Corporate Social Responsibility: Historical Overview and Conceptual Framework
Abstract
The emergence of unprecedented socio-environmental challenges has highlighted the need for a profound transformation of traditional business models. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has emerged as an essential framework for addressing these challenges, by integrating ethical, social and environmental considerations into business practices. This article explores the evolution and significance of CSR, examining its historical roots, theoretical and conceptual foundations. The study begins by tracing the origins of CSR, exploring its ethical and religious foundations within the broader context of “Business and Society”. It then analyzes the historical development of CSR, highlighting the various conceptual approaches that have shaped its understanding over time. Finally, the article examines the key stages in the evolution of CSR, synthesizing its various definitions into an overarching framework for sustainable business practices.
References
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[53] Werther Jr, W. B. and Chandler, D. 2005. Strategic corporate social responsibility as global brand insurance. Business Horizons, 48(4): 317-324.
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[55] ISO, (2010): ISO 26000 standard: "Organizational Social Responsibility". ISO editions
[2] Baumol, W. J. 1970. Corporate social responsibility and performance. Journal of Business Ethics, 1(2): 11-21.
[3] Benaicha, O. 2017. La diffusion de la RSE dans les entreprises au Maroc: Facteurs déterminants, rôles et interactions des acteurs. Casablanca, Morocco: Casablanca Lab Rech en Manag ISCAE.
[4] Bowen, H.R. 1953. Social Responsibilities of the Business.
[5] Burke, L., and Logsdon, J. M. 1996. How corporate social responsibility pays off. Long range planning, 29(4): 495-502.
[6] Carroll, A. B. 2008. A history of corporate social responsibility: Concepts and practices. In. A. Crane, A. McWilliams, D. Matten, J. Moon, & D. S. Siegel (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of corporate social responsibility: 19-46. New York: Oxford University Press.
[7] Carroll, A. B. 1979. A three-dimensional conceptual model of corporate performance. Academy of management review, 4(4): 497-505.
[8] Carroll, A. B. 1999. Corporate social responsibility: Evolution of a definitional construct. Business & society, 38(3): 268-295.
[9] Carroll, A. B. 2015. Corporate social responsibility: The center piece of competing and complementary frameworks. Organizational dynamics.
[10] Chandler, D. 2022. Strategic corporate social responsibility: Sustainable value creation. Sage Publications.
[11] Chandler, D. B., and Werther, W. B. 2013. Strategic CSR: Stakeholders, globalization, and sustainable value creation.
[12] Clark, J. M. 1939. Social control of business. New York: McGraw-Hill.
[13] Cochran P.L. and Wood R.A. 1984. Corporate Social Responsibility and Financial Performance. Academy of Management Journal, 27: 42-56.
[14] Davis, K. 1960. Can business afford to ignore social responsibilities? California management review, 2(3): 70-76.
[15] Davis, K. 1973. The case for and against business assumption of social responsibilities. Academy of Management journal, 16(2): 312-322.
[16] Donaldson, T., and Preston, L. E. 1995. The stakeholder theory of the corporation: Concepts, evidence, and implications. Academy of management Review, 20(1): 65-91.
[17] Du Pisani, J. A. 2006. Sustainable development–historical roots of the concept. Environmental sciences, 3(2): 83-96.
[18] Elkington, J. 1994. Towards the sustainable corporation: Win-win-win business strategies for sustainable development. California management review, 36(2): 90-100.
[19] Elkington, J. 1998. Partnerships from cannibals with forks: The triple bottom line of 21st‐century business. Environmental quality management, 8(1): 37-51.
[20] Feldstein, M. 2013. An Interview with Paul Volcker. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 27(4): 105-120.
[21] Frederick, W. C. 1960. The new social responsibility of the American businessman. California management review, 2(4): 68-73.
[22] Freeman R. E. 1984. Strategy Management: A stakeholder Approach. Pitman, Boston.
[23] Freeman, R. E., and McVea, J. 2005. A stakeholder approach to strategic management. The Blackwell handbook of strategic management, 183-201.
[24] Friedman M. 1970. The social responsibility of business is to increase its profits. New York Times Magazine. 13 septembre: 32-33, 122-124.
[25] Friedman, A. L., and Miles, S. 2002. Developing stakeholder theory. Journal of management studies, 39(1): 1-21.
[26] Friedman, G. M. 1962. On sorting, sorting coefficients, and the lognormality of the grain-size distribution of sandstones. The Journal of Geology, 70(6): 737-753.
[27] Harrison, B. 1966. Philanthropy and the Victorians. Victorian Studies, 9(4): 353–374.
