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Reconsidering Instrumental Corporate Social Responsibility through the Mafia Metaphor

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  • Gond, Jean-Pascal
  • Palazzo, Guido
  • Basu, Kunal

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to critically evaluate the instrumental perspective on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in practice and theory by relying on sociological analyses of a well known organization: the Italian Mafia. Legal businesses might share features of the Mafia, such as the propensity to exploit a governance vacuum in society, a strong organizational identity that demarcates the inside from the outside, and an extreme profit motive. Instrumental CSR practices have the power to accelerate a firm's transition to Mafia status through its own pathologies. The boundaries of such instrumentalism are explored and lessons for future CSR research derived, with specific emphasis on a firm's social and normative embeddedness, taking into account the inherent challenge of regulating corporate behaviour in the global economy.

Suggested Citation

  • Gond, Jean-Pascal & Palazzo, Guido & Basu, Kunal, 2009. "Reconsidering Instrumental Corporate Social Responsibility through the Mafia Metaphor," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 19(1), pages 57-85, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:buetqu:v:19:y:2009:i:01:p:57-85_00
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    Cited by:

    1. Ulf Richter, 2010. "Liberal Thought in Reasoning on CSR," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 97(4), pages 625-649, December.
    2. Nora Lohmeyer, 2018. "„Vocabularies of motive“: eine inhaltsanalytische Langzeituntersuchung von Motiven unternehmerischer Verantwortung in Artikeln des Manager Magazins, 1971–2017 [“Vocabularies of Motive”: A Content A," Schmalenbach Journal of Business Research, Springer, vol. 70(3), pages 277-308, August.
    3. Hector Viveros, 2016. "Examining Stakeholders' Perceptions of Mining Impacts and Corporate Social Responsibility," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 23(1), pages 50-64, January.
    4. Steffen Roth & Vladislav Valentinov & Markus Heidingsfelder & Miguel Pérez-Valls, 2020. "CSR Beyond Economy and Society: A Post-capitalist Approach," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 165(3), pages 411-423, September.
    5. Isabel‐Maria García‐Sánchez & Nazim Hussain & Sana Akbar Khan & Jennifer Martínez‐Ferrero, 2020. "Managerial entrenchment, corporate social responsibility, and earnings management," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(4), pages 1818-1833, July.
    6. María Fernández-Muiños & Kevin Money & Anastasiya Saraeva & Irene Garnelo-Gomez & Luis Vázquez-Suárez, 2022. "Are the Sins of the Father the Sins of the Sons, but Not the Daughters? Exploring How Leadership Gender and Generation Impact the Corporate Social Responsibility of Franchise Firms," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-20, July.
    7. Aurélie Leclercq-Vandelannoitte, 2019. "Is Employee Technological “Ill-Being” Missing from Corporate Responsibility? The Foucauldian Ethics of Ubiquitous IT Uses in Organizations," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 160(2), pages 339-361, December.
    8. Pasi Heikkurinen & Jukka Mäkinen, 2018. "Synthesising Corporate Responsibility on Organisational and Societal Levels of Analysis: An Integrative Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 149(3), pages 589-607, May.
    9. Anselm Schneider, 2015. "Reflexivity in Sustainability Accounting and Management: Transcending the Economic Focus of Corporate Sustainability," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 127(3), pages 525-536, March.
    10. Antonino Vaccaro, 2012. "To Pay or Not to Pay? Dynamic Transparency and the Fight Against the Mafia’s Extortionists," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 106(1), pages 23-35, March.
    11. Davide Fiaschi & Elisa Giuliani, 2011. "The impact of business on society: exploring CRS adoption and alleged human rights abuses by large corporations," LEM Papers Series 2011/13, Laboratory of Economics and Management (LEM), Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, Italy.
    12. Laura Bini & Marco Bellucci & Francesco Giunta, 2016. "Put Your Money where Your Mouth is: The Difference between Real Commitment to Sustainability and Mere Rhetoric," FINANCIAL REPORTING, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2016(2), pages 5-31.
    13. Arnold, Denis G. & Valentin, Andres, 2013. "Corporate social responsibility at the base of the pyramid," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 66(10), pages 1904-1914.
    14. Dominik van Aaken & Violetta Splitter & David Seidl, 2012. "Why Do Corporate Actors Engage in Pro-Social Behavior? A Bourdieusian Perspective on Corporate Social Responsibility," Working Papers 319, University of Zurich, Department of Business Administration (IBW).
    15. Geert Demuijnck & Björn Fasterling, 2016. "The Social License to Operate," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 136(4), pages 675-685, July.
    16. Louis Y.Y. Lu & John S. Liu, 2014. "The Knowledge Diffusion Paths of Corporate Social Responsibility – From 1970 to 2011," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 21(2), pages 113-128, March.
    17. Matthew Amengual & Rita Mota & Alexander Rustler, 2023. "The ‘Court of Public Opinion:’ Public Perceptions of Business Involvement in Human Rights Violations," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 185(1), pages 49-74, June.
    18. Aneta Havlinova & Jiri Kukacka, 2023. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Stock Prices After the Financial Crisis: The Role of Strategic CSR Activities," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 182(1), pages 223-242, January.
    19. Andreas Ostermaier & Dominik Aaken, 2020. "Freedom trumps profit: a liberal approach to business ethics," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 90(5), pages 947-962, June.
    20. Sadia Cheema & Bilal Afsar & Basheer M. Al‐Ghazali & Ahsen Maqsoom, 2020. "Retracted: How employee's perceived corporate social responsibility affects employee's pro‐environmental behaviour? The influence of organizational identification, corporate entrepreneurship, and envi," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(2), pages 616-629, March.
    21. Syed Haider Ali Shah & Basheer M. Al-Ghazali & Sabeen Bhatti & Nida Aman & Mochammed Fahlevi & Mohammed Aljuaid & Fakhrul Hasan, 2023. "The Impact of Perceived CSR on Employees’ Pro-Environmental Behaviors: The Mediating Effects of Environmental Consciousness and Environmental Commitment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-25, February.
    22. Yugank Goyal, 2018. "The Coal Mine Mafia of India: A Mirror of Corporate Power," American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 77(2), pages 541-574, March.

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