About the Book
By and large, corporations of the 21st century have come to realise that their obligations to societies in terms of corporate social responsibility are fourfold: economic, ethical, altruistic and strategic. Meeting these four responsibilities is crucial to their survival in their various markets and industries; it also requires them to rewrite their previously less socially responsible business models in order to do so. All indications continue to suggest that it is those organisations that are perceived to be socially responsible by stakeholders in modern markets that survive and prosper. Corporations have equally realised that by being innovative in all things – including their CSR activities and initiatives – they will add value to the so-called bottom line, to the positive contributions they make to society and to how they are perceived by their key stakeholders.
However, many criticisms have been made of CSR in its current form, often related to the lack of value that it generates within the enterprise and the fact that it offers only a partial and short-term response to the full challenges of sustainable development. The time has come to shift the CSR focus away from risk management towards a more progressive and entrepreneurial approach that seeks to create value and identify sustainable opportunities for strategic innovation.
This book aims to explore, inspire and support creative, innovative and strategic CSR. "Innovation" in this book means new products, services and technologies and, in addition, new organisational and institutional systems, structures and new business models that empower the organisation to advance strategically in an ever more competitive business world.
Both research and practice show that CSR has mainly been approached in terms of value protection and risk management, where the main objective has been to protect companies' existing assets or avoid scandals. Therefore, in many cases where CSR remains at the forefront of business activity, it does not lead to fundamental changes and is not yet integrated as a strategic component where it could create value, generate new ideas and open new opportunities.
How do corporate entities shift their attention from risk management to value creation? This is the key question that this book attempts to answer, both theoretically and empirically as well as through real case studies and experiences.
With contributions from a crème de la crème of scholars from 12 countries, Innovative CSR gathers together a cornucopia of innovative practices that will be essential reading for academics and practitioners alike.
Table of Contents:
Foreword Professor Dr Philippe HaspeslaghInnovative corporate social responsibility: an introduction Samuel O. Idowu, Céline Louche and Walter Leal FilhoPart I: CSR and competitive advantage 1. An action-based approach for linking CSR with strategy: framework and cases Jeremy Galbreath, Graduate School of Business, Curtin University of Technology, Western Australia Kim Benjamin, Curtin Business School, Curtin University of Technology, Western Australia2. Exploring the regulatory preconditions for business advantage in CSR David Williamson, Gary Lynch-Wood and Rilka Dragneva-Lewers, University of Manchester, UK3. Convergent and divergent corporate social responsibility Nicola Misani, Bocconi University, Italy4. CSR: an opportunity for SMEs Denise Baden, University of Southampton, UK5. Competitive advantage from CSR programmes Malcolm F. Arnold, Cranfield University, UK6. A strategic approach to CSR: the case of Beghelli Barbara Del Bosco, University of Bergamo, ItalyPart II: CSR and Value Creation 7. CSR as a strategic activity: value creation, redistribution and integration Karen Maas and Frank Boons, Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands8. Does corporate social responsibility really add value for consumers? Alejandro Alvarado-Herrera, University of Quintana Roo, Mexico Enrique Bigné-Alcañiz, Rafael Currás-Pérez and Joaquín Aldás-Manzano, University of Valencia, Spain9. Strategic corporate social responsibility: a brand-building tool Francisco Guzmán, University of North Texas, USA Karen L. Becker-Olsen, The College of New Jersey, USA10. Corporate social responsibility: risk managing for value creation in the housing sector in the UK Jyoti Navare, Middlesex University, UK11. Healthcare provision of a multinational company operating in emerging markets: ethical motivations, benefits of healthcare investment and the impact on socially responsible investors Katinka C. van Cranenburgh, Daniel Arenas and Laura Albareda, ESADE (Universitat Ramon Llull), Spain12. A rose by any other name? The Case of HIV/AIDS interventions among South African SMEs Karla A. Duarte and Maeve Houlihan, University College Dublin, IrelandPart III: CSR and Innovation 13. Innovation in corporate social responsibility: how innovative is it? An exploratory study of 129 global innovative CSR solutions Céline Louche, Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School, Belgium