Journal Article

·2005

Is it true that social responsibility studies can cause an assimilation problem, and why?

R. Şeminur Topal YTU

Social Responsibility Journal

Abstract

There are a variety of definitions of CSR and no overall agreement. Johnson's (2003) definition is: “CSR is concerned with treating the stakeholders of the firm ethically or in a responsible manner”. ‘Ethically or responsible’ means treating stakeholders in a manner deemed acceptable in civilized societies. Social responsibility includes economic responsibility. Stakeholders exist both within a firm and outside. The natural environment is a stakeholder. The wider aim of social responsibility is to create ever higher standards of living, while preserving the profitability of the corporation, for people both within and outside the corporation. CSR therefore means the ethical behaviour of a business towards its constituencies or stakeholders. Nevertheless, there are a wide variety of concepts and definitions associated with the term “Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)”, but no general agreement of terms .

Keywords

Corporate social responsibility Corporation Variety (cybernetics) Stakeholder Social responsibility Profitability index Business Public relations Stakeholder management Business ethics Environmental ethics Political science Finance

Subject Areas

Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting ·Strategy and Management ·Social Sciences