Abstract
The Social Responsibility movement has manifested itself through several triggers over the past few decades. These triggers contributed to humanity’s collective attention about seriously considering the ramifications of its behaviors affecting society on a short-term and long-term basis, including the unacceptable tendency to engage in practices for mere selfish gain. Reflecting on the positive trend of growing awareness, the Social Responsibility framework, through which individuals and organizations fulfill their moral duty to ensure society’s well-being, will be reviewed. Within that context, the guidance standards, ISO 26000, of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), will be reviewed. All of the above sets the stage of humanity’s concerted efforts to safeguard Planet Earth; hence, the “why.” In order to explain the “how,” this chapter evaluates the following core elements of a Socially Responsible framework: human rights, labor practices, the environment, fair operating practices, consumer issues, community involvement and development, and organizational governance. For each element, an exemplary corporate citizen will be reviewed. In its final stages, this chapter summarizes common leadership traits these corporate society members display toward the future, such as better decision making and more responsible overall management; greater trust from the public due to a better reputation; increased competitive strength; more constructive relationships with stakeholders; stronger innovations due to the connection with a broader base of stakeholders; improved employee retention, morale, and loyalty due to an increased emphasis on worker safety and well-being; increased fairness in trade and elimination of corrupt practices; solid bottom line thanks to improved effectiveness and efficiency; greater longevity of the organization due to its sustainable approaches; and better social ties with individuals, civic, and commercial entities overall.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
$5 million commitment names Ray C. Anderson Center for Sustainable Business. (January 30, 2015). Georgia Tech News Center. Retrieved from http://www.news.gatech.edu/2015/01/30/5-million-commitment-names-ray-c-anderson-center-sustainable-business.
Agrawal, A. J. (April 23, 2017). How to use social responsibility to appeal to generation Z. Forbes. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/ajagrawal/2017/04/23/how-to-use-social-responsibility-to-appeal-to-generation-z/#6cfa5024507a.
Amaeshi, K., Adegbite, E., Ogbechie, C., Idemudia, U., Kan, K., Issa, M., & Anakwue, O. (2016). Corporate social responsibility in SMEs: A shift from philanthropy to institutional works? Journal of Business Ethics, 138(2), 385–400.
American National Standard: Guidance on social responsibility. (January 17, 2011). American Society for Quality. Retrieved from http://asq.org/learn-about-quality/learn-about-standards/iso-26000/.
Anderson, R. (2007). Doing well by doing good. In D. Church (Ed.), Einstein’s business: Engaging soul, imagination, and excellence in the workplace. Santa Rosa: Elite Books.
Anderson, R. C. (2010). Earth day, then and now. Sustainability: The Journal of Record, 73–74.
Anderson, G. (July 30, 2013). Why are trader Joe’s customers the most satisfied in America? Forbes. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/retailwire/2013/07/30/why-are-trader-joes-customers-the-most-satisfied-in-america/#7fa92eda1ea0.
ASQ and Manpower Professional. (2011). Social responsibility and the quality professional: The implications of ISO 26000. asq.org/2011/02/iso-26000/social-responsibility-and-the-quality-professional-the-implications-of-iso-26000.pdf.
ASQ’s New SR Integration Guide Pathways to Social Responsibility: Successful Practices for Sustaining the Future (April 2014). Retrieved from http://asq.org/2014/04/social-responsibility/pathways-2014.pdf, pp. 20–21.
Blowfield, M., & Frynas, J. G. (2005). Editorial: Setting new agendas – Critical perspectives on corporate social responsibility in the developing world. International Affairs, 81(3), 489–513.
Brown, S. (22 April, 2013). Corporate social responsibility feature: Trader Joe’s. Momentum telecom. Retrieved from http://www.momentumtelecom.com/corporate-social-responsibility-feature-trader-joes/.
Colgate-Palmolive. (November 30, 2015). Colgate-Palmolive receives sustainability leadership award at 2015 Greenbuild conference. Business Wire (English).
Columbia Sportswear Company Teams Up with The Ocean Foundation to Help Save Marine Habitat. (March 11, 2010). Columbia sportswear. Retrieved from http://www.csrwire.com/press_releases/29072-Columbia-Sportswear-Company-Teams-Up-With-The-Ocean-Foundation-To-Help-Save-Marine-Habitat-.
