CSR…. a management fashion?
Will it stay or ebb away?
Submitted on 16-2-2009
Master Thesis by Nuri van Langen s1335367 n.van.langen@student.rug.nl
University of Groningen Faculty of Economics and Business Msc International Business and Management
SUMMARY
This research investigates if corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a management fashion by performing a longitudinal bibliometric study of the publicly available written discourse about CSR. Two characteristics of a management fashion, the lifecycle and the ambiguity, are investigated. Because of the still widespread popularity of CSR, the results do not provide a conclusive answer. However, they do provide a good reason for further research to find an answer to the question whether CSR is a management fashion.
Keywords: corporate social responsibility (CSR); management fashion; discourse; lifecycle; ambiguity.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION --- 4
1.1 The objective of this paper--- 4
1.2 Academic justification for studying management fashions --- 4
1.3 Previous research--- 5
1.4 Overview of the paper --- 5
2. CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY --- 6
2.1 Background of CSR --- 6
2.2 Shift in the CSR concept --- 6
2.3 CSR nowadays --- 7
2.4 Defining CSR --- 8
3. MANAGEMENT FASHION --- 9
3.1 Theoretical perspectives on management fashions--- 9
3.2 Characteristics of a management fashion---10
1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 The objective of this paper
In the past sixty years or so many “new” management techniques have been in fashion, appearing and disappearing in quite a frequent manner (Carson et al., 2000). Knowledge management, quality circles, benchmarks, pay for performance, management by objectives, total quality management, business process reengineering are all examples of such
management fashions. This paperattempts to examine the present-day popularity of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the light of a possible new management fashion.
More specifically, this research investigates the lifecycle and the ambiguity of the CSR discourse to see if the upcoming popularity and diffusion of CSR can be explained by the management fashion theory. The objective of this research is to get a better understanding of CSR as a possible management fashion, and not a better understanding of the content and the validity of the CSR concept. How seriously should we take CSR? Does it fit the
characteristics of a transient management fashion or will it become more entrenched into existing management practice?
1.2 Academic justification for studying management fashions
Some scholars believe that management fashions are not worthy of academic attention because they undermine the “real” work that has to be done in organizations (for example, Hilmer and Donalson, 1996). This critique exists because the management fashion
phenomenon is seen as an aesthetic fashion phenomenon – in other words, a merely superficial phenomenon.
However, aesthetic fashions are not the same as management fashions: “… whereas aesthetic
fashions need only appear beautiful and modern, fashionable management techniques must appear rational (efficient means to important ends) and progressive (new as well as improved relative to older management techniques)” (Abrahamson, 1996, p. 255). Another difference
Studying management fashions by the academic world is necessary to make the management fashion-setting process a technically more useful, collective learning process (Jackson, 2001).
In this respect and given the actuality and increased interest in CSR, it is important and relevant to study this concept in an academic way as being a new possible management fashion.
1.3 Previous research
To the best of my knowledge, there is only one paper that has addressed a similar concern about the likelihood of CSR being a management fashion. Zorn and Collins (2006) identify several characteristics of management fashions based on a literature review and then look if CSR corresponds to these characteristics by making use of secondary data. Zorn and Collins conclude that CSR does fit many of the features of a management fashion, but they are clearly advocates of CSR and expect it to become standard practice which undermines their
objectivity: “…the proponents of CSR/sustainable business – and we consider ourselves
among them – hope to see a steady increase and eventual leveling off (as it becomes the norm) of adoption and interest” (Zorn and Collins, 2006, p.15). In this research paper, a more
objective point of view is taken by studying CSR as a possible management fashion. Another difference is that although Zorn and Collins acknowledge the lifecycle and ambiguity as being important characteristics of management fashions, they base their opinion on the argument that CSR fits these features on very limited secondary resources. In this research, a more thorough investigation of the lifecycle and ambiguity of CSR will be carried out by analyzing the CSR discourse.
1.4 Overview of the paper
2. CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY 2.1 Background of CSR
The idea that business has an important societal responsibility that goes beyond economic performance is not a new concept. In fact, it is very old. It can even be traced back to thinkers in the pre-Christian era (Blowfield and Frynas, 2005). Companies acting in a socially
responsible manner can also be traced back in history. For example, already in 1799
businessman Robert Owen introduced social reforms in his cotton mill, such as not employing children younger than ten and the establishment of a fund for sick workers (Gates, 2008). Although the idea of social responsibility of business has old roots, it has long been perceived as something irrelevant to running a successful business (Lee, 2008), and thus an idea not worthy of much attention.
