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Though Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a frequently discussed and a pivotal topic
in business ethics, literature shows that its definition has undergone significant changes to
be compared to an `evolution' (Min-Dong, 2008). Because of changed perception of the role
and obligation of business, CSR, which initially was considered to be tantamount to
occasional charity work and philanthropy by the business, has gained both depth and width in
connotation and has emerged as a complex, multilayered concept. Carroll's famous three
dimensional conceptual model of CSR (Carroll, 1979) depicted the multilayered nature of CSR as
something over and above meeting the basic economic and legal responsibilities. He cited The
Committee for Economic Development (CED) report and a model of three concentric circles to define
this layered nature of CSR in his subsequent writing (Carroll, 1999). The basic responsibilities
for the efficient execution of the economic function; namely, products, jobs and economic
growth, was considered as the inner circle or the core responsibilities; the responsibility to express
this economic function with a sense of awareness of changing social values with the
necessary priorities was considered as intermediate layer of duties: for example, with respect
to environmental conservation; hiring and relations with employees; fair treatment, and
protection from injury. The outer circle stood for the next level of responsibility of business to meet
the new challenges for actively improving the social environment.
Freeman's Stakeholder Theory enabled the further expansion of CSR with its
wide interpretation of the term `stakeholder' (Freeman, 1984). The impact of business activities
on all those who are `affected': for better or for worse, became an integral part of
understanding the social responsibilities of corporations. Freeman brought to our attention the fact that
the business operations not only affect the usual participants in business such as
suppliers, employees, stockholders, dealers, consumers, but also the other not-so-obvious
important participants such as government, political groups, associations of commerce, trade
unions, other corporations, and the society at large. Thus, by identifying the different
stakeholder groups and the need to protect their different interests, Freeman's stakeholder concept
has helped to enlarge the scope of corporate responsibility |