Common Ground: Quality and Social Responsibility. (2007). An ASQ white paper. Retrieved from www.asq.org/social-responsibility/pdf/social-responsibility-white-paper.pdf and http://docplayer.net/storage/57/41106478/1498973644/W7L5wotKRIodP1JjTCWGog/41106478.pdf.
Conley, J. M., Lázaro-Muñoz, G., Prince, A. E. R., Davis, A. M., & Cadigan, R. J. (2015). Scientific social responsibility: Lessons from the corporate social responsibility movement. American Journal of Bioethics, 15(12), 64–66.
Couch, C. (August 15, 2013). 10 companies with excellent customer service. The Huffington Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/15/best-customer-service_n_3720052.html.
Cycyota, C. S., Ferrante, C. J., & Schroeder, J. M. (2016). Corporate social responsibility and employee volunteerism: What do the best companies do? Business Horizons, 59(3), 321–329.
Davis, M. (September 3, 2014). Radical industrialists: 20 years later, Interface looks back on ray Anderson’s legacy. Greenbiz.com. Retrieved from http://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2014/09/03/20-years-later-interface-looks-back-ray-andersons-legacy.
DiSalvo, D. (February 19, 2015). What trader Joe’s knows about making your brain happy. Forbes. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/daviddisalvo/2015/02/19/what-trader-joes-knows-about-making-your-brain-happy/#3c91ba7f1213.
Duckworth, H. (April, 2014). Integrative social responsibility pathways to social responsibility: Successful practices for sustaining the future. Retrieved from http://asq.org/2014/04/social-responsibility/pathways-2014.pdf, pp. 4–5.
Dunn, J. (September 29, 2015). IKEA Switzerland is the first company worldwide to reach highest level of gender equality certification from EDGE. PR Newswire Europe Including UK Disclose.
Edvardsson, B., & Enquist, B. (2011). The service excellence and innovation model: Lessons from IKEA and other service frontiers. Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, 22(5), 535–551.
English, N. (December 6, 2013). The 14 athletic wear companies that are actually good for the world. Retrieved from http://greatist.com/fitness/athletic-wear-companies-social-good.
Hopen, D. (2010). The changing role and practices of successful leaders. The Journal for Quality and Participation, 4–9. Retrieved from http://rube.asq.org/quality-participation/2010/04/leadership/the-changing-role-and-practices-of-successful-leaders.pdf.
IKEA Group Sustainability Report, FY14. (2014). IKEA. Retrieved from http://www.ikea.com/ms/en_US/pdf/sustainability_report/sustainability_report_2014.pdf.
IKEA Group Sustainability Report, FY16. (2016). IKEA. Retrieved from http://www.ikea.com/ms/en_US/img/ad_content/IKEA_Group_Sustainability_Report_FY16.pdf.
ISO 26000: Guidance on Social Responsibility. (2010). Retrieved from https://www.iso.org/standard/42546.html.
Kleinrichert, D. (2008). Ethics, power and communities: Corporate social responsibility revisited. Journal of Business Ethics, 78(3), 482.
Langer, E. (August 10, 2011). Ray Anderson, ‘greenest CEO in America,’ dies at 77. The Washington Post Obituaries. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/ray-anderson-greenest-ceo-in-america-dies-at-77/2011/08/10/gIQAGoTU7I_story.html.
Luce, E. (15 September, 2004). Ikea’s plan to tackle child labour: CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY: The Swedish retailer is supporting schools in India’s carpet belt in a commercially sound way. Financial Times [London (UK)], p. 14.
Lund-Thomsen, P., Lindgreen, A., & Vanhamme, J. (2016). Industrial clusters and corporate social responsibility in developing countries: What we know, what we do not know, and what we need to know. Journal of Business Ethics, 133(1), 9–24.
Maher, F. J. (2014). Integrating social responsibility with business strategy: A guide for quality professionals. Retrieved from asq.org/2014/10/social-responsibility/sr-integration-guide.html.
Martin, E. J. (August 24, 2015). Joe knows snacks. CSP magazine special issue. Retrieved from http://www.cspnet.com/print/csp-magazine/article/cover-story-joe-knows-snacks.
Moratis, L. (2017). The credibility of corporate CSR claims: A taxonomy based on ISO 26000 and a research agenda. Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, 28(1/2), 147–158.
Morsing, M. m., & Roepstorff, A. (2015). CSR as corporate political activity: Observations on IKEA’s CSR identity-image dynamics. Journal of Business Ethics, 128(2), 395–409.
