Corporate and Financial Social Leadership in Emerging Markets and the Developing World

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). 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. 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. 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.