Strategic corporate responsibility: a theory review and synthesis

Pasi Heikkurinen

doi:10.1108/jgr-06-2018-0020

Pasi Heikkurinen

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1108/jgr-06-2018-0020

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Abstract

PurposeThis article examines how responsibility and strategy can and should be connected in a business organization.Design/methodology/approachThe article offers a review of the field by mapping previous studies according to their strategy and responsibility orientations and, consequently, identifies the classic perspective, as well as the major deficiencies and prevailing research gaps in the literature.FindingsThe article contributes to the field of strategic corporate responsibility by reframing the field with a contender perspective that challenges the classic view of strategy and responsibility amalgamation. Together, the classic and the contender perspectives are synthesized to form an integrative perspective that is more holistic than those currently available.Originality/valueThe article ends by calling for a reimagining of the relationship between corporate responsibility and strategy to find promising future research avenues and effective business practices suitable to meet the challenges of the twenty-first century.

Highlights

The phenomenon of responsibility in corporations continues to attract the attention of academics and business practitioners in the twenty-first century
The third point of departure for reviewing studies on strategy and corporate responsibility is found in the thought-provoking research conducted by Robin and Reidenbach (1987) and Reidenbach and Robin (1988), who applied a more integrated, cultural approach to making responsibility part of a firm’s strategy
Based on a theory review, the study illustrates four archetypical perspectives that each link responsibility and strategy differently. These perspectives vary according to their strategy orientation and responsibility orientation

Summary

Introduction

The phenomenon of responsibility in corporations continues to attract the attention of academics and business practitioners in the twenty-first century. Studies by Jamali et al (2015) on the relation between human resources and responsibility, as well as research conducted by Schmeltz (2014) on the role of corporate identity, can be considered to manifest the internal focus Speaking, this internal strategy orientation is considered relevant in turbulent and rapidly changing environments in which firms are unable to change direction in accordance with fluctuating market and stakeholder demands (Grant, 1991). Internal and external strategy orientations represent fully distinct management philosophies, but they do overlap in theory and in practice too (Mintzberg et al, 1998; Whittington, 1996) Because of this overlap, the third point of departure for reviewing studies on strategy and corporate responsibility is found in the thought-provoking research conducted by Robin and Reidenbach (1987) and Reidenbach and Robin (1988), who applied a more integrated, cultural approach to making responsibility part of a firm’s strategy. The responsibility of the corporation is surely a necessary but not a sufficient condition in ensuring just and ecologically viable societies

Conclusion

Compliance with ethical standards