Corporate Social Responsibility Theories: Mapping the Territory

Elisabet Garriga, ` ´ Domenec Mele

ABSTRACT. The Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) field presents not only a landscape of theories but also a proliferation of approaches, which are controversial, complex and unclear. This article tries to clarify the situation, ‘‘mapping the territory’’ by classifying the main CSR theories and related approaches in four groups: (1) instrumental theories, in which the corporation is seen as only an instrument for wealth creation, and its social activities are only a means to achieve economic results; (2) political theories, which concern themselves with the power of corporations in society and a responsible use of this power in the political arena; (3) integrative theories, in which the corporation is focused on the satisfaction of social demands; and (4) ethical theories, based on ethical responsibilities of corporations to society. In practice, each CSR theory presents four dimensions related to Elisabet Garriga is a PhD student in Management at IESE Business School, University of Navarra, Spain. She holds a degree in Philosophy and another in Economics from the University of Barcelona, Spain. She has taught Business Ethics at the University Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, for the International Education of Students (IES), a consortium comprised of more than 120 leading US colleges and universities. Her current research focuses on the concept and implementation of Corporate Social Responsibilities. She also has interest in organizational learning, entrepreneurship and innovation. ` ´ Domenec Mele is Professor and Director of the Department of Business Ethics at IESE Business School, University of Navarra, Spain and chairs the bi-annual ‘‘International Symposium on Ethics, Business and Society’’ held by IESE. He has a Doctorate in Industrial Engineering from the