The structural contradictions and constraints on corporate social responsibility: Challenges for corporate social irresponsibility

Book chapter


Nunn, Alex 2012. The structural contradictions and constraints on corporate social responsibility: Challenges for corporate social irresponsibility. in: Emerald.
AuthorsNunn, Alex
Abstract

Purpose - This chapter engages critically with the ideas of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and irresponsibility (CSI) in order to examine their utility for the purposes of realizing more socially just and environmentally sustainable social and economic practices. Methodology/approach - The chapter develops Marx's understanding of the twin pressures of class struggle and inter-capitalist competition in setting the limits of agency for corporate actors. It is thus theoretical and discursive in nature. Findings - The findings of the chapter suggest that the scope for corporate agency in relation to responsibility/irresponsibility is severely limited by inter-capitalist competition and capitalist social relations. It therefore argues that those interested in social justice and environmental sustainability should focus on these structural pressures rather than theorizing corporate agency. Social implications - The research suggests that the focus of academic and government attention should be on resolving the contradictions and exploitative social relations inherent in capitalism. Without this emphasis activism, corporate agency and government action will not eradicate the types of problem that advocates of CSR/CSI are concerned about. Originality/value of paper - The value of the paper is that it contests and engages critically with the utility of the notion of CSR and the emergent concept of CSI. It asks proponents of these concepts to think seriously about the structural pressures and constraints within which business and policy makers act. Copyrightr © 2012 by Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

KeywordsCapitalist social relations; Class struggle; Corporate social irresponsibility; Inter-capitalist competition; Social justice
Year2012
PublisherEmerald
ISBN9781780529981
ISSN20439059
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1108/S2043-9059(2012)0000004012
Web address (URL)http://hdl.handle.net/10545/621510
hdl:10545/621510
Publication dates2012
Publication process dates
Deposited23 Mar 2017, 15:25
ContributorsLeeds Beckett University
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