Title: A journey through the labyrinth of the business and society concepts

Authors: Som Sekhar Bhattacharyya, Anil Chaturvedi, Abha Chaturvedi

Addresses: Strategic Management, Management Development Institute, Mehrauli Road, Sukhrali, Gurgaon – 122001, India. ' Organisational Behaviour, Management Development Institute, Mehrauli Road, Sukhrali, Gurgaon – 122001, India. ' Human Resource Management, Management Development Institute, Mehrauli Road, Sukhrali, Gurgaon – 122001, India

Abstract: Business is as old as human civilisation. Business is the reflection of the vibrant entrepreneurial spirit some in society are endowed with. Good or bad, business touches everyone in society. The dynamic interface between business and society has been a popular field of research in the past and with the growing dominance of business institutions, it continues to be a fertile ground for research. There are many concepts on business and society that capture the positive or negative externalities that business have on society. Likewise, there are many normative philosophies on and instrumental approaches to what business ought to do, to have a better world for all of us. This review study analyses the various concepts in business and society and extracts the key themes and meanings that each of these terms conveys, and further deliberates on the promises they carry for that better world, for our progeny.

Keywords: business history; society history; corporate social responsibility; CSR; corporate citizenship; business environment; business concepts; concepts of society.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBE.2009.023793

International Journal of Business Environment, 2009 Vol.2 No.3, pp.281 - 306

Published online: 11 Mar 2009 *

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