Outram, C. (2014). Ten pitfalls of strategic failure. Fountainebleau: INSEAD.
Preuss, L., Barkemeyer, R., & Glavas, A. (2016). Corporate social responsibility in developing country multinationals: Identifying company and country-level influences. Business Ethics Quarterly, 26(3), 347–378.
Reach for Change. (April 28, 2017). Reach for change and IKEA foundation: New partnership to impact 84,000 children in Ethiopia. Business Wire (English).
Rindova, V., & Fombrun, C. (2001). Entrepreneurial action in the creation of the specialty coffee niche. In C. B. Schoonhoven & E. Romanelli (Eds.), The entrepreneurship dynamic: Origins of entrepreneurship and the evolution of industries. Palo Alto: Stanford University Press.
Robinson, C. (2013). Integrating quality, social responsibility, and risk: Key principles and important tools. The Journal for Quality and Participation, 35(4), 24–29.
Robinson, C., Jacobsen, J., & Hopen, D. (Eds.) (2012). Quality and social responsibility: A key business strategy for enhancing competitive position. Retrieved from asq.org/2012/07/social-responsibility/a-key-business-strategy.pdf.
Saporito, P. (2012). Starbucks’ big mug. Time, 179(25), 51–54.
SAS Code of Ethics. (2016). Retrieved from https://www.sas.com/content/dam/SAS/en_us/doc/other1/code-of-ethics.pdf.
SAS Corporate Social Responsibility Report. (2016). Retrieved from http://www.sas.com/content/dam/SAS/en_us/doc/other1/csr-107835.pdf.
Scott, R. (July 16, 2012). 3 stellar examples of corporate community involvement programs. Causecast Blog, Complete Corporate Philanthropy and Employee Volunteering Platform. Retrieved from http://www.causecast.com/blog/3-stellar-examples-of-corporate-community-involvement-programs.
Standards of Manufacturing Practices. (2015). Columbia Sportswear Company. Retrieved from http://demandware.edgesuite.net/aasn_prd/on/demandware.static/-/Sites-Columbia_US-Library/default/dwe783eab2/AboutUs/PDF/Standards_of_Manufacturing_Practices_08.pdf.
Starbucks Corporation Corporate Governance Principles and Practices for the Board of Directors. (June 23 2015). Retrieved from http://globalassets.starbucks.com/assets/c3a0ba7c48814d1995346996151ae6e9.pdf.
Talpau, A., & Boscor, D. (2011). Customer-oriented marketing – A strategy that guarantees success: Starbucks and Mcdonald’s. Bulletin of the Transylvania University of Brasov. Economic Sciences Series V, 4(1), 51–58.
Trader Joe’s LA 346: Law & Ethics – Walk the Talk Team Project. (2017). Storify. Retrieved from https://storify.com/PumpkinBar/trader-joes.
Valuing Corporate Social Responsibility: McKinsey Global Survey Results. (February, 2009). McKinsey & Company. Retrieved from http://asq.org/newsroom/news-releases/2011/2011-0215-asq-manpower-sr-whitepaper.html.
Vandevelt, K. (September 24, 2015). Corporate social responsibility: How Starbucks is making an impact. WhyWhisper.com. Retrieved from http://www.whywhisper.co/the-blog/2015/9/24/corporate-social-responsibility-how-starbucks-is-making-an-impact.
What are the core subjects of social responsibility? (N/A). ASQ. Retrieved from http://asq.org/learn-about-quality/learn-about-standards/iso-26000/core-subjects.html.
Where HERproject works. (N/A). Retrieved from http://herproject.org/where-we-work.
Wilting, H. C., & van Oorschot, M. M. (2017). Quantifying biodiversity footprints of Dutch economic sectors: A global supply-chain analysis. Journal of Cleaner Production, 15(6), 194–202.
World Wide Fund for Nature. (2008). The 2008 Living Planet Report. Retrieved from http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/all_publications/living_planet_report_timeline/lpr_2008/.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG
About this entry
Cite this entry
Marques, J. (2018). Moving Forward with Social Responsibility. In: Marques, J. (eds) Handbook of Engaged Sustainability. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-53121-2_4-1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-53121-2_4-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-53121-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-53121-2
eBook Packages: Springer Reference Business and ManagementReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences