CSR: the role of leadership in driving ethical outcomes

Abstract

Purpose – This paper aims to explain why CSR policies have failed to render organizations more ethical and to propose concepts for using CSR for improving the ethics of organizations. Design/methodology/approach – The paper examines the literature on CSR to compare how gaps in this field of literature are similar to those in leadership theory. Findings – The paper posits that the different logical approaches to CSR are not necessarily ethical since ethics is based on the emotional involvement of the actor. The paper explains that leadership is not a hierarchical position but the emotional ability to follow one's worldview – either the Theta or Lambda worldviews – based on how one perceives his life purpose. The paper shows how to integrate knowledge from leadership theory to render the various CSR policies more ethical. Research limitations/implications – The paper shows the implication of the need for emotional involvement in research, in general. While the paper indicates a direction for how to integrate CSR policies into organizations, it does not provide examples. Originality/value – The paper argues for a definition of leadership as the ability to act authentically according to one's worldview, either Theta or Lambda. Based on this context, it provides a better definition of strategy and tactics while arguing that CSR is only applicable to the latter category.