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Cited by 2,131Corporate Social Responsibility ReportingCorporate Social Responsibility and SustainabilityGlobalization and political ideologies

The New Political Role of Business in a Globalized World: A Review of a New Perspective on CSR and its Implications for the Firm, Governance, and Democracy

Open access
Scherer, Andreas Georg, Palazzo, Guido·2011·Journal of Management Studies
DOI 10.1111/j.1467-6486.2010.00950.x
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Abstract

Scholars in management and economics widely share the assumption that business firms focus on profits only, while it is the task of the state system to provide public goods. In this view business firms are conceived of as economic actors, and governments and their state agencies are considered the only political actors. We suggest that, under the conditions of globalization, the strict division of labour between private business and nation‐state governance does not hold any more. Many business firms have started to assume social and political responsibilities that go beyond legal requirements and fill the regulatory vacuum in global governance. Our review of the literature shows that there are a growing number of publications from various disciplines that propose a politicized concept of corporate social responsibility. We consider the implications of this new perspective for theorizing about the business firm, governance, and democracy.

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Crossref · 10.1111/j.1467-6486.2010.00950.x

Cites

296 of 296 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

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Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • Corporate managers are neither elected by the public nor are their actions controlled by democratic institutions and procedures.

    “As Scherer and Palazzo (2011, p. 907) remind us, 'corporate managers are neither elected by the public', nor are their actions 'controlled by democratic institutions and procedures'.”

    From Make Social Media Social Again: How Platform Interoperability Can Fix Social Media and Future‐Proof Democracy (2025) · cites this paper as Scherer and Palazzo (2011)

    In “Corporate Responsibility on Globalized Markets: A New Perspective” (p. 907), the paper says corporate managers are not elected by the public. It says their political interventions in global public policy are not sufficiently controlled by democratic institutions and procedures—not that their actions generally are uncontrolled. The citing sentence omits both qualifications. (LLM, conf=0.88)

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  • Checks and balances in democracies are associated with higher levels of stability and government credibility, significantly reducing the risk of noncompliance and sudden changes to contracts or agreements.

    “First, checks and balances in democracies are associated with higher levels of stability and government credibility, significantly reducing the risk of noncompliance and sudden changes to contracts or agreements. 91”

    From Authoritarian collaboration and repression in the digital age: balancing foreign direct investment and control in internet infrastructure (2026) · cites this paper as [91]

    In “The Changing Societal Foundation of CSR: From Liberal Democracy to Deliberative Democracy” (page not specified), the paper says that the liberal political order protects contracts through law and that parliament and elections control officeholders. It does not say that checks and balances increase stability or government credibility, or that they significantly reduce noncompliance or sudden changes to agreements. (LLM, conf=0.82)

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Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Research works printed but not linked: 8

  1. Blair, M. M. (1995). Ownership and Control: Rethinking Corporate Governance for the 21st Century. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press.
  2. Dunfee, T. W. and Fort, T. L. (2003). 'Corporate hypergoals, sustainable peace, and the adapted firm'. Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law, 36, 563-617.
  3. Eisenberg, J. A. (1992). The Limits of Reason. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction University Press.
  4. Giddens, A. (1990). Consequences of Modernity. Cambridge: Polity Press.
  5. Oosterhout, J. (2010). 'The role of corporations in shaping the global rules of the game: in search of new foundations'. Business Ethics Quarterly, 20, 253-64.
  6. Santoro, M. A. (2009). China 2020. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
  7. Strange, S. (1996). The Retreat of the State and the Diffusion of Power in the World Economy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  8. Valente, M. and Crane, A. (2009). 'Private, but public: companies in emerging markets often have to take on services usually provided by the government. It isn't always easy'. The Wall Street Journal, 23, R6.

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Authors
Scherer, A. G., & Palazzo, G.
Affiliations
  • University of Zurich (CH)
  • University of Lausanne (CH)
Corresponding author
Scherer, Andreas Georg
ORCID
Scherer, Andreas Georg
Venue
Journal of Management Studies
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2011-04-27
Volume
48
Issue
4
Pages
899-931
ISSN
  • 0022-2380 (ISSN-L)
  • 1467-6486
DOI
10.1111/j.1467-6486.2010.00950.x
OpenAlex
W2122387224
Cited by
2,131
References
296
Citations by year
2026: 118 · 2025: 114 · 2024: 142 · 2023: 149 · 2022: 147 · 2021: 158 · 2020: 209 · 2019: 194 · 2018: 173 · 2017: 140 · 2016: 122 · 2015: 129 · 2014: 125 · 2013: 104 · 2012: 72
FWCI
193.09
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Journal of Management Studies (publishedVersion, public-domain)
  • IRIS (submittedVersion)
  • SERVAL (Université de Lausanne) (submittedVersion)
  • Zurich Open Repository and Archive (University of Zurich) (submittedVersion)
Funders
City University of New York
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Strategy and Management › Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management › Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability
  • Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Globalization and political ideologies
Keywords
corporate social responsibility, business and politics, globalization, global governance, regulatory vacuum, theory of the firm, governance, democracy, state-business relations, public goods

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