Editorial introduction: corporate social responsibility and trust

Abstract

The Fifth Annual Colloquium of EABIS (European Academy of Business in Society) was organized and hosted by SDA Bocconi School of Management on 11–12 September 2006. More than 360 registered participants from 29 countries attended the event entitled ‘Corporate Sustainability, Strategic Management and the Stakeholder View of the Firm’. The Colloquium was part of the EABIS-led ‘Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Platform’ project, which has been supported by the European Union Commission's Sixth Research Framework Programme. The ‘CSR Platform’ aims to strengthen links between Europe's academic researchers and practitioners facing the practical challenges of corporate responsibility in Europe. By providing an interdisciplinary forum for research and reflection on the role of business in society, the 2006 Colloquium helped the ‘CSR Platform’ achieve one of its key objectives. Finally, after a careful peer review and selection, some of the papers presented during the Colloquium were accepted for publication in this issue of Business Ethics: A European Review. The focus of the Colloquium was on the strategic value of CSR. In brief, is CSR simply an add-on initiative, which does not affect the current way of life and thinking of companies, or is it an innovative approach to management based on a systemic stakeholder view of the firm? In the current economic, social and institutional environment, the capacity of a firm to generate sustainable wealth over time is related to its relationships with the entire stakeholder network. Therefore, the sustainability of a company depends on the sustainability of its relationships with stakeholders. This relational view of the firm has at least two crucial implications: the success of managerial efforts should no more be measured solely according to a shareholder perspective, but by adopting a more holistic and comprehensive stakeholder value approach; the main value-drivers for a company are the intangible assets, that is, knowledge and trust resources directly affecting, and in turn affected by, the quality of these relationships. In this perspective, a socially responsible firm, capable of developing new ways of interaction and engagement with stakeholders, can support and strengthen its sustainable value creation processes by enhancing the trust assets underlying the linkages that connect the business to a great number of interrelated individuals and constituencies. This collection of papers aims at providing interesting and insightful contributions to the debate on the possible relationships between trust and the CSR concept. This topic is still underdeveloped in the literature and our work is a seminal attempt to address the question by exploring the field from different viewpoints. Sergio Pivato, Nicola Misani and Antonio Tencati consider trust as a mediating variable capable of explaining the impact of CSR policies carried out by a company on the behaviour of consumers. Findings from their empirical research suggest that, instead of looking for direct correlations between corporate social performance (CSP) and corporate financial performance (CFP), the business case for CSR results from the adoption of a new perspective focused on intermediate performance measures. Esther Ortiz Martinez and David Crowther analyse corporate social disclosure policies and the influence that the lack of transparency in their contents can have both on the level of trust which stakeholders place in the management of the firm and on the efficacy of the communication tools adopted. Stian Nygaard and Angeloantonio Russo examine trust as the key factor for the success of research and development projects. This is especially true for initiatives regarding new sustainability-oriented technological trajectories such as fuel cell and hydrogen technologies, where uncertainty is high and thus co-operation is needed to improve efficiency and share risk. Jon Burchell and Joanne Cook study how dialogue and engagement can generate trust in the relationships between companies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). This outcome can lead to a long-term effect by changing the way business and NGOs address joint problems or campaigns. Finally, Francesco Perrini and Mario Minoja investigate the roots of the socially responsible behaviour developed by a family-owned company. In this case the entrepreneur's beliefs and values determine the culture of the firm and make CSR a strategic driver for competitive success. CSR becomes a means to strengthen and reinforce the relationships between the firm and the communities in which it operates: social capital and trust are at the basis of the growth and competitiveness of the business. Further research is needed in order to explore the role of trust as a fundamental asset affecting the quality of the linkages between a company and its stakeholders and, in the meantime, as a variable influenced by the CSR activities of a firm. However, we think that this collection of papers could be an important first step in a long and, certainly, fruitful research path.