Marco-Lajara et al., 2022m; Marco-Lajara et al., 2022n; Marco-Lajara et al., 2022o; Seva-Larrosa et al., 2022). The aim of this research is to find out under what theoretical perspectives CSR has been analyzed, given that its study has received little attention in academic literature. In this way, the study allows us to learn about the different arguments that exist to justify the implementation of CSR.