Four Main Theories on Corporate Social Responsibility
There are four main theories on corporate social responsibility; political theory, instrumental theory, legal theory, and integrative theory. In instrumental philosophy, entrepreneurship is seen as a revenue-generating tool, and social enterprises are just a means of achieving economic performance. Political philosophy is self-interested in the influence of corporations in society and in the mature usage of dominance in the political world. Integrative philosophy is concerned with how enterprise focuses on meeting societal demands (Garriga, Elisabet, and Domenec Mele). The ethical theory is based on the doctrines that emphasize the appropriate actions to take or the requirement to bring about a great community.
Instrumental Theories and My Preferred Theory
The theory that I support the most are the instrumental theories because they mostly concentrate on creating and multiplying the wealth of everyone involved in the business. They do this within the ethical customs and legal framework of the country. The theories are also popular and widely accepted among businessmen where they insist that creation of wealth continuously dominates the managerial conception of responsibility. The instrumental theories are subdivided into three groups. The first one concentrates on maximizing the value of the shareholder, which is quantified by the share price. The actions in this group lead to an orientation of profits in the short term. The second one centers on the critical target of gaining a competitive advantage; an action that produces profits in the long-term. in both these cases, corporate social responsibility is simply a matter of liberal self-interest since they are just profit instruments. The third group is analogous to marketing that is cause-related and is extremely proximate to the second one.
Further Research and Conclusion
Further research could analyze these theories and their connection in the most appropriate theories and consider their limitations and contributions. What seems most challenging, however, is developing a fresh theory that would conquer these limitations.
Work Cited
Garriga, Elisabet, and Domènec Melé. "Corporate Social Responsibility Theories: Mapping The Territory". Journal Of Business Ethics, vol 53, no. 1/2, 2004, pp. 51-71. Springer Nature, doi:10.1023/b:busi.0000039399.90587.34.
