Corporate Social Responsibility In Europe - Rhetoric and Realities

The acid test of corporate social responsibility (CSR) is simply this: does it lead to positive impacts on society and the environment or is it just rhetoric? And if it does lead to positive impacts, how can these be enhanced? This timely book tackles this cutting-edge challenge by presenting empirical findings from a range of surveys and in-depth case studies. These build on a new methodological and theoretical framework for assessing and explaining the sustainability impact of CSR. For selected sustainability issues – mitigation of climate change and chemical risk, resource management in marine fisheries, promotion of gender equality and countering of bribery – and within different European industries, the authors show that the rhetoric of CSR is still stronger than its reality. They do so by investigating into CSR practices which encompass the creation of a vision on CSR, its strategic and operative implementation and its organisational and cultural embedding within companies and their supply chains. The authors conclude that the reality of CSR is strong enough to allow for some rhetoric. They name intra- and extra-company success factors for, and limits of, producing sustainability impacts through CSR. Finally, they discuss its contribution to achieving public policy goals and the governance paradigms that are necessary to make CSR effective. The volume successfully combines a business and public policy perspective, based on an interdisciplinary approach. This book will be invaluable for both students and researchers interested in the effects of CSR, and will prove a useful tool for policy-makers and CSR practitioners alike.

Foreword PART I: ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK 1. Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability Impact: Opening up the Arena Regine Barth and Franziska Wolff 2. A Framework for Assessing the Sustainability Impact of CSR Jon Birger Skjærseth and Jørgen Wettestad 3. A Framework for Explaining the Sustainability Impact of CSR Federica Viganò, Franziska Wolff and Daniele Nicolai PART II: MAPPING CSR: SURVEY DATA ON SELECTED ISSUES IN FOUR SECTORS 4. Introduction to the Surveys Katharina Schmitt 5. CSR in the European Oil Sector: A Mapping of Company Perceptions Elin Lerum Boasson, Jørgen Wettestad and Maria Bohn 6. CSR in the European Fish Processing Industry: Not Just Fishing for Compliments Katharina Schmitt and Franziska Wolff 7. CSR in the European Banking Sector: Evidence from a Survey Federica Viganò and Daniele Nicolai 8. Driving on CSR: SMEs in the Automotive Supply Chain Tamás Pálvölgyi, János Szlávik, Noémi Csigéné Nagypál, Miklós Füle and Mária Csete 9. CSR Practices Across Four Sectors: A Synthesis of the Surveys Katharina Schmitt PART III: ASSESSING AND EXPLAINING THE SUSTAINABILITY IMPACT OF CSR: CASE STUDY FINDINGS 10. Standardized CSR and Climate Performance: Why is Shell Willing, but Hydro Reluctant? Elin Lerum Boasson and Jørgen Wettestad 11. In Hunt for Sustainable Seafood: Sustainability Effects of CSR in Three Fish Processing Companies Franziska Wolff and Katharina Schmitt 12. CSR for Gender Equality: A New Approach for Dealing with Long-Standing Inequalities? Insights from Two Banks Irmgard Schultz 13. Banking on Integrity: CSR Helps Counter Bribery and Money Laundering in Two Banks Peter Wilkinson 14. CSR Effects Across Four Issue Areas: A Synthesis of the Case Studies Franziska Wolff PART IV: CSR AND PUBLIC POLICY 15. CSR and Public Policy: Mutually Reinforcing for Sustainable Development? Franziska Wolff, Maria Bohn, Irmgard Schultz and Peter Wilkinson 16. Striking Oil? CSR and the EU Integration Processes: The Example of Hungary Tamás Pálvölgyi, Noémi Csigéné Nagypál, János Szlávik, Hajnalka Csáfor and Mária Csete 17. Rhetoric and Realities in CSR: Main Findings and Implications for Public Policy and Research Franziska Wolff, Regine Barth, Christian Hochfeld and Katharina Schmitt References Index