How Managers Make Sense of CSR: The Impact of Eastern Philosophy in Japanese Owned Transnational Corporations

It is widely acknowledged that organisations are struggling to integrate their espoused Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) principles into business processes. There is cynicism of organisations which publicly state a commitment to society and environment but whose business behaviours are not aligned with the expressed CSR commitment. This paper draws from a two stage study with two global consumer electronics companies to explore the influence of Japanese business philosophy on how managers make sense of their organisation’s commitment to CSR. The method adopted is a case-study approach using Conversation Analysis to analyse data collected from recorded interviews and focus groups. Findings suggest that organisational culture, underpinned by Japanese philosophy, can impact on how managers make sense of CSR. However, what is not clear is what triggers alignment of managers’ sensemaking between business philosophy and CSR. Limitations to this study include a small sample in only two companies in one sector over a short time span. The recommendation of this paper is the need for further longitudinal study with a broader sample at multiple organisations to corroborate or refute these initial findings, and to explore the triggers for managers to link interpretation of CSR with underpinning business philosophy. The practical outcomes of this research can help address the management problem of how to embed CSR in business operations.