Corporate Social Responsibility

The role of corporations in society has been discussed for many decades. In the light of globalization, corporations are becoming more and more transnational, and the question of their responsibilities has been raised and discussed. In addition, climate change and unethical behavior (even if not against the law), as well as human rights discussions, have influenced the debate. Along with the shift from a mere shareholder point of view to a more integrative stakeholder point of view social and environmental responsibilities and the idea of sustainable development has entered the scene. On the one hand, the rule of thumb is: "Do no harm". On the other hand, corporations are also seen as an answer to the problems by living up to their social and environmental responsibilities.

The course discusses – with a particular focus on communication – latest trends in standardizing and reporting CSR, in implementing CSR, e.g., in supply chains, the role of the consumer and the threat of hypocrisy, and last but not least the philosophical foundations of CSR.

At the end, we open up the focus towards CSR and technology subsumed under the (latest) concept called Corporate Digital Responsibility.

Understanding the complex interplay between business and society
Understanding the background of sustainable development and corporate responsibility by major scandals
Different theoretical stances of CSR Theory
Best practices of CSR
Pitfalls of CSR: Greenwashing, Machinewashing, Wokewashing
Finally: Developing CSR Strategies for different corporate actors

In presenza

Lectures, case studies, workshops, dialogue

Attendance: encouraged

Exam 100 %

Required material
Core Readings

• Edward Freeman: Stakeholder Theory – The State of the Art (2010)

Further Readings

• Lock, Irina; Seele, Peter (2016): The credibility of CSR reports in Europe. Evidence from a quantitative content analysis in 11 countries. Journal of Cleaner Production. 122. 186-200. DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.02.060
• Porter, M.; Kramer, M.: Creating Shared Value. Harvard Business Review (2011) 63-77
• Scherer, Palazzo, and Baumann: Global Rules and Private Actors. Business Ethics Quarterly (2006) 16 (4): 505-532.
• Seele, Peter; Gatti, Lucia (2017): Greenwashing Revisited: In Search for a Typology and Accusation-based Definition Incorporating Legitimacy Strategies. Business Strategy and the Environment. DOI: 10.1002/bse.1912
• Werther and Chandler: Strategic CSR (2011) Ch.4,5 and 6
• Schwarz, M: CSR an Ethical Approach (2011)
• Kolk, A; Kourula, A; and Pisani, N. (2017) Multinational Enterprises and the Sustainable Development Goals: What Do We Know and How to Proceed? Transnational Corporations, 24(3), 9-32
• Loureiro, S; Guerreiro, J; Tussyadiah, I (2021) Artificial intelligence in business: State of the art and future research agenda Journal of Business Research Volume 129, 911-926