2.2 Shift in the CSR concept
The initial more widespread interest in CSR started in the academic world around the 1950s. According to several scholars (Carroll, 1999; Lee, 2008; Zorn and Collins, 2006) this
academic debate started with Howard R. Bowen’s book titled “Social Responsibilities of the Businessman” (1953). In his book, Bowen states that the firm has a social obligation towards a wider group of actors to fulfill. He defines CSR as “It refers to the obligations of
businessmen to pursue those policies, to make those decisions, or to follow those lines of action which are desirable in terms of the objectives and values of our society.” (Bowen,
1953, p.6). Bowen saw CSR as a moral obligation of business to pursue more than only economic goals. A well-known opponent of this view is Milton Friedman: “In a
free-enterprise, private property system, a corporate executive is an employee of the owners of the business. He has direct responsibility to his employers. That responsibility is to conduct business in accordance with their desires, which generally will be to make as much money as possible while conforming to the basic rules of society, both those embodied in law and those embodied in ethical custom.” (Friedman, 1970, p.174). So, in the beginning, there were two
An attempt to reconcile these two points of view was made in an article by Archie B. Carroll (1979), which became one of the most widely cited articles in the CSR field (Lee, 2008). Rather than treating CSR as a separate goal incompatible with the economic performance of the firm, he broadened the concept of CSR by introducing a model that treated economic objectives as an integrated part of the total social responsibility of the firm.
More recently, the scope of CSR initiatives has been broadened greatly. The important relationship between CSR initiatives and business objectives is illustrated by the following definition of CSR “…CSR can be much more than a cost, a constraint, or a charitable deed –
it can be a source of opportunity, innovation, and competitive advantage.” (Porter and
Kramer, 2006, p.80). The concept of CSR has changed from a moral responsibility of organizations that could endanger the firm’s profitability into a concept that can help the corporation’s bottom line performance (Lee, 2008).
2.3 CSR nowadays
Nowadays there seems to be an explosive increase of interest in CSR. A recent Google search (conducted on 12-11-2008) for “corporate social responsibility” found almost nine and a half million hits. An international survey conducted jointly by KPMG and the University of Amsterdam in 2005 found that 64% of the top 250 firms listed in Fortune 500 of 2004 reported their CSR initiatives, either in a separate report or as part of their annual report (KPMG, 2005). A global CEO study conducted by IBM in 2008, which surveyed more than 1000 CEOs, found that CSR is one of the five core business issues that dominates
contemporary business (IBM, 2008). It seems the whole business world is jumping on the CSR bandwagon.
globalization, etc., have contributed to the seemingly more responsible behavior of corporations.
2.4 Defining CSR
“CSR is very much a moving target. It is now different than it was five or ten years ago, and it will continue to evolve.” ( Vogel, 2005, p.xi)
As illustrated by the above quote, it is difficult to give a comprehensive definition of the CSR concept. CSR is of interest to various groups of stakeholders. As a result, the interpretation of the CSR concept varies from one group of stakeholders to another and these interpretations tend to change over time. The World Business Council for Sustainable Development
(WBCSD), for example, referred to CSR in 1999 as “the continuing commitment by business
to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as of the local community and society at large”
(WBCSD, 1999). In 2002, WBCSD changed that definition into “the commitment of business
to contribute to sustainable economic development, working with employees, their families, the local community and society at large to improve their quality of life” (WBCSD, 2002).
Another complicating factor is that there are many terms that fall under the CSR umbrella. Corporate citizenship, sustainable development, corporate accountability, socially responsible investment and environmental management are a few examples of the terms that are
nowadays popular in the business-society debate. But in most cases when alternative or new terms are used, it is unclear if the purpose is to replace, redefine or complement the CSR concept (Blowfield and Frynas, 2005).
The goal of this research is to gain a further understanding of the widespread diffusion of CSR, and not to further investigate the content of the CSR concept. Therefore, for the purpose of this research it is sufficient to define CSR loosely and broadly as the ideas, instruments and practices that have evolved around the responsibility of business to society, which are
3. MANAGEMENT FASHION 3.1 Theoretical perspectives on management fashions
The theory of management fashions proposed by Abrahamson (1996) has received
widespread attention from the community of scholars investigating the trends of management techniques (Benders and Van Veen, 2001; Giroux, 2006; Parush, 2008). Abrahamson (1996) defines a management fashion as“a relatively transitory collective belief, disseminated by management fashion setters, that a management technique leads rational management progress” p. 257. And he defines the management fashion setting as “the process by which management fashion setters continuously redefine both theirs and fashion followers’
collective beliefs about which management techniques lead rational management progress”
p. 257.
The ongoing process resulting in management fashions takes place in a supply-and-demand market (Abrahamson, 1996). On the supply side of the management fashion market are the “fashion setters”: the consulting firms, the management gurus, the business mass-media publications and the business schools. On the demand side of the market are the “fashion followers”: the managers (Abrahamson, 1996).
A management technique launched into fashion can be invented, reinvented or rediscovered by the fashion setters. Such a launched management fashion does not imply that a
A critique in more recent research of management fashions is that Abrahamson (1996) treats the fashion followers (managers) as gullible and passive receivers of management fashions, while a more realistic view of managers is to perceive them as having an interactive
relationship with the fashion setters (Benders and Van Veen, 2001; Giroux, 2006).
