Title: The paradox of trust: why 'profit' does not have to be a bad word in the concept of corporate social responsibility

Authors: Kaushik Sridhar

Addresses: Macquarie Graduate School of Management, Macquarie University, 156/122, Culloden Road, Marsfield, NSW 2122, Australia

Abstract: This paper discusses corporate social responsibility (CSR) and various theories and ideas around CSR. The theoretical framework of the paper is based on ethics, morality, and conceptual research of CSR. The focus of the paper is to clarify the concepts which managers have concerning CSR and its link towards becoming more sustainable. When companies |behaviours are based on ethical issues, they create positive reputation among stakeholders. The concerns that businesses have had for society can be traced back centuries, although the actual literature on social responsibility is mostly prevalent in the last five decades or so. This paper discusses CSR and various theories and ideas around CSR. Hence, the review of CSR|s definitional evolution will focus on this body of literature.

Keywords: corporate social responsibility; CSR; social licence; stakeholder theory; accountability; ethics; governance; sustainability; environmental degradation; sustainable development; trust; profits; morality; conceptual research; managers; company behaviour; ethical issues; positive reputations; society; business; globalisation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBG.2011.038487

International Journal of Business and Globalisation, 2011 Vol.6 No.2, pp.154 - 168

Published online: 27 Sep 2014 *

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