Abstract
This article examines capacity development for collective action and institutional change through the implementation of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives. We integrate Hargrave and Van de Ven’s (2006, Academy of Management Review 31(4), 864–888) Collective Action Model with capacity development literature to develop a framework that can be used to clarify the nature of CSR involvement in capacity development, help identify alternative CSR response options, consider expected impacts of these options on stakeholders, and highlight trade-offs across alternative CSR investments. Our framework encompasses CSR program investments in the capacities of individuals, organizations, and collaborations, as also their impact on the larger enabling environment. We then use this framework to provide descriptive evidence of two implementations: (1) The PhD Project, whose mission is to increase the diversity of corporate America by increasing the diversity of business school faculty, and (2) Involve, the community involvement program at KPMG, one of the Big Four Accounting firms. We discuss implications of our framework for managerial practice and future research.
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Acknowledgments
We gratefully acknowledge many useful comments from two anonymous reviewers and for the encouragement provided by the Editors (Professors Lindgreen and Swaen). We thank John-Anthony Meza (Associate Director, National Community Involvement, KPMG), Tara Perino (Associate Director, KPMG Foundation and The PhD Project), and Marie Zara (Development Manager, The PhD Project) for helpful discussions and comments on earlier versions of the article.
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Rama, D., Milano, B.J., Salas, S. et al. CSR Implementation: Developing the Capacity for Collective Action. J Bus Ethics 85 (Suppl 2), 463–477 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-008-9737-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-008-9737-9