Samuel O. Idowu, London Metropolitan University Business School, UK Walter Leal Filho, Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, Germany14. Towards a sustainable innovation model for small enterprises Steven P. MacGregor and Joan Fontrodona, IESE Business School, Spain Jose Hernandez, University of Strathclyde, UK15. Barriers to innovative CSR: the impacts of organisational learning, organisational structure and the social embeddedness of the firm Lutz Preuss, Royal Holloway, University of London, UK16. How consultants contribute to CSR innovation: combining competences and modifying standards Magnus Frostenson, Uppsala University, Sweden17. Strategic CSR in the Japanese context: from business risk to market creation Scott Davis, Rikkyo University, Japan18. CSR, the mining industry and indigenous peoples in Australia and Canada: from cost and risk minimisation to value creation and sustainable development Ciaran O'Faircheallaigh, Griffith University, AustraliaInnovative corporate social responsibility in the 21st century: some thoughts Walter Leal Filho, Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, Germany Céline Louche, Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School, Belgium Samuel O. Idowu, London Metropolitan University Business School, UK
About the Author :
Céline LouchE, Samuel Idowu, Walter Filho
Review :
Insights abound in this packed volume of academic papers from scholars in 12 different countries around the world and how they perceive the modern practice of CSR and, in particular, the ways in which CSR can be leveraged to create strategic value for businesses. It is rare to find an academic textbook that is utterly riveting, highly readable and well-structured, providing a wide range of case studies and commentaries on the practical aspects of CSR in a multitude of companies and organizations. This book does it superbly. Each paper is a gem. Each paper builds effectively around the central theme of strategic CSR innovation, exploring different dimensions of innovative and strategic practice on the part of corporate entities around the globe, offering new ways of thinking about the ways in which CSR is, and sometimes isn't, leveraged to deliver creative, strategic, triple bottom line value for businesses, society and environment. ... All in all, despite the academic nature of this book, the sometimes rather tedious descriptions of methodologies applied, and the often repetitive introductory sections to each of the different papers penned by different academics, this book is a delight. The deep-dive into core CSR concepts provide original ways of thinking about how companies have and can make CSR a business-builder rather than a series of bolt-on projects. An essential understanding of what is strategic and what is innovative in CSR terms is a prerequisite, I suggest, for any company engaging in CSR practices. This book is a must-read for anyone considering these themes. Read the full article - 'CSRwire', 11 August 2010 - Elaine Cohen || By and large, corporate social responsibility (CSR) has gone mainstream: Corporations have realized that by being innovative in all things – including their CSR activities and initiatives – they will add value to the so-called bottom line to the positive contributions they make to society and to how they are perceived by their key stakeholders. However, many criticisms have been made of CSR in its current form, often related to the lack of value that it generates within the enterprise and the fact that it offers only a partial and short-term response to the full challenges of sustainable development. This book aims to explore innovative and strategic CSR: With contributions from 12 countries, it gathers together a variety of innovative practices. "Innovation" in this book means new products, services, and technologies and, in addition, new organizational and institutional systems, structures, and new business models that empower the organization to advance strategically. The book's key question is: How do corporate entities shift their attention from risk management to value creation? - 'Journal of Consumer Policy' 33.4 (2010) || Idowu et al. provide an introduction emphasizing the facets of people, planet and profit, a good set of frames for the topic. These papers may have relevance to both researchers and policy makers ... The collection of papers provides a broad perspective of CSR. Three main future trends identified were: 1. The convergence of international CSR standards, 2. Management of costs in CSR implementation, and 3. Opportunities for innovation. Like all collections of papers, the treatment is mixed. However, for those with specific interests, the book gathers together some interesting works on the role and potential of corporate social responsibility, with both cases and tools presented. The price is moderate ... - 'Journal of Cleaner Production' 18 (2010) - David L. Olson, University of Nebraska; and Desheng Wu, School of Science and Engineering, Reykjavik
