Approaches and economic and social perspectives of corporate responsibility

Abstract

Over the last few decades, scholars from different areas of knowledge including economics, ethics, sociology, psychology, law and politics, have attempted to find a sufficiently clear and explicit description of the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility. Despite this, the debates have so far not given rise to solvent solutions, firstly because the concept itself arises from a not-so unanimous idea of what a business organization is or should be; secondly, because not all analyses part from entering a person’s duty within a company into the same vein. The common ground that can be found in theoretical models trying to explain the concept of the company is that it is a group of people that work together in order to achieve objectives. Much debate arises the moment in which said objectives need to be formulated. Do individuals decide to form a part of an organization in order to satisfy their collective or personal needs or interests? With the purpose of answering such questions, this study looks at the different approaches of an ethical-anthropological origin, bearing in mind above all economic and social factors. A chronological order is followed throughout the analysis, making explicit the thinking and reasoning of those who have reflected on each perspective significantly. In this manner, it is clear to see how the ideas of some are very often the result of those of their predecessors, reminding us of the old metaphor that we are dwarfs standing on the shoulders of giants.