Prospects for Integrative Citizenship in Research and Practice

The previous chapters presented theoretical and empirical advances in corporate social performance research. Part I addressed theory building problems, arguing for a better understanding of organizational dynamics instead of defaulting to the assumption of a strict dichotomy between economic performance and other important social goals. Certain organizational processes were identified, particularly the receptivity to values in executive decision making, that may mitigate perceived tradeoffs between these goals, theoretically aligning them to a greater extent than previously modeled. This emphasis on value-inclusive decision processes is important, given the findings presented in Part II that attending to economic, social, and ecological goals simultaneously can pay off while reducing financial risk for a firm. As a practical matter, it is also important to be able to point to a valid measure of socially responsible outcomes, such as that advanced in Chapter 8. We proposed the phrase ‘integrative corporate citizenship’ to convey this comprehensive approach to corporate social performance.