Premium
When and How to Pursue Corporate Social Responsibility with Core Competencies
Author(s) -
Webb Michael A.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
business and society review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.524
H-Index - 21
eISSN - 1467-8594
pISSN - 0045-3609
DOI - 10.1111/basr.12039
Subject(s) - corporate social responsibility , core competency , business , productivity , exploit , scope (computer science) , core (optical fiber) , government (linguistics) , scale (ratio) , social responsibility , economies of scale , industrial organization , marketing , public relations , economics , economic growth , political science , linguistics , philosophy , materials science , computer security , physics , quantum mechanics , computer science , composite material , programming language
We first establish that the pursuit of corporate social responsibility ( CSR ) can enhance the society's welfare when both market and government imperfections occur, and demonstrate this is likely in most locales across the world. Second, we show that CSR initiatives are most likely successful and sustainable when a firm accurately identifies the benefits and costs of potential CSR initiatives and implements them consistent with its core competencies. We provide three reasons for a firm to focus CSR initiatives on core competencies: to reap economies of scale and scope in building company‐wide knowledge and skills; to promote worker productivity that is integral to the firm; and to exploit the fixed costs associated with managing workers. Each reason provides a distinct way to minimize the costs and increase the gains from pursuing CSR initiatives and provides implications for implementing CSR initiatives.