Corporations and the third sector: responsible marriages at last?

Abstract

PurposeCorporate social responsibility (“CSR”) and its themes have taken root across the globe in the last 25 years. Corporations have generally responded by either embracing CSR as an important tool for productivity and value‐creation or by adapting to the changed and changing business environment caused by CSR. The third sector has a complex set of relationships with CSR, at times exhibiting tension about the changing role of corporations as a result of CSR. This paper seeks to show how conceptions of the value of CSR by corporations and third sector (CTS) organisations affect the nature and outcome of interactions between them.Design/methodology/approachThe paper provides a framework to assist in explicating the standpoint of an entity and its likely engagement with others in relation to CSR. The framework is used to compared CSR motivations across CTS organisations in order to show where those motivations and orientations are compatible or in conflict.FindingsThe paper finds that CTS organisations may be able to better predict the likelihood of success before engaging with a partner.Research limitations/implicationsThe frameworks identified will provide a basis for further research in relation to the pre‐engagement phase of corporate and third sector organisations partners.Practical implicationsThe paper will help practitioners and corporations engaging in CSR and those in the third sector seeking engagement to find mutually beneficial grounds for a sustainable relationship.Originality/valueThere is growing concern among those who need to manage the relationship to find better terms of engagement. However, ground is largely unexplored.