The Meaning and Meaningfulness of Corporate Social Initiatives
نویسندگان
چکیده
In response to pressures to be more “socially responsible,” corporations are becoming more active in global communities through direct involvement in social initiatives. Critics, however, question the sincerity of these activities and argue that firms are simply attempting to stave off stakeholder pressures without providing a corresponding benefit to society. By drawing on institutional theory and resource dependence theory, we consider what factors influence the adoption of a “meaningful” social initiative—an initiative that is sustainable and has the potential for a significant positive impact on society— as opposed to a symbolic initiative. In addition, we raise the question of how social initiatives—both meaningful and symbolic—participate in the “institutional war” over the meaning of corporate social responsibility. T he pressure on firms to be “socially responsible” continuously increases and originates from a range of stakeholder groups, including customers, communities, employees, governments, David Hess is with the Ross School of Business, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan. Danielle E. Warren is with the Rutgers Business School, Newark and New Brunswick, Newark New Jersey. 164 BUSINESS AND SOCIETY REVIEW and shareholders (Sethi 2003a). Walsh and colleagues (2003: 875) go so far as to state, “Attending to social welfare may soon match economic performance as a condition for securing resources and legitimacy.” Corporations have responded to this pressure in a variety of ways. An important and evolving response is the adoption of social initiatives designed to improve the well-being of the corporation’s global communities. These social initiatives are well beyond traditional philanthropic activities. Corporations are not simply providing cash donations to nonprofit organizations but are directly involved in, and provide significant resources to, their community projects (Alperson 1996, 1998; Hess et al. 2002). The nature of these initiatives reflects the growing outlook among stakeholders that “people need help solving their problems, not just money” (Hess et al. 2002: 113). Social initiatives, however, are not without controversy. Corporate critics question the sincerity of these activities and argue that firms are simply attempting to stave off stakeholder pressures without providing a corresponding benefit to society (Bakan 2004; Christian Aid 2004; Green 2001; Lopatin 2004). By not making actual changes to corporate operations, community projects allow firms to continue “business as usual,” avoid new regulation, and hold off demands for changes that would be more beneficial to society. This is especially problematic if firms’ social initiatives in the community have little real impact on social welfare. Challenges by critics raise two different issues, one at the organizational level and one at the societal level. At the organizational level, firms that long used philanthropic activity as a way to improve their reputations may be using community-based social initiatives in a manner akin to “greenwashing” in environmental performance. That is, the positive public relations coverage provided by social initiatives deflects attention away from corporate practices that are harmful to society. At the societal level, these initiatives play a role in the debate over what it means for a corporation to be “socially responsible” and therefore have “legitimacy.” Corporate social initiatives shape this debate in favor of corporate interests by limiting “social responsibility” to simply voluntary community activities, and excluding greater (and mandatory) obligations to society (Shamir 2005). A review of corporate social reports provides some anecdotal evidence for both sets of issues. Social reports were envisioned as a
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