The reason for this “unrealistic” view of managers is that Abrahamson (1996) relied on the diffusion of an innovation model to explain the process that underlies the diffusion of a management fashions rhetoric (Benders and Van Veen, 2001; Giroux, 2006; Parush, 2008). According to this model, the idea behind an innovation is materialized into concrete
components, and these innovation components are disseminated widely due to the popularity of the innovation. In other words, the diffusion of an innovation happens through the spread of its concrete components. Abrahamson (1996) sees the rhetoric as a concrete component of a management fashion and therefore attributes to the rhetoric the same characteristics as an innovation component: stable and homogeneous (Benders and Van Veen, 2001). Abrahamson treats the diffusion of a management fashion like the diffusion of an innovation. The problem with this approach is that management fashions do not have homogenous and stable
components like innovations. Instead, the diffusion of a management fashion happens through rhetorics which are interpreted and modified during their dissemination path (Parush, 2008). This modification of rhetorics can be due to both fashion setters and fashion followers. This interactive diffusion process between the fashion-setters community and fashion users, in which the rhetoric is changed through its diffusion process by both the fashion-setters community and managers, is a more realistic view of the dissemination of management fashions.
3.2 Characteristics of a management fashion
It is widely accepted that management fashions are of temporary value (Perkmann and Spicer, 2008). Management fashions follow a predictable lifecycle comparable to those of products and industries (Spell, 2001). This lifecycle can be described by a five-phase model. The first phase is the invention phase, when the initial idea is created. This idea is then spread in the dissemination phase. In the third phase, the idea gains popularity and becomes widely
This characteristic lifecycle is known as the bell-shaped curve and is used in a vast amount of empirical research to prove a management fashion (e.g. Spell, 2001; Carson et al., 2000).
Another key characteristic of a management fashion is that its underlying idea is subject to various interpretations, in other words ambiguity (Scarbrough and Swan, 2001). This is nicely illustrated by the following quote: “… any concept must necessarily lend itself to
various interpretations to stand a chance of broad dissemination.” Benders and Van Veen
(2001, p.38). The ambiguity of an idea underlying a management fashion has also been addressed in a vast amount of empirical research (e.g. Giroux, 2006; Benders and Van Veen, 2001; Scarbrough and Swan, 2001).
4. METHODOLOGY
To identify CSR as a possible management fashion, I have empirically investigated the CSR discourse. The three main arguments for this choice are as follows. First, the presence of CSR discourse is a necessary condition for CSR to turn into a management fashion (Kieser, 2002). Second, there is an intertwined relationship between the CSR discourse and the actual
organizational practices resulting from CSR (Giroux, 2006). Third, bibliometric analysis of public discourse to identify or analyze a management fashion has been used in a vast amount of other empirical research (e.g. Giroux, 2006; Abrahamson and Fairchild, 1999; Scarbrough and Swan, 2001; Benders and Van Veen, 2000) because of its usefulness in discovering trends (Jacobs, 2001)
More specifically, I used the bibliometric analysis of the CSR discourse to investigate the lifecycle and the ambiguity of the CSR concept.
4.1 Data source
“The amount of material in books, scholarly essays and papers, newspaper and magazine articles, reports, and conference proceedings is enormous – far beyond the capacity of anyone to absorb.” (Vogel, 2005, p. x)
Because of the enormous amount of publicly available CSR discourse, the researcher has to make choices about the information resources that will be used for research purposes depending on the availability and reliability of these resources.
For the data collection for this research, I used the Business Source Premier (BSP) database. The BSP database is a bibliographical online research database of electronic publications in the fields of business, management and finance. The students and staff of RUG have 24 hours a day, free online access to the BSP database via EBSCOhost.
EBSCOhost, a commercial product offered by the company EBSCO Publishing, is a
colleges, universities, hospitals, medical institutions, corporations, government institutions, public libraries, etc. Tens of thousands of institutions worldwide (representing millions of end-users) subscribe to these databases. The BSP database is one of these databases.
I collected the data in October 2008. At that time the BSP database comprised 1895 academic journals, 551 magazines and 880 trade publications that had been indexed and abstracted. The earliest article in each of these three publication types dates back to, respectively, 1886, 1922 and 1964.
The above-mentioned information shows the availability and reliability of the BSP database.
The data collection took place in October 2008. Because I took into account whole years, my data was collected till 2007.
4.2 The lifecycle of CSR
To investigate the lifecycle of CSR, I counted the CSR articles available in the BSP database.
The BSP database comprises different types of publications. However the article counts were limited to the following three publication types: academic journals, magazines1 and trade publications. Very limited hits were found when searching for CSR in the other publication types and were regarded as not useful here.
To search for articles on CSR in academic journals, the following search terms were used: “corporate social responsibility” in the title or “corporate social responsibility” in the abstract or “corporate social responsibility” in the author-supplied keywords or “CSR” in the title or “CSR” in the abstract or “CSR” in the author-supplied keywords.
