Exploring the Nature of the Relationship between CSR and Competitiveness

This paper explores the nature of the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and competitiveness. We start with the commonly held view that firm competitiveness is defined by the market. That is, the question of what are the critical competitiveness factors is answered by looking...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of business ethics 2009-04, Vol.87 (Suppl 1), p.57-69
Main Authors: Vilanova, Marc, Lonzano, Josep Maria, Arenas, Daniel
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Accountability
Business and Management
Business Ethics
Business innovation
Business operations
Business reputation
Business strategies
Business structures
Community relations
Comparative analysis
Competition
Competitive advantage
Competitiveness
Corporate culture
Corporate governance
corporate reputation
Corporate responsibility
Corporate social responsibility
Corporations
Correlation analysis
Education
Ethics
Evaluation
Financial advisers
Financial analysis
Learning
Management
organizational strategy
paradox
Paradoxes
Philosophy
Quality of Life Research
R&D
Reputations
Research & development
responsible competitiveness
Social innovation
Social responsibility
Social responsibility of business
Society
Stakeholders
Strategic management
Studies
Valuation
Valuation methods
Values
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Summary:This paper explores the nature of the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and competitiveness. We start with the commonly held view that firm competitiveness is defined by the market. That is, the question of what are the critical competitiveness factors is answered by looking at how companies and financial analysts describe and evaluate a firm. To analyze this, we review the current state of the art on the relationship between CSR and competitiveness. Second, CSR criteria used by financial analysts is identified and compared with company valuation methods. Third, the results of a multi-stakeholder dialogue on CSR and competitiveness of the European financial sector are presented. As a conclusion, we argue that CSR and competitiveness relate through a learning and innovation cycle, where corporate values, policies and practices are permanently defined and re-defined. Thus, we propose that learning takes place as CSR is embedded in business processes, and that once it has been integrated, in turn, it generates innovative practices, and finally, competitiveness. At the end of the paper, we propose that CSR in practice consists of managing inherent paradoxes generated by the tension between CSR and business policies.
ISSN:0167-4544
1573-0697
DOI:10.1007/s10551-008-9812-2