Institutional Analysis and the Paradox of Corporate Social Responsibility

Abstract

This article develops a series of causal propositions specifying the institutional conditions under which firms are likely to act in socially responsible ways, as defined by a standard of minimally acceptable corporate behavior. Little theoretical attention has been paid to understanding the causes of corporate social responsibility (CSR). By using institutional theory to explore the determinants of CSR, this article not only sheds light on a blind spot in the literature on CSR but also weds two literatures that have remained largely isolated from each other.