Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Major Management Thinkers on Corporate Social Responsibility

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Handbook of Business Legitimacy

  • 122 Accesses

Abstract

Many of the most influential management scholars had a focus on strategy. The objective of the explorative study was to analyze and discuss the view on CSR of the major management thinkers of the twentieth century. The study was performed on the basis of an earlier study that analyzed the major works and the contribution to theory of 22 selected management thinkers. Their view on CSR, business ethics, and stakeholder management are investigated through their writings and through articles on those management thinkers.

In fact, the major management thinkers acknowledge the importance of social responsibility, if not explicitly, at least implicitly, even if the term CSR had not been coined at the time of their writings. They encourage good relations especially with employees and recognize the importance of a stakeholder approach to management. In fact, contrarily to the academic finance thinkers, the major management thinkers who have a broader strategic approach had integrated a CSR vision in their strategy, explicitly or implicitly. Business legitimacy in relation to the environment of the corporation is an essential condition for the strategic views of management thinkers.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Argyris C, Schön DA (1978) Organizational learning: a theory of action perspective. Reading, Mass, Addison-Wesley

    Google Scholar 

  • Bardy R, Rubens A (2010) Is there a transatlantic divide?: Reviewing Peter F. Drucker’s thoughts on ethics and leadership of US and European managers. Manag Decis 48(4):528–540

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Buelens M (2000) Managementprofeten. Uitgeverij Nieuwezijds, Amsterdam

    Google Scholar 

  • Carr P (2003) Revisiting the protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism: understanding the relationship between ethics and enterprise. J Bus Ethics 47:7–16

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Champy J, Hammer M (1993) Reengineering the corporation. Nicholas Brealey, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Driver M (2012) An interview with Michael Porter: social entrepreneurship and the transformation of capitalism. Acad Manag Learn Educ 11(3):421–431

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Drucker PF (1974) Management: tasks, responsibilities, practices. Butterworth-Heinemann, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Drucker PF (2006) Classic drucker. Harvard Business Review Books, Boston

    Google Scholar 

  • Fassin Y, Van Rossem A, Buelens M (2011) Small-business owner-managers’ perceptions of business ethics and CSR-related concepts. J Bus Ethics 98(3):425–453

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Freeman RE (1984) Strategic management: a stakeholder approach. Pitman Publishing, Boston

    Google Scholar 

  • Freeman ER, Liedtka J (1991) Corporate social responsibility: a critical approach. J Bus Ethics 34(4):1–5. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-009-0226-6

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goleman D (1995) Emotional intelligence: why it can matter more than IQ. Bantam books, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Hamel G, Prahalad CK (1990) The core competence of the corporation. Harv Bus Rev 68(3):79–91

    Google Scholar 

  • Hamel G, Prahalad CK (1996) Competing for the future. Harvard Business School Press, Boston

    Google Scholar 

  • Handy C (1990) What is a company for? HRoyal Society of Arts Journal, London. Harris

    Google Scholar 

  • Hofstede G (1980) Culture’s consequences: international differences in work-related values. Sage, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Hofstede G (1990) Cultures and organizations: software of the mind. McGraw-Hill, Maidenhead

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoppe MH (2004) An interview with Geert Hofstede. AcadManag Exec 18(1):75–79

    Google Scholar 

  • Jayaraman P (2008) Management gurus. Excel Books

    Google Scholar 

  • Kanter RM (1985) The change masters: corporate entrepreneurs at work. Simon and Schuster, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Kanter RM (1995) Thriving locally in the global economy. Harv Bus Rev 73(5):151–155

    Google Scholar 

  • Kanter RM (2005) What theories do audiences want? Exploring the demand side. Acad Manag Learn Educ 4(1):93–95

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kanter RM (2011) How great companies think differently. Harv Bus Rev 89(11):66–78

    Google Scholar 

  • Kay J (1993) Foundations of corporate success: how business strategies add value. Oxford University Press, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Kay J (2010) Obliquity: why our goals are best achieved indirectly

    Google Scholar 

  • Liekens S (2018) Managemetngoeroes en MVO. Universiteit Gent, Masterproef

    Google Scholar 

  • Maslow AH (1954) Motivation and personality. Harper & Row, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Matten D, Moon J (2008) “Implicit” and “explicit” CSR: a conceptual framework for a comparative understanding of corporate social responsibility. Acad Manag Rev 33(2):404–424

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mayo E (1919) Democracy and freedom, An Essay in Social Logic

    Google Scholar 

  • Mayo E (1945) The social problems of an industrial civilisation. Harvard University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • McGregor D (1960) The human side of enterprise. McGrew-Hill, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Mintzberg H (1983) The case for corporate social responsibility. J Bus Strateg 4(2):3–15

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mintzberg H (1989) Mintzberg on management: inside our strange world of organizations. Free Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Mintzberg H (2005) Managers not MBAs: a hard look at the soft practice of managing and management development. Berrett-Koehler Publishers, San Francisco

    Google Scholar 

  • Moore G (2003) Hives and horseshoes, Mintzberg or MacIntyre: what future for corporate social responsibility? Bus Ethics Eur Rev 12(1):41–53

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morris B (2011) Rosabeth Moss Kanter: an interview by Bob Morris. https://bobmorris.biz/rosabeth-moss-kanter-an-interview-by-bob-morris

  • Pervin A (1997) A conversation with Henry Mintzberg. Fam Bus Rev 10(2):185–198

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peters T, Waterman RH (1982) In search of excellence. Lessons from America’s best-run companies. Harper & Row, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Phillips R, Freeman ER, Wicks AC (2003) What stakeholder theory is not. Bus Ethics Q 13(4):25. https://doi.org/10.2307/3857968

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Porter ME (1980) Competitive strategy. Free Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Porter ME, Kramer MR (2006) Strategy & society: the link between competitive advantage and corporate social responsibility. Harv Bus Rev 84(12):78–92

    Google Scholar 

  • Porter ME, Kramer MR (2011) Creating shared value. Harv Bus Rev 89(1–2):62–77

    Google Scholar 

  • Pugh DS, Hickson DJ (2007) Great writers on organizations. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd

    Google Scholar 

  • Schwartz M (1998) Peter Drucker and the denial of business ethics. J Bus Ethics 17:1685–1692

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Senge P (1990) The fifth discipline - the art and practice of the learning organization. Doubleday, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Senge PM (1995) Making a better world, 5. Retrieved from http://www.iwp.jku.at/born/mpwfst/02/dialogue/0210makingbetterworldsenge_.pdf

  • Simon HA (1947) Administrative behavior. McMillan, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Taylor FW (1911) The principles of scientific management. Harper & Brothers, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Weber M (1930) The protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism. Mohr, Tûbingen. (1905)

    Google Scholar 

  • Wren DA, Bedeian AG, Breeze JD (2002) The foundations of Henri Fayol’s administrative theory. Manag Decis 40(9):906–918

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Marketing, Innovation and Organisation, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium

    Yves Fassin

  2. Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium

    Simon Liekens

  3. Vlerick Business School, Ghent, Belgium

    Marc Buelens

Authors
  1. Yves Fassin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Simon Liekens
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Marc Buelens
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yves Fassin .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Roskilde University, Roskilde, Denmark

    Jacob Dahl Rendtorff

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Fassin, Y., Liekens, S., Buelens, M. (2020). Major Management Thinkers on Corporate Social Responsibility. In: Rendtorff, J. (eds) Handbook of Business Legitimacy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-68845-9_112-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-68845-9_112-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-68845-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-68845-9

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Religion and PhilosophyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Humanities

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation