Mind the Gap: The Commodification of Corporate Social Responsibility

This article, based on two years of participant observation, in-depth interviews, and informal exchanges, offers an ethnographic account of a nonprofit organization that promotes the idea of corporate social responsibility. It follows the ways and means by which midlevel corporate executives are ini...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Symbolic interaction 2005-05, Vol.28 (2), p.229-253
Main Author: Shamir, Ronen
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Brands
Business management
Business Society Relationship
Business structures
Business studies
Citizenship
Commodification
Communities
Corporate culture
Corporate governance
Corporate social responsibility
Corporations
Ethnographic research
Indexing in process
Management science
Management Styles
Neoliberalism
Non-profit organizations
Nonprofit Organizations
Regulation
Social interaction
Social Responsibility
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Summary:This article, based on two years of participant observation, in-depth interviews, and informal exchanges, offers an ethnographic account of a nonprofit organization that promotes the idea of corporate social responsibility. It follows the ways and means by which midlevel corporate executives are initiated into the universe of “corporate citizenship,” learning to deploy terms such as “stakeholders,” “brand loyalty,” “social investment,” and “community empowerment.” Through an analysis of workshops, lectures, and ceremonial events, I show how the idea of social responsibility is transformed into a managerial tool, designed to enhance employee loyalty and to improve brand loyalty. From a constructivist sociological perspective, I also show that the idea of corporate social responsibility, when framed and advocated by a corporate-friendly organization, fits the neoliberal emphasis on corporate self-regulation.
ISSN:0195-6086
1533-8665
DOI:10.1525/si.2005.28.2.229