• Demonstrate an understanding of and critically evaluate the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and corporate accountability with regards to the power dynamics between businesses, governments, and civil society actors.
• Demonstrate an understanding of how businesses, governments, and civil society actors interact in different regions of the global south and north and what problems and opportunities this creates.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the role CSR plays in conflicts between business and communities/civil society organizations.
• Be able to recognize in what ways emerging legal and non-legal regulations with regard social and environmental issues impact managerial decisions.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the impacts of CSR as seen from the perspectives of different stakeholders.
• Demonstrate an understanding of how business leaders can manage different types of risks (e.g., political and reputational) related to responsible corporate conduct.
• Demonstrate an understanding of how to identify and prioritise social and environmental is-sues that have a high impact on the company.
• Examine how, and if firms can successfully align their behaviour in the market and non-market environment, and Reflect on Alternatives to CSR.

This course approaches corporations’ changing responsibilities in society from the perspective of how business, government, and civil society interact, with a focus, though not exclusively on the global south. The course introduces students to debates on CSR and sustainability, but also reaches beyond these discussions, as it (a) highlights the regulatory and political context shaping and constraining responsible business decisions, (b) emphasizes how business leaders can collaborate with governments and civil society actors, (c) discusses how management can address selected problem areas such as corruption, political risk, and human rights and (d) how CSR impacts communities and society at large seen from the perspectives of the beneficiaries of CSR. The course is divided into two parts.

The first part looks at why and how the relationship between businesses, governments and civil society is changing, and how this alters the way in which corporations address their responsibilities. We discuss how this changing context creates significant leadership challenges and how practitioners can adequately respond to these challenges. We explore answers to a variety of questions, such as: Can lobbying be responsible? What are the benefits and risks of signing up to initiatives promoting responsible business practices (e.g., Fairtrade and the UN Global Compact)? In how far are firms turning into political actors, and how does that change their responsibilities? What are the risks and opportunities when firms partner with governments, inter-governmental organizations, and NGOs?

Using the insights from the first part, the second part focuses on how practitioners can address particular social and environmental problem areas. We discuss especially those problem areas where businesses are increasingly interacting with governmental and/or non-governmental actors. For instance, we focus on questions like: How can labor and human rights be secured when operating global supply chains? How can firms prevent corruption if they operate in diverse cultural contexts? How can firms show responsibility when operating in environments where they are exposed to high degrees of political risk (e.g. in failed or weak states)? 

The third part of the elective focuses on the power asymmetries between business/government and communities/civil society and theimpact of CSR as seen from the lens of stakeholders who are impacted by it such as communities and workers. This implies whether CSR is enacted for the moral and ethical good from the perspective of relevant stakeholders. It will also ask how CSR can be used as a strategic tool by companies in the extractives and natural resources sector to obtain legitimacy or a social license to operate? Is CSR always welcomed by neighbouring communities? How do some (indigenous) communities view CSR?

The course adopts a multi-disciplinary perspective on the discussed issue areas, blending insights from management studies, economics, and political science. Students are not expected to have specific prior knowledge of these disciplines.

Teaching methods

The course is based on interactive lecturing enabling students to explore the topics at hand jointly with teaching faculty. Further, students will work in small groups during selected lectures to analyze case studies (e.g. Shell, Nestlé, Arla, Apple, Barrick Gold) which provide the basis for class discussion. Lectures also include short video supplements.

The course builds on some of the following readings (selection): 

Scherer, A. G., & G. Palazzo (2008). Globalization and Corporate Social Responsibility. In A. Crane et al. (eds.) The Oxford Handbook of Corporate Social Responsibility. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 413-430.

Austin, J. (2000). Strategic Collaboration Between Nonprofits and Business.Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 29(1), 69-97.

Banerjee, S. B. (2008). Corporate social responsibility: The good, the bad and the ugly. Critical Sociology, 34(1), 51-79.

Banerjee, B and Maher, R (In Review). Resistance is Fertile: Livelihood Struggles and Translocal Resistance against Extractive Industries. Organization Studies

Crane, A., Palazzo, G., Spence, L. J., & Matten, D. (2014). Contesting the value of “creating shared value”. California management review, 56(2), 130-153.

Fleming, P. (2012). The end of corporate social responsibility: Crisis and critique. Sage. P 1 -18

Waddock, S. (2008). Creating a New Institutional Infrastructure for Corporate Responsibility. Academy of Management Perspectives, 22(3): 87-108.

Lawrence, A.T. (2010). Managing Disputes with nonmarket Stakeholders: Wage a Fight, Withdraw, Wait, or Work It out?,California Management Review, 53, 90-113.

Moon, J., Crane, A., and Matten D. (2011). Corporations and Citizenship in New Institutions of Global Governance. In Crouch, C. and Maclean, C. (eds.) The Responsible Corporation in a Global Economy. Oxford et al.: Oxford University Press, pp. 203-224. 

Locke, R., & Romis, M. (2007). Improving Work Conditions in a Global Supply Chain. MIT Sloan Management Review, 48(2): 54-62.