Two Models of CSR and Sustainability: A comparison between the ‘Pyramid of Corporate Social Responsibility’ and the ‘Model of Sustainable Development’

Abstract

Although many different theories existof the notion of Corporate Social Responsibility(CSR) and the terms associatedwith it (sustainability, CorporateGovernance, sustainable development),very few have managed to develop acomprehensive model of CSR or sustainabilitybut instead concentrate oneither one or a few stakeholders withinspecific contexts or examples. Aras andCrowther (2009) present an interestingnew ‘Model of Sustainable Development’that can be usefully contrastedwith Carroll’s (1991) Pyramid of CorporateSocial Responsibility’, now almosttwenty years old.With the creation of many governmentbodies in the 1970s, such as the EnvironmentalProtection Agency and the ConsumerProduct Safety Commission toprotect the environment, employees andconsumers, it became apparent at thetime that the business world was undercriticism for not being accountableenough to their stakeholders and societyin general (Carroll 1991). The perceptionof social responsibility shifted tosocial responsiveness by some writerswho argued that the former was not concentratingenough on the actions of thecorporation. This was a necessary reorientationas it emphasised the importanceof corporate action and implantation of asocial role, however the question stillremained of how to reconcile the economicorientation with such social role.From this, a four part comprehensivedefinition of CSR was proposed, whichemphasised the importance of businessesresponding to all aspects of the socialworld: economic, legal, ethical and philanthropicand it is from this that Carrollconstructed the four tiered pyramid(Carroll 1991).

More Content can be found in the attached PDF file. Copyright © www.iiste.org