An enhanced role for CSR in corporate governance?

Abstract

This paper examines the relationship between corporate social responsibility and corporate governance, what simple logic suggests should be the case, and what seems to be the perceived reality as described in the literature. Reported attempts at defining corporate social responsibility prove more confusing than might be expected; reasons for this are suggested. Corporate governance is easy to define, but in practice it is often viewed through a narrower lens than a useful definition might suggest. Logic suggests that corporate social responsibility is a subset of corporate governance, but some authors attempt to invert the relationship. According to the literature, progress is now being made in that both corporate governance and corporate social responsibility are being more widely pursued on the ground than hitherto. In the case of corporate governance, this is because activity in the form of a jurisdictional code is often mandated. On the linkage of the two notions, broadly speaking, better corporate governance tends to be aligned with greater commitment to corporate social responsibility and better reporting thereof.