The Roots of Corporate Social Irresponsibility
IN RECENT YEARS, the debate around corporate social responsibility (CSR) has evolved from whether firms should be responsible for more than just profits to how firms can be profitable while respecting people and communities and preserving the environment. While CSR has been widely embraced, corporate social irresponsibility (CSiR) continues to be widespread. Examples range from oil spills to misrepresenting the environmental benefits of products to unsafe working conditions, sexual harassment, unethical sales practices and accounting scandals.
Some of the organizations involved in these activities have even had reputations for CSR achievements. Indeed, research shows that some may be motivated to engage in CSR as a proactive way to camouflage, offset or compensate for prior or future CSiR.
In this article I will take a look at the roots of CSiR and what leaders can do to eradicate it in their organization.
Enablers of Irresponsible Behaviour
Individuals function within systems that are either enablers of CSiR or deterrents of it. Following are five common enablers of CSiR that leaders can take steps to proactively influence.
Pressure — or a lack thereof—has been shown to be an antecedent of fraud, greenwashing and other forms of CSiR. Pressure can come in many forms and from different people or institutions. Scholars have studied how pressure from different stakeholder groups in relation to CSR initiatives influences the adoption of environmental practices. This research
