Description
Book SynopsisThis challenging and somewhat controversial book provides a critical perspective on contemporary discourses of corporate social responsibility (CSR). Subhabrata Bobby Banerjee questions the win-win assumptions of CSR and identifies the limits of the good that corporations can do, illustrating that the ability of firms to enhance social welfare is constrained by their current form and purpose; that of a shareholder value maximizing entity.
The book shows how supranational institutions such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organization are complicit in an 'economic capture' of social issues through a combination of material, institutional and discursive power that results in undermining economic democracy. Taking a political economy perspective, the author analyzes recent conflicts between transnational corporations and local communities in developing countries and exposes the limits of stakeholder theory in addressing the needs of marginalized communities. He concludes by discussing alternatives to the current system that could result in meaningful social outcomes, and provides a critical research agenda for CSR.
Linking theory to practice, this critical look at corporate social responsibility will provide much material to fuel the debate amongst academics, researchers and postgraduate students in the fields of management, international business and management.
Trade Review'This book has many merits. It will make fascinating reading for the increasing number of organizational scholars who wonder how organizational research can engage more in accounting for the impact of corporations on their environment in a broad sense.' -- Bahar Ali Kazmi, Bernard Leca and Philippe Naccache, Organization Studies
'This book is for those who will enjoy a thoughtful and informative monograph that acutely summarises and refreshes critique from a political and sociological perspective. It is a comprehensive re-interpretation of the corporate world and the evidently meretricious regime of CSR which makes it an enjoyable compendium for critical management studies fans . . this erudite volume will be valuable to mainstream, social science academics either involved in (or dismissive of) CSR and sustainability discourses in management education and research.' -- David Bevan, Scandinavian Journal of Management
'Banerjee's book is thought provoking and must be read. But it should be read not only by corporate social responsibility scholars but by all business scholars. It is through Banerjee's provocations that we can understand the shortcomings of corporate systems and the boundaries of corporate social responsibility.' -- Pratima Bansal, Administrative Science Quarterly
'This is a tour de force
that carefully assembles and incisively interrogates perhaps the most pressing problem of our age: how to harness the resources of corporations to tackle global problems of poverty, oppression and environmental degradation? Banerjee does not present us with glib pronouncements or simplistic fixes. Instead, he brilliantly illuminates the scale of the challenges and lucidly assesses the relevance and value of CSR responses to date.' -- Hugh Willmott, University of Cardiff, UK
Table of ContentsContents: Introduction 1. Corporate Social Responsibility: A Historical Review 2. Corporate Social Responsibility: Theoretical Perspectives 3. The Stakeholder Theory of the Firm: A Critical Perspective 4. The Problem with Corporate Citizenship 5. The Dilemmas of CSR and Corporate Citizenship 6. The Perils of Sustainability 7. The Business of Human Rights 8. The Political Economy of CSR 9. Alternate Visions References Index
