Corporate Social Responsibility in Family Versus Non-Family Enterprises: An Exploratory Study
This chapter studies the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) motivations and CSR actions in 25 selected teaching cases, especially in the light of the distinction between family and non-family enterprises. A literature-based researc
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Corporate Social Responsibility in Family Versus Non-Family Enterprises: An Exploratory Study Giovanna Campopiano, Alfredo De Massis and Lucio Cassia
Abstract
This chapter studies the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) motivations and CSR actions in 25 selected teaching cases, especially in the light of the distinction between family and non-family enterprises. A literature-based research framework is developed to classify the research findings and support a direct and easier identification of the resulting patterns emerging from our study. A cross-case analysis allows us to point out not only the evidence of the behavioural practices adopted by firms, but also of the causal link between the CSR motivations and actions, identifying four main emerging patterns in the behaviour of firms investing in CSR.
6.1
Introduction
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is currently at the centre of a debate among scholars from all over the world. A long debate took place on the definition of what is meant by CSR. Carroll (1999) traces back the evolution of the concept and definition of CSR to the early 50s. Friedman (1970) is extremely critical with respect to the purpose of CSR. According to his view, the only social responsibility G. Campopiano (&) A. De Massis L. Cassia University of Bergamo, Bergamo, Italy e-mail: [email protected] A. De Massis e-mail: [email protected] L. Cassia e-mail: [email protected]
A. Lundström et al. (eds.), Social Entrepreneurship, International Studies in Entrepreneurship, DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-01396-1_6, Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2014
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of business is to increase profits by legal means, since only people can have responsibilities, not businesses. Companies can face decreasing profitability, increasing prices or both, while using organizational resources for the greater good, such as in donations to charities (Snider et al. 2003). One of the most frequent perspectives used to study CSR is stakeholder theory, whose object of analysis is the relationship between the firm and its stakeholders— any group or individual who can affect or is affected by the achievement of the organization’s objectives (Freeman 1984). When a firm engages in actions that further some social good, beyond compliance and legal requirements, it can be considered to be CSR (Székely and Knirsch 2005; McWilliams and Siegel 2001). These situations lead the firm to look to sustainability, defined as the attempt to satisfy the needs of current generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their demands and aspirations (Brønn and Vidaver-Cohen 2009). CSR incorporates two main elements: the relationship with firm’s stakeholders, whose trust the company would gain (Lamberti and Lettieri 2011; Freeman 1984); and the contribution of the enterprise to the welfare of society, not only through economic value creation, but also concerning people (the social dimension) and our planet (the ecological dimen
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