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Fostering Corporate Social Responsibility Through Public Initiative: From the EU to the Spanish Case

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Abstract

Should CSR be approached only on a voluntary basis or should it be complemented with a compulsory regulatory framework? What type of government intervention is more effective in fostering CSR among companies? This paper is an attempt to answer these questions, reviewing the debate between proponents of the voluntary case and the obligatory case for CSR, and critically analysing current international government-led initiatives to foster CSR among companies, and national government-led initiatives in the EU area. Finally, the paper focuses on the Spanish case, as an example of the failure of an exclusively voluntary approach. Despite the rapid uprise of CSR, Spain is still far behind late in CSR promotion strategies. Most action has been undertaken by companies themselves with no common guidelines, governmental support, or independent verification. The lack of a regulatory framework for CSR or ethical investment issues and the virtual absence of other indirect incentives, explains the misbalance between private, public and Third Sector initiatives. Based on the Spanish context which is quite similar to other non-OECD countries, the authors call for a more proactive government position in CSR related issues. The conclusions of the paper detail the features of this regulatory framework and other policies to promote CSR in Spain as well as in other OECD countries.

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Abbreviations

AENOR:

Spanish governmental agency for standardisation

CIES:

Inter-union committees for employees’ savings

SR:

Corporate Social Responsibility

EITI:

Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative

ERM:

Environmental Resources Management

EU:

European Union

EUROSIF:

European Social Investment Forum

GC:

Global Compact

GRI:

Global reporting initiative

IGOs:

Inter Governmental Organisations

ILO:

International Labour Organisation

MNC:

Multinational corporations

NCPs.:

National Contact Points

NGO:

Non government organisation

PPPs:

Public-Private Partnerships

PR:

Public Relations

SEE:

Social Environmental Ethical

SME:

Small Medium Companies

SRI:

Socially Responsible Investment

TNCs:

Trasnational Corporations

UN:

United Nations

UN:

Development Programme

US:

United States

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Empresariales de la UNED, C/Senda del Rey 11, 28040, Madrid, Spain

    Marta De La Cuesta González & Carmen Valor Martinez

Authors
  1. Marta De La Cuesta González
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  2. Carmen Valor Martinez
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Correspondence to Marta De La Cuesta González.

Additional information

An early version of this manuscript was presented at EBEN Annual Conference 2003Budapest, and can be found in http://ethics.bkae.hu/html/ebenc_participants.htm.

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González, M.D.L.C., Martinez, C.V. Fostering Corporate Social Responsibility Through Public Initiative: From the EU to the Spanish Case. J Bus Ethics 55, 275–293 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-004-0994-y

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