Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Human Resources Contribution to Responsible Leadership: An Exploration of the CSR–HR Interface

  • Published:
Journal of Business Ethics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to investigate how Human Resources (HR) contributes to responsible leadership. Although Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) practices have been embraced by many corporations in recent years, the specific contributions of HR professionals, HR management practices and employees to responsible leadership have been overlooked. Relying on the analysis of interviews with 30 CSR and HR corporate executives from 22 corporations operating in France, we specify the HR contributions to responsible leadership at the functional, practical, and relational levels of analysis. We analyze whether and how HR support employees’ involvement in CSR, and highlight areas of collaboration and tension between HR and CSR functions around emerging practices of responsible leadership. Our findings uncover the multiple yet often implicit roles of HR in responsible leadership as well as the interrelation between functional, practical and relational dimensions of these roles. Finally, this study suggests that the organization of the HR–CSR interface can enable or undermine the HR contributions to responsible leadership and points to underlying cognitive factors that shape the HR–CSR interface.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. In this article, we use by default the acronym HR as a plural form for referring to three components: HR professionals (HR directors, managers and operationals), HR techniques and practices and employees. We specify when we refer solely to one of the three components.

  2. Translation from the ORSE website, consulted in September 2009: http://www.orse.org/gb/home/index.html.

  3. Quote from the ORSE website, consulted in September 2009: http://www.orse.org/gb/home/index.html.

  4. ‘Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World’ (http://global100.org/what.asp).

  5. In one case, the executive did not agree to be recorded due to confidentiality issues; in another case, a technical problem prevented us from recording the interview. In both cases, we used notes and summarized our key findings after the interview.

References

  • Aguilera, R., Rupp, D. E., Williams, C. A., & Ganapathi, J. (2007). Putting the ‘S’ back in corporate social responsibility: A multilevel theory of social change in organizations. Academy of Management Review, 32(3), 836–863.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arjaliès-de la Lande, D.-L., Péan, J.-M., & Tinel, R. (2009). Le Développement Durable : Emergence d’un Nouveau Modèle Economique ? Etude sur l’Organisation et les Outils de Pilotage mis en Place dans les Entreprises du CAC 40. Available at http://www.macifgestion.fr/userfiles/EtudeCAC_MACIF%20Gestion.pdf. Accessed on April 1.

  • Austin, J. E. (2006). Leadership through social purpose partnering. In Th. Maak & N. M. Pless (Eds.), Responsible leadership (pp. 2020–2211). London, New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bass, B. M. (1990). Bass and Sotdgill’s handbook of leadership (3rd ed.). New York: The Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beaujolin, F., & Capron, M. (2005). France. Balancing between constructive harassment and virtuous intentions. In A. Habisch, J. Jonker, M. Wegner, & R. Schmidpeter (Eds.), Corporate social responsibility across Europe (pp. 97–108). Berlin, Heidelberg, New York: Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Berthoin-Antal, A., & Sobczak, A. (2007). Corporate social responsibility in France: A mix of national traditions and international influences. Business & Society, 46(1), 9–32.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bhattacharya, C. B., Korshun, D., & Sen, S. (2009). Strengthening stakeholder-company relationships through mutually beneficial corporate social responsibility initiatives. Journal of Business Ethics, 85(2), 257–272.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bhattacharya, C. B., Sen, S., & Korshun, D. (2008). Using corporate social responsibility to win the war for talent. MIT Sloan Management Review, 49(2), 37–44.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bowen, H. R. (1953). Social responsibilities of the businessman. New York: Harper & Brothers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown, M. E., & Trevino, L. K. (2006). Ethical leadership: A review and future directions. Leadership Quarterly, 17, 595–616.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ciulla, J. B. (2006). Ethics: The heart of leadership. In T. Maak & N. M. Pless (Eds.), Responsible leadership (pp. 17–32). London, New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clinton, B. (2009). Creating value in an economic crisis. Harvard Business Review, September, 70–71.

  • d’Humières, P., & Chauveau, A. (Eds.). (2001). Les Pionniers de l’Entreprise Responsable. Paris: Editions d’Organisation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Doh, J. P., & Stumpf, S. A. (Eds.). (2005). Handbook on responsible leadership and governance in global business. Cheltenham/Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar.

    Google Scholar 

  • Donaldson, T., & Preston, L. E. (1995). The stakeholder theory of the corporation: Concepts, evidence, and implications. Academy of Management Review, 20(1), 65–91.

    Google Scholar 

  • Economist. (2008). Just good business. Special report on CSR. The Economist, January, 19th. Available at http://www.economist.com/node/10491077.

