Business ethics teaching appears to have had little impact, particularly in the light of continued malpractice and misdemeanour in the form of financial scandals, environmental disasters and adverse consequences for communities. This timely book directly addresses a central question: is it that the existence of an ethical or an unethical climate influences behaviour, or, does the presence or absence of a moral character and personal values have the greatest influence on behaviour at work? Drawing on an empirically derived study and over thirty years of experience in both the public and private sectors, Hemingway proposes four modes of individual moral commitment to corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability: the Active Corporate Social Entrepreneur, the Concealed Corporate Social Entrepreneur, the Conformist and the Disassociated. The discovery of the corporate social entrepreneur offers students and scholars a critical, alternative and optimistic perspective for the future of ethical business.
• Refocuses attention upon the role of the individual in corporate social responsibility • Sustains its theoretical insights with empirically derived evidence of corporate social entrepreneurship, as it operates in a FTSE 100 multinational corporation • Informed by a rich multidisciplinary literature, including psychology, sociology and moral philosophy, as well as business ethics and management and organisation theory
Contents
Foreword Jeremy Moon; Preface; Introducing corporate social responsibility; Part I. Values and Corporate Social Responsibility: 1. Structural drivers of corporate social responsibility; 2. Agential drivers of corporate social responsibility; 3. Moral agency and discretion: duty or disengagement?; Part II. Personal Values and Corporate Social Entrepreneurship: 4. The relationship between personal values and behaviour; 5. The corporate social entrepreneur; 6. Integrity and the moral character; Part III. Modes of Moral Commitment to CSR: 7. Investigating corporate social entrepreneurship; 8. The active corporate social entrepreneur; 9. The concealed corporate social entrepreneur; 10. The conformist; 11. The disassociated; Part IV. Developing a Socially Responsible Organisational Culture: 12. Conclusion: ad-hoc CSR cannot be sustainable; 13. Leveraging integrity within: some brief, practical steps; Appendix: Rokeach Values Survey; Index.
Reviews
Advance praise: 'As we look towards the future of CSR, corporate social entrepreneurship (CSE) is assuredly on the cutting edge of growth and this book … makes a momentous contribution towards understanding its modes of realization. Eminently qualified, based on experience and scholarly background, Hemingway expertly crafts four modes of moral commitment which frame the range of manifestations of social entrepreneurship. Her interviews and research form a concrete empirical basis for her detailed descriptions of the interrelatedness of personal values (integrity within) and the supportiveness of the organization culture in which corporate social entrepreneurship grows. Her identification of the ascendency of the Active CSE as the richest ideal serves as a model for integrity in action. This is a must-read for all those interested in the future of CSR; this is a major contribution to both theory and practice.' Archie B. Carroll, Professor Emeritus of Management, University of Georgia
Advance praise: 'This book combines insights from philosophy, psychology, empirical studies, and practical experience into an eloquent explanation about why people behave badly in business and why individual actors comprise the core of CSR. Practitioners and business students will find this book engaging and informative.' Joanne B. Ciulla, Coston Family Chair in Leadership and Ethics, University of Richmond
Advance praise: 'For too long, management researchers have acted as if individual managers were irrelevant to our understanding of corporate social responsibility. Christine Hemingway offers a refreshing antidote to this myopia with a powerful account of what she calls 'CSR as a subjective state'. Weaving together theory and data on ethics, agency, entrepreneurship and personal values, she demonstrates beyond any doubt that micro-level analysis of CSR has a tremendous amount to offer the field.' Andrew Crane, George R. Gardiner Professor of Business Ethics, York University
Advance praise: 'This book is long overdue. Corporate social entrepreneurship is the exciting new wave in understanding corporate social responsibility. To date, however, the buzz has been loud and the academic response muted. Hemingway fills this silence. She pushes the reader to see how corporate responsibility stretches far beyond the simple task of avoiding fines and scandals to include goals that spring from the self-transcendent values of employees.' Thomas Donaldson, Mark O. Winkelman Endowed Professor, University of Pennsylvania
Advance praise: 'Finally someone tells us that the artificial divide between CSR and ethics is just a big hoax. Dr Hemingway does so by exposing the reader to a challenging question: is a company 'good' because it is run by 'good' people? If you study, research or practice CSR - this is the book to read right now.' Dirk Matten, Hewlett-Packard Chair in Corporate Social Responsibility, York University
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