Skip to content

Is CSR Crowding Out Charity? A case Study of CSR Implementation in a German Company.

Author: Bohn, S., & Walgenbach, P.
Published in: A. Sales (Eds.), Corporate Social Responsibility and Corporate Change. Ethical Economy (Studies in Economic Ethics and Philosophy), vol. 57 (pp. 259-270). Cham, Bavaria: Springer.
Year: 2019
Type: Book contributions and chapters

Based on the argument of Matten and Moon (Acad Manag Rev 33(2):404–424, 2008) and their distinction between implicit and explicit Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), we analyze the process of implementing the strategic-explicit version of CSR in a company that was traditionally committed to a more implicit and philanthropic understanding of social activities. In our two-year case study, we show that the company reorganized its entire social engagement and set new rules to meet the CSR business case. The effect is that the old philanthropic activities were replaced, and the company reduced the variety of its social engagement. Our case study highlights that the implementation of CSR does not necessarily lead to greater attention to ethical and social behavior. On the contrary, it may lead to a crowding out of charity.

Visit publication

Publication

Connected HIIG researchers

Stephan Bohn, Dr.

Senior Researcher & Project Lead: Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Society



    Explore current HIIG Activities

    Research issues in focus

    HIIG is currently working on exciting topics. Learn more about our interdisciplinary pioneering work in public discourse.