An Introduction to Responsible Management: A Corporate Social Responsibility, Green Marketing, and Sustainability Management Perspective

Abstract

There are rising calls for the adoption of responsible management practices in virtually every economic sector of both developed and developing economies. Among others, efforts to promote responsible management have been championed by governments, international organisations, academic institutions, and industry regulators. In developing economies, such moves have spawned numerous success stories across diverse sectors such as energy, mining, manufacturing, and agriculture. Despite these glowing achievements, a plethora of challenges persist that threaten the sustainable development agenda. Against this backdrop, we address some crucial pathways for the sustainability logic and responsible management philosophy, as exemplified by contemporary practices across various sectors within the emerging markets context. We conceptualised responsible management as built on three pillars and examine the contribution of this triad of cognate concepts and practices: corporate social responsibility, green business, and sustainable management. We argue that social responsibility is pivotal to responsible management since it is imperative for corporations to consider the interests of multiple stakeholders, including employees, the society, the environment, future generations, and not only the interests of companies and investors. Akin to corporate social responsibility are sustainable management practices. We applaud current sustainability transitions concerning initiatives by businesses to drive meaningful and rewarding sustainability action. However, considering the upsurge of irresponsible and unsustainable business practices that harm the biosphere, needlessly kill wildlife, deplete natural resources, and destroy vegetation, the chapter explicates some specific ways in which businesses in emerging markets can drive green business initiatives from thought to finish, as expressed through green sourcing, green processing, green production, and green consumption practices. We also make recommendations regarding how governments, policymakers, and managers can support and embed the responsible management agenda in emerging markets. The chapter recommends that organisations must reimagine present-day sustainability actions by adopting innovative and sustainable initiatives such as reducing consumption, recycling, remanufacturing, reusing resources, and employing cutting-edge technology to monitor business processes across the entire value-chain from manufacturing to the end-user. At the micro level, we advocate that firm managers, entrepreneurs, and individuals must propel efforts in adopting responsible management practices. Finally, this chapter introduces the multisectoral chapters contained in the pages of this book, outline contributions to theory, and discuss practical managerial and policy implications.