ESRC research seminar series

Monday 15 December 2008

‘When worlds collide’: contested paradigms of corporate social responsibility

The financial meltdown this summer places a sharp focus on what constitutes responsible business. Banking and investment practice, so often held out as an example of prudence and stewardship, has been exposed as negligent and opportunistic.

Other corporations stand accused of:

• contributing to global warming and climate change
• exploiting child labour and other human rights abuses; and
• failing to implement responsible practices in the developing world.

Seminar One - Deciphering the domain of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

This seminar will assess the conceptual frameworks of the emerging comparative literature on CSR.

It will explore how we have arrived at the present position, and how corporations have managed to capture the agenda. It will discuss whether or not this is where we want to be, and how research in CSR relates to practice.

It will consider the ‘expectations gap’ between public perceptions and corporate strategy, and whether a justification can be advanced for CSR that goes beyond the ‘business case’.

Presenters include:

Professor Jesse Dillard, Center for Professional Integrity and Accountability, Portland State University

Lucian Hudson, HM Foreign and Commonwealth Office


There will be responses to the presentations, and a panel discussion will follow with questions from the floor.

A tour of the British Library will be available for up to 30 people.

Read the programme and register for the first seminar.

Venue

The British Library Conference Centre, London NW1