The magazines as well as trade publications (i.e. non-academic publications) listed in the BSP database do not include key words; therefore this search field was omitted for both these publication types. For either of these two publication types, the search terms used were:
1
“corporate social responsibility” in the title or “corporate social responsibility” in the abstract or “CSR” in the title or “CSR” in the abstract.
Since “CSR” is also an abbreviation for quite a few other phrases, such as “customer services representative”, “Czechoslovak Republic”, “Cambridge Silicon Radio” (which is actually an electronics company), etc., all the hits in academic as well as non-academic publications were checked visually to eliminate incorrect hits. Also, I noticed that some of the articles in the database were listed in duplicate. Therefore, the visual search was also necessary to avoid counting the same article twice.
The total number of available publications in the BSP database has grown significantly during the period under study (see tables 1, 2 and 3 in the appendix). To adjust for this growth rate, the number of articles has been made relative to a random selected reference year (= 2007). This has been done by first calculating the total number of articles per year in the relevant period. Then for each year in that period, the number of counted CSR articles is multiplied by the ratio between the total number of articles in 2007 and the total number of articles in the relevant year. This yields the number of articles adjusted for the growth in the database. In other words, the following formula is used:
No. of adjusted CSR art. in year Z
= No. of counted CSR art. in year Z * (No. of total art. in 2007/No. of total art. in year Z)
In this manner the number of articles is made relative to the number of articles in the selected reference year (= 2007). This method of adjusting for growth in the database has also been used by Abrahamson and Fairchild (1999) and Giroux (2006).
4.3 The ambiguity of CSR
In order to investigate the ambiguity of CSR, only academic journals were taken into consideration.
There were two reasons for this choice. First, in my data collection the CSR articles in the academic journals span over a longer time period than in the magazines and trade publications (see table 1, 2 and 3 in the appendix). Second, the number of CSR articles in academic
journals is much larger than in magazines or trade publications (CSR articles: 1228 in academic journals; 576 in magazines; 663 in trade publications).
The non-adjusted CSR data collected for academic journals was further analyzed to investigate the ambiguity of CSR. For this purpose, I used the classification system of the catalogue of the University of Groningen libraries. This system is based on a classification by subject. There are a total of 48 subjects and a unique two-digit code is assigned to each subject, e.g. 85: business, organizational science. From here onwards, I will refer to these basic classification codes as main categories. Each main category is further split into subheadings and a unique four-digit classification number (the first two digits indicate the main category) is assigned to each subheading, e.g. 85.02 philosophy and theory of business
administration and organization science. From here onwards, I will refer to these
classification numbers as subcategories. Academic journals or other publications are given the classification number of the subcategory in which they appear. For example, Journal of Business Ethics is assigned the subcategory number: 85.02 philosophy and theory of business
5. RESULTS
The CSR discourse yielded 1228 articles published in academic journals, 576 articles
published in magazines and 663 articles published in trade publications. See tables 1, 2 and 3 in the appendix for a complete overview.
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 1971197219731974197519761977197819791980198119821983198419851986198719881989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007 year n u m b e r o f a rt ic le s
Figure 1. Non-adjusted CSR articles in academic journals.
Figure 1 above shows that the steady growth of interest in CSR in the academic journals started in 1971. Before this period, my search of the BSP database yielded only three CSR articles. One in 1964 and two in 1968. The graph shows an explosive interest in CSR articles in the last seven years. When we look at the adjusted graph in figure 2 below for the growth of the BSP database, we see something interesting. Relatively, from the 1970s to the
adjusted CSR articles in academic journals 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 1 9 7 1 1 9 7 2 1 9 7 3 1 9 7 4 1 9 7 5 1 9 7 6 1 9 7 7 1 9 7 8 1 9 7 9 1 9 8 0 1 9 8 1 1 9 8 2 1 9 8 3 1 9 8 4 1 9 8 5 1 9 8 6 1 9 8 7 1 9 8 8 1 9 8 9 1 9 9 0 1 9 9 1 1 9 9 2 1 9 9 3 1 9 9 4 1 9 9 5 1 9 9 6 1 9 9 7 1 9 9 8 1 9 9 9 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 2 0 0 2 2 0 0 3 2 0 0 4 2 0 0 5 2 0 0 6 2 0 0 7 year n u m b e r o f a rt ic le s
Figure 2. Adjusted CSR articles in academic journals.
Figures 3 and 4 below show that the interest in CSR started later in magazines than in
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 year n u m b e r o f a rt ic le s
Figure 3. Non-adjusted CSR articles in magazines.
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 year n u m b e r o f a rt ic le s
The period of increasing interest in CSR in trade publications started even later, in 1999 (figure 5). This interest is still growing. Before the steady rise in interest there were a few articles in trade publications, namely one each in 1976, 1985, 1987, 1993, 1994 and1995, and three in 1996. 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 year n u m b e r o f a rt ic le s
Figure 5. Non-adjusted CSR articles in trade publications.
