Strategic and Moral Motivation for Corporate Social Responsibility

Abstract

This article examines the relationship between management’s view on corporate\nsocial responsibility (CSR) and firms’ actual CSR efforts. It focuses on the practices\nof 111 Dutch firms with respect to five stakeholder groups—employees, supplies, customers,\ncompetitors and society at large—and their use of organisational instruments.\nWe find that the moral (intrinsic) motive, which holds that CSR is a moral duty\nof companies towards society, induces a stronger involvement in CSR than the strategic\n(extrinsic) motive, which holds that CSR contributes to the financial success of\nthe company in the long run. This particularly applies to ethical aspects of employee\nrelations and the use of instruments to integrate CSR in the company’s organisation.\nWith respect to consumer relations, the strategic and moral motives are equally\nimportant. As for relations with suppliers and competitors and society at large, we\ndo not find a significant relationship between management’s strategic and moral\nview on CSR and actual CSR performance.