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Corporate Social Responsibility through Cross‐sector Partnerships: Implications for Civil Society, the State, and the Corporate Sector in I ndia
Author(s) -
Hede Skagerlind Helena,
Westman Moa,
Berglund Henrik
Publication year - 2015
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.12055
Subject(s) - civil society , corporate social responsibility , multinational corporation , corporate governance , credibility , state (computer science) , business sector , business , public relations , public administration , economic growth , politics , political science , economics , finance , law , algorithm , computer science
Corporations are increasingly forced to widen their agendas to include social and environmental concerns, or corporate social responsibility ( CSR ). This development has been recorded in the current academic debate, and the views regarding its implications for business, the state, and civil society diverge. However, there is agreement within the CSR and corporate governance literatures that there is a lack of thorough empirical studies of these effects. Based on a case study of the multinational wind energy company S uzlon E nergy's CSR projects in rural I ndia, this article contends that CSR projects implemented through cross‐sector partnerships can help to build the capacities of civil society organizations ( CSOs ). Although the risk of corporate steering of the civil society agenda is reduced when CSR prioritizes community needs over business imperatives, CSO s tend to bear the highest costs in partnerships, through credibility losses and insecurity concerning project terms and funding, reinforcing the importance of critical cooperation and complementary core competencies in cross‐sector partnerships. The results have implications for the strategies of corporations, CSO s, and governments as well as for the planning of national and international development aid.