  • Economist Intelligence Unit. (2008). The 2007 Global Business Barometer. November–December. Available at http://www.economist.com/media/pdf/20080116CSRResults.pdf.

  • Elkington, J. (1997). Cannibals with forks: The triple bottom line of the 21st century business. Gabriola Island, Canada: New Society.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ferraro, F., Pfeffer, J., & Sutton, R. I. (2005). Economics language and assumptions: How theories can become self-fulfilling. Academy of Management Review, 30(1), 8–24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fiss, P. C. (2006). A set-theoretic approach to organizational configurations. Academy of Management Review, 32(4), 1180–1198.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Freeman, R. E. (1984). Strategic management: A stakeholder approach. Boston: Pitman.

    Google Scholar 

  • Freeman, R. E., Harrison, J. S., & Wicks, A. C. (2007). Managing for stakeholders: Survival, reputation, and success. New Haven: Yale University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ghoshal, S. (2005). Bad management theories are destroying good management practices. Academy of Management Learning and Education, 4(1), 75–91.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gond, J.-P., El Akremi, A., Igalens, J., & Swaen, V. (2010). A corporate social performance—corporate financial performance behavioural model for employees. In C. Bhattacharya, D. Levine, C. Smith, & D. Vogel (Eds.), Corporate responsibility and global business: Implications for corporate and marketing strategy (pp. 13–48). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gond, J.-P., & Herrbach, O. (2006). Corporate social reporting as a learning tool? A theoretical framework. Journal of Business Ethics, 65(4), 359–371.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Googings, B. K., Mirvis, P. H., & Rochlin, S. A. (2007). Beyond Good Company: Next Generation Corporate Citizenship. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Greening, D. W., & Turban, D. B. (2000). Corporate social performance as a competitive advantage in attracting a quality workforce. Business and Society, 39, 254–280.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hoffman, A., & Bazerman, M. H. (2007). Changing practices on sustainability: Understanding and overcoming the organizational and psychological barriers to action. In S. Sharma, M. Starik, & B. Husted (Eds.), Organizations and the sustainability mosaic. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • House, R. J., & Aditya, R. N. (1997). The social scientific study of leadership: Quo Vadis? Journal of Management, 23(3), 409–473.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • KPMG. (2008). International survey of corporate responsibility reporting 2008. KPMG International. Available: http://us.kpmg.com/RutUS_prod/Documents/8/Corporate_Sustainability_Report_US_Final.pdf.

  • Lindgreen, A., Swaen, V., & Harness, D. (2008). The role of ‘high potentials’ in implementing corporate social responsibility. In M. Fleckenstein, P. Primeaux, P. Werhane, & P. Flanagan (Eds.), Proceedings of the 15th annual international conference promoting business ethics: business ethics: Back to basics. New York: The Vincentian Universities in the United States.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lindgreen, A., Swaen, V., & Johnston, W. J. (2009). The supporting function of marketing in corporate social responsibility. Corporate Reputation Review, 12(2), 120–139.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lyon, D. (2004). How can you help organizations change to meet the corporate responsibility agenda? Corporate Responsibility and Environmental Management, 11(3), 133–139.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maak, T. (2007). Responsible leadership, stakeholder engagement, and the emergence of social capital. Journal of Business Ethics, 74(4), 329–343.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maak, T., & Pless, N. M. (2006). Responsible leadership in a stakeholder society. A relational perspective. Journal of Business Ethics, 66, 99–115.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maak, T., & Pless, N. M. (2009). Business leaders as citizens of the world. advancing humanism on a global scale. Journal of Business Ethics, 88(3), 537–550.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maignan, I., & Ferrell, O. C. (2001). Antecedents and benefits of corporate citizenship: An investigation of French businesses. Journal of Business Research, 51(1), 37–51.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maon, F., Lindgreen, A., & Swaen, V. (2009). Designing and implementing corporate social responsibility: An integrative framework grounded in theory and practice. Journal of Business Ethics, 87, 71–89.

    Google Scholar 

  • Margolis, J. D., & Walsh, J. P. (2003). Misery loves companies: Whither social initiatives by business? Administrative Science Quarterly, 48(2), 268–305.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Matten, D., & Moon, J. (2008). “Implicit” and “explicit” CSR: A conceptual framework for a comparative understanding of corporate social responsibility. Academy of Management Review, 33(2), 404–424.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maurice, M., Sorge, A., & Warner, M. (1980). Societal differences in organizing manufacturing units: A comparison of France, West-Germany and Great Britain. Organization Studies, 1(1), 59–86.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McKinsey. (2009). Valuing corporate social responsibility: McKinsey global survey results. McKinsey Quarterly, February. http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com.

