The Manufacture of Corporate Social Responsibility: Constructing Corporate Sensibility

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Abstract
This paper develops a framework for differentiating between mere image and substance in corporate claims to social responsibility. The paper begins by drawing upon the work of Levinas to explore the nature of responsibility and ethical sensibility. It then explores four versions of corporate social responsibility (CSR): the conditions under which CSR is squeezed out by the dominance of financial pressures; the embrace of CSR as a form of public relations so as to allow business to continue as usual; the adoption within the firm of new forms of measurement and incentives to motivate increased attention to the ethical, social and environmental impacts; and finally CSR as a dialogue across the corporate boundary with those most vulnerable to the effects of corporate conduct. The paper concludes by exploring the complex relationships between these different versions of CSR.