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The Framing of Corporate Social Responsibility and the Globalization of National Business Systems: A Longitudinal Case Study

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Abstract

The globalization movement in recent decades has meant rapid growth in trade, financial transactions, and cross-country ownership of economic assets. In this article, we examine how the globalization of national business systems has influenced the framing of corporate social responsibility (CSR). This is done using text analysis of CEO letters appearing in the annual reports of 15 major corporations in Sweden during a period of transformational change. The results show that the discourse about CSR in the annual reports has changed from a national and communitarian view of social responsibility (cf. a negotiated view of CSR) toward an international and individualistic view of social responsibility (cf. a self-regulating view of CSR). The article contributes theoretically (1) by adding a national–global dimension to previous conceptualizations of CSR and (2) by showing that the rise of CSR discourse and activities in the last 10 years does not have to imply an increased commitment and interest in corporate responsibility per se, only that there are increased societal expectations that corporations should develop the capability to act more independently as moral agents.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University College of Skövde, P.O. Box 408, 541 28, Skövde, Sweden

    Stefan Tengblad

  2. GRI, School of Business, Economics and Law, Göteborg University, P.O. Box 600, 405 30, Göteborg, Sweden

    Claes Ohlsson

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  1. Stefan Tengblad
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  2. Claes Ohlsson
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Correspondence to Stefan Tengblad.

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Tengblad, S., Ohlsson, C. The Framing of Corporate Social Responsibility and the Globalization of National Business Systems: A Longitudinal Case Study. J Bus Ethics 93, 653–669 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-009-0246-2

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