  • McKinsey. (2010). How companies manage sustainability: McKinsey global survey results. McKinsey Quarterly, March. http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com.

  • Muthuri, J., Matten, D., & Moon, J. (2009). Employee volunteering and social capital: Contributions to corporate social responsibility. British Journal of Management, 20, 75–89.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Olsen, M., & Boxenbaum, E. (2009). Bottom-of-the-Pyramid: Organizational barriers to implementation. California Management Review, 51(4), 100–125.

    Google Scholar 

  • Peterson, D. K. (2004). The relationship between perceptions of corporate citizenship and organizational commitment. Business and Society, 43(3), 269–319.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pless, N., & Maak, T. (2005). Relational intelligence for leading responsibly in a connected world. In K. M. Weaver (Ed.), Proceedings of the sixty-fifth annual meeting of the academy of management. Honolulu, HI.

  • Pless, N., & Maak, T. (2009). Responsible leaders as agents of world Benefit: Learnings from “project ulysses”. Journal of Business Ethics, 85, 59–71.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pless, N., Maak, T., & Stahl, G. K. (2011). Developing responsible global leaders through international service-learning programs: The Ulysses experience. Academy of Management Learning and Education, 10(2), 237–260.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Prahalad, C. K. (2005). The fortune at the bottom of the pyramid: eradicating poverty through profits. Upper Sadle River, NJ: Wharton School Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Preuss, L., Haunschild, A., & Matten, D. (2009). The rise of CSR: Implications for HRM and employee representation. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 20(4), 975–995.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rupp, D. E., Gananpathy, J., Aguilera, R. V., & Williams, C. A. (2006). Employees’ reactions to corporate social responsibility: An organizational justice framework. Journal of Organizational Behaviour, 27, 537–543.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Turker, D. (2009). Measuring corporate social responsibility: A scale development study. Journal of Business Ethics, 85(4), 411–427.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ulrich, D. (1997). Human resource champions. Boston, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Waldman, D. A., & Galvin, B. M. (2008). Alternative perspectives of responsible leadership. Organizational dynamics. Organizational Dynamics, 37(4), 327–341.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Werre, M. (2003). Implementing corporate social responsibility: The Chiquita case. Journal of Business Ethics, 44(2/3), 247–260.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weybrecht, G. (2010). The sustainable MBA: The manager’s guide to green business. England: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Whitley, R. D. (1999). Diverging capitalisms: The social structuring and changes of business systems. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wittenberg, J., Harmon, J., Russel, W. G., & Fairfield, K. D. (2007). HR’s role in building a sustainable enterprise: Insights from some world’s best companies. Human Resource Planning, 30(1), 10–20.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We acknowledge the financial support of the French National Agency for Research/Agence Nationale pour la Recherche (CSROB project, young researchers program 2007, ANR-07-JCJC-0075). We thank the ORSE (Observatoire sur la Responsabilité Sociétale des Entreprises) and all the participants to the CSR–HR workshop series (2009–2010).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. HEC Montréal, 3000 Chemin de la Côte-Sainte-Catherine, Montreal, QC, H3T 2A7, Canada

    Jean-Pascal Gond

  2. Université de Toulouse, Toulouse Business School, 20, Boulevard Lascrosses, BP 7010, 31068, Toulouse Cedex 7, France

    Jacques Igalens

  3. Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain School of Management, 1, Place des Doyens, 1348, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium

    Valérie Swaen

  4. IESEG School of Management, 3 rue de la Digue, 59000, Lille, France

    Valérie Swaen

  5. Centre de Recherche en Management, Université Toulouse I—Capitole, Place Anatole France, 31 042, Toulouse Cedex, France

    Assâad El Akremi

Authors
  1. Jean-Pascal Gond
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jacques Igalens
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Valérie Swaen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Assâad El Akremi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jean-Pascal Gond.

Appendix

Appendix

See Tables 4 and 5.

Table 4 Interview descriptions
Full size table
Table 5 Structure of the initial questionnaire and dimensions of the scoring
Full size table

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Gond, JP., Igalens, J., Swaen, V. et al. The Human Resources Contribution to Responsible Leadership: An Exploration of the CSR–HR Interface. J Bus Ethics 98 (Suppl 1), 115–132 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-011-1028-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-011-1028-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation