Minimally speaking, law might be seen as passive compliance. As an inducement, society allows businesses to take profits. The business sample represented the full range of sectors, business types and levels. Differences have also been attributed to institutional conditions, for example, philanthropy has been proposed to be more important in developing countries that lack a well-developed welfare state Amaeshi et al. Falbe New York: Lexington Books, 1987 : 142ā161. Firm sizes ranged from micro with 250 employees 31 %. There is no significant difference in how the male and female respondents rate legal and economic responsibilities.
Further, the factor analysis conducted concluded that there are four empirically interrelated, but conceptually independent components of corporate social responsibility. Virtually all economic systems of the world recognize the vital importance to the societies of businesses making profits. Journal of Business Ethics, 15 2 , 199ā206. Learn more about how we can help your company with its philanthropic responsibilities, or. Journal of Business Ethics, 111 2 , 281ā299. To fulfill its perceived philanthropic responsibilities, companies engage in a variety of giving forms ā gifts of monetary resources, product and service donations, volunteerism by employees and management, community development and any other discretionary contribution to the community or stakeholder groups that make up the community.
For instance, Acar et al. Greenwashing Some critics believe that corporate social responsibility can be an exercise in futility. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 15, 1ā13. The introduction of energy efficiencies and waste recycling cuts operational costs and benefits the environment. The main problem with such a responsive strategy is, of course, that it is highly contingent and thus may lead to dual standards in the global market when dealing with stakeholders operating in different sociopolitical contexts. To some extent the philanthropic responsibilities are desired and expected by the society. In addition, legal responsibility is where companies are required to obey the laws and regulations set by the government or respected authorities.
The results indicate that this contention would be supported by those who believe the legal system is inadequate to protect public welfare. The overall picture from the empirical data is that there is clear agreement that legal responsibilities come before economic responsibilities. Journal of Business Systems, Governance and Ethics, 3 4 , 31. The assumption is, of course, that the raters are always able to rank each possible bundle in order of preference. The article concludes by looking to the future. Issues of data integrity with reference to the use of student contacts for cohort 1 may have occurred, although procedures were taken to minimise these by presenting no specific hypothesis, and allowing students to not contribute results with no penalty if difficulties were encountered.
This can be further supported by a case of Dodge v. Carroll is a Fellow of the Academy of Management, International Association for Business and Society, and Southern Management Association. The social and philanthropic responsibility would serve as a guideline for the business in the future. The distinction between legal and ethical expectations can often be tricky. The four different responsibilities - economical, legal, ethical and philanthropic are the layers of the pyramid.
Having said that, some businesses do give partially out of an ethical motivation. Corporate Social Responsibility: reinventing the meaning of development? How corporate social responsibility is defined: an analysis of 37 definitions. Legal responsibilities Society has not only sanctioned businesses as economic entities, but it has also established the minimal ground rules under which businesses are expected to operate and function. Also Corporations can't be moral agents. Business and society: environment and responsibility 3rd ed. As said before, economic and legal responsibilities are required; ethical and philanthropic responsibilities are expected and desired. In addition to what is required by laws and regulations, society expects businesses to operate and conduct their affairs in an ethical fashion.
Social responsibility lacks to determine the content of whats to be done, how much to be done. Finally, business is expected to be a good corporate citizen, that is, to give back and to contribute financial, physical, and human resources to the communities of which it is a part. . The pyramid should be seen as sustainable in that these responsibilities represent long term obligations that overarch into future generations of stakeholders as well. The move from the inner circle toward the outside represents the internalization of social norms that reside and operate within business itself as affirmative or positive duties. A stakeholder framework for analyzing and evaluating corporate social performance. Harvard Business Review, 80 12 , 49ā55.
Open AccessThis article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4. One may assume full responsibility and still make difficult decisions demanding high economic or social price. This widespread belief that allowing profit seeking businesses relative freedom to pursue their own interests is also to the benefit of society has been subject to numerous challenges, not only by political opponents of the free-market capitalism, but also increasingly by main stream commentators and indeed the general public, who have been witness and often victim to the destructive consequences of self-serving corporate activity Mattick ; Palmer et al. The soul of capitalism: Opening paths to a moral economy. These include globalization, institutionalization, reconciliation with profitability, and academic proliferation Carroll.