Because of the insignificance of the adjustment factor in a more recent period the adjusted graphs for the trade publications and the compared lifecycles show no significant difference with the non-adjusted graphs. For that reason, the adjusted graphs of the trade publications and of the compared lifecycles can be found in the appendix (respectively figures 12 and 13).
discourse in magazines seems already to be in decline while the CSR discourse in academic journals and trade publications is still growing.
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 year n u m b e r o f a rt ic le s academic journals magazines trade publications
Figure 6. Comparison of non-adjusted lifecycles.
It is now time to look at the results for the ambiguity of CSR. Because of the large number of subcategories (99) into which CSR articles fall and to keep the graphs clear, only the main categories (20) are taken into account.
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 1 9 7 1 1 9 7 2 1 9 7 3 1 9 7 4 1 9 7 5 1 9 7 6 1 9 7 7 1 9 7 8 1 9 7 9 1 9 8 0 1 9 8 1 1 9 8 2 1 9 8 3 1 9 8 4 1 9 8 5 1 9 8 6 1 9 8 7 1 9 8 8 1 9 8 9 1 9 9 0 1 9 9 1 1 9 9 2 1 9 9 3 1 9 9 4 1 9 9 5 1 9 9 6 1 9 9 7 1 9 9 8 1 9 9 9 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 2 0 0 2 2 0 0 3 2 0 0 4 2 0 0 5 2 0 0 6 2 0 0 7 year n u m b e r o f a rt ic le s 30 53 55 81 48 50 56 76 71 49 44 15 77 89 88 43 86 5 83 85
Figure 7. Main category ambiguity.
85.xx business, organizational science
88.xx science of public
administration 49.xx domestic science 48.xx agricultural science
83.xx economics 89.xx political science 71.xx sociology 81.xx teachimg
05.xx communication studies 77.xx psychology 76.xx recreation, leisure activities
55.xx traffic and transport technology
86.xx law 15.xx history 56.xx civil engineering 53.xx electrotechnology
43.xx environmental science 44.xx medicine 50.xx technical sciences 30.xx exact sciences
To clarify the ambiguity in main categories further, figure 8 below shows the increase in the number of main categories in the period 1971-2007.
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 1971197219731974197519761977197819791980198119821983198419851986198719881989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007 year n u m b e r o f c a te g o ri e s
Figure 8. Main category increase.
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 1 9 7 1 1 9 7 2 1 9 7 3 1 9 7 4 1 9 7 5 1 9 7 6 1 9 7 7 1 9 7 8 1 9 7 9 1 9 8 0 1 9 8 1 1 9 8 2 1 9 8 3 1 9 8 4 1 9 8 5 1 9 8 6 1 9 8 7 1 9 8 8 1 9 8 9 1 9 9 0 1 9 9 1 1 9 9 2 1 9 9 3 1 9 9 4 1 9 9 5 1 9 9 6 1 9 9 7 1 9 9 8 1 9 9 9 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 2 0 0 2 2 0 0 3 2 0 0 4 2 0 0 5 2 0 0 6 2 0 0 7 year n u m b e r o f a rt ic le s 30 53 55 81 48 50 56 76 71 49 44 15 77 89 88 43 86 5 83
Figure 9. Main category ambiguity without category 85.
Because of the prominence of category 85 (business and organizational science), the final two figures in this chapter consider the subcategories of this main category. For a complete
0 50 100 150 200 250 1 9 7 1 1 9 7 2 1 9 7 3 1 9 7 4 1 9 7 5 1 9 7 6 1 9 7 7 1 9 7 8 1 9 7 9 1 9 8 0 1 9 8 1 1 9 8 2 1 9 8 3 1 9 8 4 1 9 8 5 1 9 8 6 1 9 8 7 1 9 8 8 1 9 8 9 1 9 9 0 1 9 9 1 1 9 9 2 1 9 9 3 1 9 9 4 1 9 9 5 1 9 9 6 1 9 9 7 1 9 9 8 1 9 9 9 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 2 0 0 2 2 0 0 3 2 0 0 4 2 0 0 5 2 0 0 6 2 0 0 7 year n u m b e r o f a rt ic le s 85.33 85.51 85.61 85.03 85.04 85.15 85.34 85.50 85.20 85.35 85.12 85.62 85.63 85.30 85.08 85.10 85.25 85.40 85.00 85.05 85.02
Figure 10. Main category 85 ambiguity.
85.02 philosophy and theory of business administration and organization science
85.10 strategic management 85.12 quality management (business administration) 85.15 research and development (business administration) 85.05 management and organization: general 85.08 organizational sociology and psychology
85.35 production management
85.04 teaching, profession and organizations of business administration and organization science 85.00 business administration, organization science: general 85.30 financial management, financing 85.20 management information
85.03 methods and techiques of business administration and organization science
85.40 marketing 85.63 industrial relations 85.50 labour science, labour issues: general
85.61 wages 85.25 accounting 85.62 personnel management 85.34 logistics 85.51 employee participation
85.33 investment theory
Figure 11 below shows the increase in the number of subcategories of main category 85. 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 1971197219731974197519761977197819791980198119821983198419851986198719881989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007 year n u m b e r o f s u b c a te g o ri e s
6. DISCUSSION
In the results chapter some interesting points have been highlighted. In this chapter these observations will be explained.
