Managers' personal values as drivers of corporate social responsibility

Journal of Business Ethics 50 (1):33-44 (2004)
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Abstract

In this theoretical paper, motives for CSR are considered. An underlying assumption is that the commercial imperative is not the sole driver of CSR decision-making in private sector companies, but that the formal adoption and implementation of CSR by corporations could be associated with the changing personal values of individual managers. These values may find expression through the opportunity to exercise discretion, which may arise in various ways. It is suggested that in so far as CSR initiatives represent individuals' values, so the responsibility in evidence is less obviously corporate. Our emphasis on personal initiative is intended to counter a tendency to view the corporation as the agent, and may serve to remind us that individuals can, indeed, make a difference.

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Author's Profile

Christine Hemingway
Goldsmiths College, University of London

References found in this work

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Moral agency as victim of the vulnerability of autonomy.Alan Lovell - 2002 - Business Ethics, the Environment and Responsibility 11 (1):62–76.

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