Frank den Hond

A bibliometric analysis of 30 years of research and theory on corporate social responsibility and corporate social performance

Social responsibilities of businesses and their managers have been discussed since the 1950s. Yet no consensus about progress has been achieved in the corporate social responsibility/corporate social performance literature. In this article, we seek to analyze three views on this literature. One view is that development occurred from conceptual vagueness, through clarification of central constructs and their relationships, to the testing of theory—a process supported by increased sophistication in research methods. In contrast, other authors claim that hardly any progress is to be expected because of the inherently normative character of the literature. A final view is that progress in the literature on the social responsibilities of business is obscured or even hampered by the continuing introduction of newconstructs. This article explores which of these three views better describes the evolution of the literature during a period of 30 years and suggests implications for further research.

Playing on Two Chessboards: Reputation Effects between Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Corporate Political Activity (CPA)

It has recently been argued that corporate social responsibility (CSR) is ‘political’. It has been neglected however, that firms also operate politically in a traditional sense, in seeking to secure favourable political conditions for their businesses. We argue that there are potential synergies between CSR and corporate political activity (CPA) that are often overlooked by firms and that recognition of these synergies will stimulate firms to align their CSR and CPA. We develop a conceptual model that specifies how various configurations of a firms CSR and CPA – alignment, misalignment, and non-alignment – affect the firms reputation beyond the separate reputation effects of CSR and CPA. This model has important implications for understanding how and why firms should pay attention to their CPA and CSR configurations, and thereby contributes to the broader issue of why firms should make sure that they are consistent in terms of responding to stakeholder concerns.

Social Movements, Civil Society and Corporations: Taking Stock and Looking Ahead

The relationships between social movements and civil society on the one hand, and the corporate world on the other hand, are often shaped by conflict over the domination of economic, cultural and social life. How this conflict plays out, in current as well as in historical times and places, is the central question that unites the papers in this special issue. In this essay, we review the differences and points of contact between the study of social movements, civil society and corporations, and offer an agenda for future research at this intersection that also frames the papers in the special issue. We suggest that three research areas are becoming increasingly important: the blurring of the three empirical domains and corresponding opportunities for theoretical integration, the institutional and cultural embeddedness of strategic interaction processes between agents, and the consequences of contestation and collaboration. The papers in this special issue are introduced in how they speak to these questions.

Playing on two chessboards

It has recently been argued that corporate social responsibility (CSR) is ‘political’. It has been neglected however, that firms also operate politically in a traditional sense, in seeking to secure favourable political conditions for their businesses. We argue that there are potential synergies between CSR and corporate political activity (CPA) that are often overlooked by firms and that recognition of these synergies will stimulate firms to align their CSR and CPA. We develop a conceptual model that specifies how various configurations of a firms CSR and CPA – alignment, misalignment, and non-alignment – affect the firms reputation beyond the separate reputation effects of CSR and CPA. This model has important implications for understanding how and why firms should pay attention to their CPA and CSR configurations, and thereby contributes to the broader issue of why firms should make sure that they are consistent in terms of responding to stakeholder concerns.

The Political Ecology of Automobile Recycling in Europe

This paper addresses the relationship between organizations and the natural environment from both theoretical and empirical perspectives. In doing so, it contributes in three ways. First, it satisfies the need for more political perspectives in environment-related research. Second, by analyzing the end-of-life vehicle issue that the European automobile industry addressed in the 1990s, the paper satisfies the need of developing research that integrates organizational and field-level analysis. Finally, the use of the political ecology framework for the analysis of the end-of-life vehicle issue contributes to the development of a more politically charged institutional theory in which, as the study shows, both inertia and change in organizational fields depend on circuits of political ecology.

What Prompts Companies to Collaboration With NGOs? Recent Evidence From the Netherlands

This article examines the factors that influence the propensity of corporations to engage with NGOs. Drawing from resource dependency theory (RDT) and related theories of social networks and the resource-based view of the firm, the authors develop a series of hypotheses that draw from this conceptual foundation to predict a range of factors that influence firms to collaborate with NGOs. These factors include the level of commitment of the firm to CSR, the strategic fit between the firm’s and the NGO’s resources, the level of trust the firm has in NGOs, the frequency of contact with NGOs, prior level and perception of experience with NGOs, and the level of pressure exerted by NGOs. The authors report on results of a survey of the Top 500 firms in the Netherlands on their interactions with NGOs, finding general support for our hypotheses, and suggest that understanding the motives for firm–NGO interactions can teach us more about firms’ corporate social activities and the way such activities are shaped in the dynamic interplay between firms and their stakeholders. Our findings are relevant for future research on cross-sectoral interactions, for corporations considering future relationships with NGO cohorts, and for broader questions about the role of stakeholders and the role of business in society.

Activists' influence tactics and corporate policies

CORPORATIONS INCREASINGLY PAY attention to issues of social responsibility, but their policies and procedures to articulate such responsibilities are not just a result of the good will of top management. Often, such policies and procedures are devised because some stakeholders raised their voice on issues relating to the interests of employees, investors, governments, and others. One category of visible though heterogeneous stakeholders is composed of “activist groups.” In this article, we present a range of tactics that activist groups employ to influence corporate policy and conclude with some corporate policy responses to these tactics, illustrated with some examples.

A research note on the use of bibliometrics to review the corporate social responsibility and corporate social performance literature

Recently, the authors presented a bibliometric analysis of research and theory on corporate social responsibility and corporate social performance, which included a list of frequently cited articles in these fields. This list caused some questions, and therefore this research note aims to supplement and discuss the findings presented in the original study to (a) explain the composition of the dataset used, (b) highlight some problems pertaining to bibliometric research, and (c) underline why such studies nevertheless are useful, also in business and society research.

Beyond greening: new dialogue and new approaches for developing sustainability

The Sixth International Conference of the Greening of Industry Network, Developing Sustainability: New Dialogue, New Approaches, was held in Santa Barbara, CA, USA, 16–19 November 1997. This special edition of Business Strategy and the Environment attempts to capture the dialogue from the conference by presenting seven edited papers from the conference, a review of the conferences objectives and achievements from the perspective of the conference organizers, and this introductory essay. Each of the seven papers takes a different cut at theoretical, empirical and methodological questions around the focus of the conference. Together they represent the diversity and creativity of approach that is central to the conferences objective of establishing new dialogue on processes of greening and progress towards sustainable development. The organization of the conference and significant conference highlights, such as the incorporation of CERES into the organization of the conference, and the expansion of the Network into Asia, are reviewed by the conference organizers in this special edition (Fatkin and Fischer, 1998). This essay discusses new dialogues and new approaches to industrial transformation emerging from Santa Barbara.

The sequential patterning of tactics

Purpose – Activist groups apply a range of tactics in order to improve labour conditions in the global sports and apparel industry. The accumulation of these tactics leads to the build‐up of pressure on firms within this industry (brands, retailers) to change their policies and activities on labour issues in their supply chains. The purpose of this paper is to explore how activist groups instigate change within an industry.Design/methodology/approach – By re‐examining a series of previously published accounts, eight conflict situations in the global sports and apparel industry, involving Nike, Reebok and Adidas, were analysed.Findings – The paper demonstrates how an industry‐level approach is helpful in understanding how the sequential patterning of tactical choices evokes change in an industry. Studying activist groups’ tactics from this approach provides a richer understanding.Originality/value – The paper contributes to the growing literature on activists’ influence strategies in conflicts with firms a...