The growth of interest in CSR in the academic world started in the 1970s and shows various popularity peaks till the beginning of the 1990s. This interest period is also described in the literature (e.g. Vogel, 2005). According to Abrahamson (1996) these popularity swings have occurred more often in promoting management fashions.
There is a difference in timing when different types of discourse start showing interest in CSR. The academic discourse started showing interest at the beginning of the 1970s, while the magazines and trade publication discourse started showing interest, respectively, at the beginning and the end of the 1990s. This variation in timing in promoting management fashions has also been described in the literature (Abrahamson and Fairchild, 1999; Spell, 2001). Although the CSR interest in trade publications is still growing, it is interesting to note that the decline already seems to take place in the CSR discourse found in magazines. The discourse promoting a management fashion in the non-academic publications many times sets a pattern of interest for the academic world (Abrahamson and Fairchild, 1999; Spell, 2001), suggesting that the academic discourse will follow in time and will also show a decline.
Further, the overall steep incline in interest in recent times in the publicly available written discourse hints strongly at an impending decline (Scarbrough and Swan, 2001), suggesting an eventual bell-shaped lifecycle curve of CSR.
The ambiguity graphs in chapter 5 show that the ambiguity of CSR increases as the lifecycle evolves in the academic journal discourse. This is an important characteristic of management fashions (Bender and Van Veen, 2001; Giroux, 2006).
I believe this depends on the motives of corporations that underlie the interest in CSR. Are more and more firms undertaking CSR initiatives motivated by a genuine concern for their societal responsibility? Or is CSR just window dressing to enhance their corporate image in order to either pursue profits or get rid of the negative reputation caused by their unethical business practices?
For instance, take the case of Shell. After being confronted with public pressure resulting from the Brent Spar affair and political disturbances in Nigeria, Shell was “forced” to change something in their company policy in order to improve its image. The company decided to restate its business policy. The revised policy expressed its commitments to various groups of stakeholders, including the society, and also declared that the company will integrate
economic, environmental and social considerations into business decision-making. This new policy, expressed in Shell’s Statement of General Business Principles” (
http://www-static.shell.com/static/aboutshell/downloads/who_we_are/sgbps/sgbp_english.pdf), includes a
strong commitment to CSR. Yearly reports, first published in 1997, express the progress of implementation of its CSR initiatives.
The third Business Principle, about Business Integrity, starts with: “Shell companies insist on
honesty, integrity and fairness in all aspects of their business and expect the same in their relationship with all those with whom they do business …”. Despite this principle, based on
which the company claims to conduct its business, Shell caused quite a big scandal in 2004 by overstating its oil and gas reserves by 20 percent.
Principle 5 is about Shell’s commitment to Health, Safety, Security and the Environment issues. However, in a news item published in The Guardian of 5 March 20072 the following was reported:
“Shell has been repeatedly warned by the Health and Safety Executive about the poor state of its North Sea platforms, according to information obtained by the Guardian.
The company's dismal record undermines Shell's public commitment to improve its performance after a fatal explosion on the Brent field in the North Sea in 2003 and raises further concerns about Britain's ageing oil and gas equipment.
As recently as November 13, Shell – one of Britain's largest companies – was served with a rebuke and a legal notice that it was failing to operate safely.”
Another exemplifying case is that of Nike. During the 1990s it was greatly criticized for its unethical labor practices in its factories in the third-world countries. In order to save its name, Nike promised to make significant reforms in its labor practices. However, accusations of making use of abusive labor practices are still going on. Or take the case of Enron, whose greed for profits brought the company down while it was claiming to be a good corporate citizen by its reporting on CSR and its various environmental and community programs.
Perhaps these examples do not provide conclusive evidence about the motives behind CSR initiatives but they do provide interesting input for further investigation into the window-dressing potential of CSR.
The recent credit crunch may speed up the revelation of the true face of CSR, whatever that may be. In these times of financial crises, companies have to concentrate on their core business. This offers an interesting research opportunity to see whether companies are
genuinely committed to CSR as they claim, or if it is merely a superficial part of a company’s policy.
The following quote from the CEO of Social Firms UK illustrates the potential superficiality of CSR with respect to the credit crunch: “Under the clouds of recession, the social in
corporate social responsibility (CSR) is in danger of being erased as companies pare down to the bare minimum. Many worthy causes will suffer, but should we blame businesses for putting profits first when facing substantial losses and redundancies? The traditional notion of CSR is dying because it is unsustainable in the truest sense of the word – it simply can't weather the storm.” Reynolds (The Gaurdian, 24 September 2008)3.