[28] Heald, M. 1970. The Social Responsibility of Business: Company and Community 1900 1960. Press of Case Western Reserve Universit, Cleveland.
[29] Heslin, P. A., and Ochoa, J. D. 2008. Understanding and developing strategic corporate social responsibility. Organizational Dynamics, 37: 125-144.
[30] Husted, B. W., and Allen, D. B. 2007. Strategic corporate social responsibility and value creation among large firms: lessons from the Spanish experience. Long range planning, 40(6): 594-610.
[31] Jones, T. M. 1980. Corporate Social Responsibility Revisited, Redefined. California Management Review, 22 (3): 59-67.
[32] Kramer, M. R. and Porter, M. 2011. Creating shared value (Vol. 17). Boston, MA, USA: FSG.
[33] Kramer, M. R., and Porter, M. E. 2006. Strategy and society: The link between competitive advantage and corporate social responsibility. Harvard business review, 84(12): 78-92.
[34] Lantos, G. P. 2001. The boundaries of strategic corporate social responsibility. Journal of consumer marketing, 18(7): 595-632.
[35] Lee, K. H. 2008. Corporate social responsibility: Theories and perspectives. London: Sage Publications.
[36] Manne, H. G. 1956. Corporation Giving in a Free Society.
[37] McGuire, J. W. 1963. Business and society. New York: McGraw-hill.
[38] Pillay, R. 2015. The changing nature of corporate social responsibility: CSR and development–the case of Mauritius. Routledge.
[39] Preston L., Post J.E. 1975. Private management and public policy: the principles of public responsibility, Englewood Cliffs Prentice-Hall, New Jersey.
[40] Selekman, B.M. 1959. A Moral Philosophy for Management. McGraw-Hill, New York, NY.
[41] Sethi, A. K. 1975. Toward conceptualizing corporate social responsibility. Business and Society Review, 10(2): 43-51.
[42] Smith, N. C. 2001. Ethical guidelines for marketing practice: A reply to Gaski & some observations on the role of normative marketing ethics. Journal of Business Ethics, 32: 3-18.
[43] Strand, R 1983. A systems paradigm of organizational adaptations to the social environment. Academy of Management Review, 8: 90-96.
[44] Swanson, D. L. 1995. Addressing a theoretical problem by reorienting the corporate social performance model. Academy of management review, 20(1): 43-64.
[45] Trapp, N. L. 2012. Corporation as climate ambassador: Transcending business sector boundaries in a Swedish CSR campaign. Public Relations Review, 38(3): 458-465.
[46] Tuzzolino, F., & Armandi, B. R. 1981. A need-hierarchy framework for assessing corporate social responsibility. Academy of management review, 6(1): 21-28.
[47] Van Marrewijk, M. 2003. Concepts and definitions of CSR and corporate sustainability: Between agency and communion. Journal of business ethics, 44(2): 95-105.
[48] Votaw, D. 1973. The social responsibility of business: A critical inquiry. New York: Harper & Row.
[49] Walton, C. E. 1967. Corporate social responsibilities in the developing economy. International journal of social economics, 4(1): 1-24.
[50] Wankel, C. (Ed.). 2008. 21st century management: a reference handbook (Vol. 1). Sage.
[51] Wartick S. L. and Cochran P. L. 1985. The evolution of the corporate performance model. Academy of Management Review, 10(4): 758-769.
[52] Waterhouse, B. C. 2017. The personal, the political and the profitable: Business and protest culture, 1960s-1980s. Financial History, Spring: 14–17.
[53] Werther Jr, W. B. and Chandler, D. 2005. Strategic corporate social responsibility as global brand insurance. Business Horizons, 48(4): 317-324.
[54] Wood D. J. 1991b. Social Issues in Management: Theory and Research in Corporate Social Performance. Journal of Management, 17 (2): 383-406.
[55] ISO, (2010): ISO 26000 standard: "Organizational Social Responsibility". ISO editions
Published
2025-02-28
How to Cite
EL BADRI, Lamia et al.
Corporate Social Responsibility: Historical Overview and Conceptual Framework.
Journal of Environmental Management and Tourism, [S.l.], v. 16, n. 1, p. 68 - 79, feb. 2025.
ISSN 2068-7729.
Available at: <https://journals.aserspublishing.eu/jemt/article/view/8749>. Date accessed: 28 mar. 2025.
doi: https://doi.org/10.14505/jemt.v16.1(77).05.
Section
Article
Copyright© 2025 The Author(s). Published by ASERS Publishing 2025. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of CC-BY 4.0 license.