3
7. CONCLUSION
The goal of this paper was to determine if CSR is a management fashion. After the conceptualization of CSR and the management fashion theory, an investigation of the lifecycle and the ambiguity of the CSR discourse, and a discussion of the results from this investigation, it is now time to draw the conclusions
Two important keywords in this research are: CSR and management fashion. As explained earlier in this paper, a management fashion is a management technique that gains explosive popularity but then, for some reasons, looses its popularity and gradually dies away. Some well-known management fashions are knowledge management, quality circles and business process reengineering. A management fashion can be identified by two main characteristics: a certain pattern of lifecycle (i.e. gaining explosive popularity but then ebbing away with time) and ambiguity of the management concept itself.
In order to investigate whether CSR is a management fashion, I analyzed the lifecycle and ambiguity of CSR by performing a bibliometric study of the publicly available discourse on CSR. The results of this study do show a resemblance between the CSR phenomenon and a management fashion. It is likely that the contemporary widespread popularity of CSR and enthusiasm about it will diminish in time. However, CSR is a very actual and widespread concept as we speak and labeling the CSR phenomenon as a management fashion remains a prediction. To find a more conclusive answer, a similar research should be undertaken in the future to investigate if the widespread interest in CSR is ebbing away.
The strength and weaknesses of this research can be evaluated according to the three criteria outlined by Gill and Johnson (2006):
1. Internal validity. Is CSR discourse a good way to measure the lifecycle and the ambiguity of CSR as a criterion for a possible management fashion?
2. External validity. Can the research findings from the BSP database be generalized? 3. Reliability. Is this research replicable?
and management practice justifies using CSR discourse for measuring the characteristics of a management fashion. This is also supported by the fact that discourse is used in a vast amount of other management fashion studies.
The strength of this research lies in its reliability, because it can easily be replicated. Also, the research findings can be generalized since the BSP database is a widely used and
comprehensive data source.
The recent credit crunch is already showing crucial consequences for not only the business world but also governments and the common man. With profits shrinking, companies going bankrupt and unemployment on the rise, one already hears voices in the media that criticize companies for spending money on CSR programs rather than trying to safeguard jobs. There is every reason to believe that this will have serious consequences for CSR initiatives of companies. It will be interesting to see the new face of CSR or its fate.
The outcomes of this research and the present-day financial crisis provide good reasons for future research to investigate whether CSR is a management fashion. Will it stay or ebb away?
“But as recession bites, we see lots of people on the defensive. It's not that companies have come out to declare they no longer believe in CSR, but CSR budgets are being cut, plenty of CEOs are talking about focusing on core business, and other things are on hold.” 4
4
Mallen Baker, Management Columnist (5 January 2009)
REFERENCES
• Abrahamson, E. 1996. Management fashion. Academy of management review. 21(1): 254-285
• Abrahamson, E. and Fairchild, G. 1999. Management fashion: lifecycles, triggers and collective
learning processes. Administrative Science Quarterly. 44(4): 708-740
• Benders, J and Van Veen, K. 2001. What’s in a fashion? Interpretative viability and management
fashions. Organization. 8(1): 33-53
• Blowfield, M. and Frynas, J.G. 2005. Setting new agendas: critical perspectives on Corporate Social
Responsibility in the developing world. International Affairs. 81(3): 499-513
• Bowen, H. 1953. Social responsibilities of the businessman. New York: Harper
• Carroll, A.B. 1979. A three-dimensional conceptual model of corporate performance. Academy of
management review. 4(4): 497-505
• Carroll, A.B. 1999. Corporate social responsibility: evolution of a definitional construct. Business &
Society. 38(3): 268-295
• Carson, P.P., Lanier P.A., Carson, K.D. and Guidry, B.N. 2000. Clearing a path to the management
fashion jungle: some preliminary trailblazing. Academy of management journal. 43(6): 1143-1185
• Clark, T. 2004. The fashion of management fashion: a surge too far? Organization. 11(2): 297-306
• Ettorre, B. 1997. What’s the next business buzzword. Management Review. 86(8): 33-35
• Friedman, M. 1970. The social responsibility of business is to increase its profits. New York Times
Magazines, 13 Sept 1970
• Frynas, J.G. 2005. The false developmental promise of Corporate Social Responsibility: evidence from
multinational oil companies. International Affairs. 81(3): 581-598
• Gates, B. 2008. How to fix capitalism. Time. 172(6): 24-29
• Gill, J. and Johnson, P. 2006. Research methods for managers. London: Sage Publications
• Giroux, H. 2006. ‘It was such a handy term’: management fashions and pragmatic ambiguity. Journal
of Management Studies. 43(6):1127-1260
• Hilmer, F.G. and Donaldson, L. 1996. Management redeemed: debunking the fads that undermine
our corporations. New York: The Free Press
• Heslin, P.A. and Ochoa J.D. 2008. Understanding and developing strategic corporate social
responsibility. Organizational Dynamics. 37(2): 125-144
• IBM. 2008. IBM global CEO study: the enterprise of the future. New York: Author
• Jackson, B. 2001. Management gurus and management fashions. Londen: Routledge
• Jacobs, D. 2001. A bibliometric study of the publication patterns of scientists in South Africa 1992-96,
with particular reference to status and funding. Information Research, 6(3) Available at:
http://informationr.net/ir/6-3/paper104.html
• Kieser. A. 2002. Managers and marionettes? Using fashion theories to explain the success of
consultancies. In Kipping, M. and Engwall, L. (Eds.) Management consulting – emergence and
dynamics of a knowledge industry. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 167-183
• Lee, M. 2008. A review of the theories of corporate social responsibility: Its evolutionary path and the
road ahead. International Journal of Management Reviews. 10(1):53-73
• Parush, T. 2008. From “management ideology” to “management fashion”: a comparative analysis of
two key concepts in the sociology of management. International Studies of Management &
Organisations. 38(1): 48-70
• Porter, M.E and Kramer, M.K. 2006. Strategy and society: the link between competitive advantage and
corporate social responsibility. Harvard Business Review. 84(12): 78-92
• Perkmann, M and Spicer, A. 2008. How are management fashions institutionalised? The role of
institutional work. Human Relations. 61(6): 811-844
• Scarbrough, H. and Swan, J. 2001. Explaining the diffusion of knowledge management: the role of
fashion. British Journal of Management. 12(?): 3-12
• Spell, C.S. 2001. Management fashions: where do they come from, and are they old wine in new
bottles? Journal of Management Inquiry. 10(4): 358-373
• Vogel, D. 2005. The market for virtue: the potential and limits of corporate social responsibility.
Washington, D.C.: the brookings institution
• WBCSD. 1999. WBCSD Annual Review 1999 - Innovation, experimentation, adaption
• WBCSD. 2002.WBCSD Annual Review 2002 - From words to actions
• Zorn, T.E. and Collins, E. 2006. Green is the new black: are CSR and sustainable business just fads?
APPENDIX
year total articles total 2007 factor adjusted CSR
articles CSR articles 1971 7939 101202 12,7474493 38 3 1972 8480 101202 11,93419811 36 3 1973 8893 101202 11,37996177 148 13 1974 9350 101202 10,82374332 65 6 1975 10782 101202 9,386199221 94 10 1976 11579 101202 8,740132999 70 8 1977 12304 101202 8,225130039 33 4 1978 12421 101202 8,147653168 73 9 1979 12810 101202 7,900234192 47 6 1980 13188 101202 7,673794359 15 2 1981 13361 101202 7,574433051 23 3 1982 14266 101202 7,093929623 43 6 1983 14702 101202 6,883553258 34 5 1984 15559 101202 6,504402597 104 16 1985 16084 101202 6,29209152 44 7 1986 16300 101202 6,208711656 50 8 1987 16734 101202 6,047687343 67 11 1988 17140 101202 5,904434072 53 9 1989 18862 101202 5,365390733 16 3 1990 22730 101202 4,452353718 31 7 1991 23435 101202 4,318412631 65 15 1992 25030 101202 4,043228126 24 6 1993 31736 101202 3,188870683 32 10 1994 38695 101202 2,615376664 26 10 1995 43079 101202 2,349218877 23 10 1996 52651 101202 1,922128734 21 11 1997 62405 101202 1,621696979 19 12 1998 67875 101202 1,491005525 15 10 1999 71424 101202 1,416918683 23 16 2000 68174 101202 1,484466219 25 17 2001 71983 101202 1,405915286 63 45 2002 76876 101202 1,316431656 70 53 2003 88553 101202 1,14284101 127 111 2004 92901 101202 1,089353182 127 117 2005 93462 101202 1,082814406 197 182 2006 95648 101202 1,058067079 222 210 2007 101202 101202 1 254 254 total articles 1228
year total articles total 2007 factor adjusted CSR articles CSR articles 1993 53074 133446 2,514338471 5 2 1994 71073 133446 1,877590646 2 1 1995 84145 133446 1,585905283 3 2 1996 89919 133446 1,484068995 3 2 1997 112843 133446 1,182581108 1 1 1998 113736 133446 1,173296054 1 1 1999 106049 133446 1,258342842 4 3 2000 114929 133446 1,161116863 8 7 2001 121768 133446 1,095903686 20 18 2002 130403 133446 1,023335353 45 44 2003 130281 133446 1,024293642 91 89 2004 132565 133446 1,006645796 133 132 2005 127959 133446 1,042880923 115 110 2006 125053 133446 1,067115543 80 75 2007 133446 133446 1 89 89 total articles 576
Table 2. Magazine discourse.
year total articles total 2007 factor adjusted
CSR articles CSR articles 1999 242693 333880 1,375729832 7 5 2000 251084 333880 1,329754186 11 8 2001 257569 333880 1,296274008 25 19 2002 279795 333880 1,193302239 97 81 2003 312820 333880 1,067323061 83 78 2004 316084 333880 1,056301489 88 83 2005 316441 333880 1,055109799 109 103 2006 322887 333880 1,034045967 123 119 2007 333880 333880 1 167 167 total articles 663
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 year n u m b e r o f a rt ic le s
Figure 1. Adjusted CSR articles in trade publications.
