Internal CSR and the decline of organised labour: a possible elective affinity?

IF 2.9 Q2 MANAGEMENT Social Responsibility Journal Pub Date : 2024-09-23 DOI:10.1108/srj-01-2024-0013
Tamar Barkay
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Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to explore the potential relationship between internal corporate social responsibility (CSR) and the decline of organised labour in countries of the global North. Given the opposing trends since the late 20th century and the widespread adherence of internationally recognised labour standards in CSR codes, standards, and reporting frameworks, questions arise about the disparity between CSR rhetoric and practice regarding the collective rights of in-house employees. The paper further explores the tendency in CSR scholarship to overlook violations of collective rights for in-house employees in the global North.

Design/methodology/approach

To examine whether there is an elective affinity between the rise of CSR and the decline of organised labour, the paper uses a discursive institutionalism approach, providing a meta-theoretical analysis of academic literature on internal CSR. A scoping review methodology was used to identify relevant literature and compile it into an empirical corpus for a metatheoretical analysis. The empirical corpus, consisting of 38 articles, was generated through a Google Scholar (GS) search guided by the following questions: (1) What are the dominant conceptual framings of internal CSR? (2) What are the dominant roles and practical aspects of internal CSR?

Findings

The paper identifies two key disparities in the literature: (1) between rhetoric and practice regarding the collective rights of in-house employees in the global North and (2) between the extensive CSR research on violations of collective rights of value chain workers and the limited attention to in-house employees’ collective rights. The analysis highlights two factors contributing to these disparities: the integration of internal CSR into the corporate managerial toolbox and the distinction in CSR discourse between core labour standards and workplace issues. The analysis shows that internal CSR has an elective affinity with the decline of organised labour.

Research limitations/implications

While scoping reviews are often standalone studies, this paper used the methodology for its stated purpose. Limitations include the broad span of internal CSR across various academic fields and reliance solely on GS. Measures taken to enhance inclusivity were unlimited review period, refined inclusion criteria and keywords during the selection process and cross-checks of cited articles.

Social implications

Considering the implications of the decline of organised labour on workers’ collective voice, poverty and the distribution gap in wealth and income, this paper suggests that for CSR to play a significant role in advancing sustainable social justice, scholars and practitioners should look at ways to reduce the disparity between rhetoric and practice regarding employees’ voice and collective rights.

Originality/value

The paper lays the foundation for a better understanding of the potential links between internal CSR and the decline of organised labour. It addresses a gap in the literature on the interrelations between CSR and organised labour in the global North and proposes root causes of this gap. This contribution enriches the scarce literature exploring the potential elective affinity between CSR and transformations in the global economy and labour markets since the late 1980s. Finally, the paper deepens the understanding of the implications of CSR for employees’ collective rights and voice as well as for organised labour.

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内部企业社会责任与有组织劳工的衰落:可能的选择性亲和力?
本文旨在探讨企业内部社会责任(CSR)与全球北方国家有组织劳工减少之间的潜在关系。鉴于自 20 世纪末以来出现的相反趋势,以及企业社会责任准则、标准和报告框架普遍遵守国际公认的劳工标准,人们对企业社会责任在内部员工集体权利方面的言行不一产生了疑问。为了研究企业社会责任的兴起与有组织劳工的衰落之间是否存在选择性的亲和力,本文采用了辨证制度主义方法,对有关内部企业社会责任的学术文献进行了元理论分析。本文采用了范围审查法来确定相关文献,并将其汇编成经验语料库,以便进行元理论分析。实证语料库由 38 篇文章组成,是通过谷歌学术(GS)搜索生成的,搜索以下列问题为导向:(1)内部企业社会责任的主流概念框架是什么?(2) 内部企业社会责任的主导作用和实践方面是什么?研究结果 本文发现了文献中的两个关键差异:(1) 全球北方企业内部员工集体权利方面的言论与实践之间的差异;(2) 企业社会责任方面关于侵犯价值链工人集体权利的广泛研究与对企业内部员工集体权利的有限关注之间的差异。分析强调了造成这些差异的两个因素:将内部企业社会责任纳入企业管理工具箱,以及企业社会责任论述中对核心劳工标准和工作场所问题的区分。分析表明,内部企业社会责任与有组织劳工的衰落有着必然的联系。局限性包括内部企业社会责任在不同学术领域的广泛跨度,以及仅依赖于 GS。为提高包容性而采取的措施包括:审查时间不受限制、在选择过程中细化纳入标准和关键词,以及对引用文章进行交叉检查。社会影响考虑到有组织劳工的衰落对工人集体话语权、贫困以及财富和收入分配差距的影响,本文建议,要使企业社会责任在促进可持续社会正义方面发挥重要作用,学者和从业人员应研究如何缩小有关员工话语权和集体权利的言论与实践之间的差距。它填补了有关企业社会责任与全球北方有组织劳工之间相互关系的文献空白,并提出了造成这一空白的根本原因。本文丰富了自 20 世纪 80 年代末以来探讨企业社会责任与全球经济和劳动力市场转型之间潜在选择性亲和力的稀缺文献。最后,本文加深了人们对企业社会责任对雇员集体权利和发言权以及对有组织劳工的影响的理解。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
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来源期刊
CiteScore
7.30
自引率
6.20%
发文量
65
期刊介绍: The Social Responsibility Journal, the official journal of the Social Responsibility Research Network, is interdisciplinary in its scope and encourages submissions from any discipline or any part of the world which addresses any element of the journal''s aims. The journal encompasses the full range of theoretical, methodological and substantive debates in the area of social responsibility. Contributions which address the link between different disciplines and / or implications for societal, organisational or individual behavior are especially encouraged. The journal publishes theoretical and empirical papers, speculative essays and review articles. The journal also publishes special themed issues under the guidance of a guest editor. Coverage: Accountability and accounting- Issues concerning sustainability- Economy and finance- Governance- Stakeholder interactions- Ecology and environment- Corporate activity and behaviour- Ethics and morality- Governmental and trans-governmental regulation- Globalisation and disintermediation- Individuals and corporate citizenship- Transparency and disclosure- Consumption and its consequences- Corporate and other forms of organization
期刊最新文献
Internal CSR and the decline of organised labour: a possible elective affinity? The effect of natural disasters on food security in Sub-Saharan Africa Fighting fire with apathy – understanding managers’ perception of the natural environment as a stakeholder in the aftermath of a natural disaster Sustainable consumption behavior among Bahraini young female consumers Killing two birds with one stone: gender diversity, information disclosures and financial distress
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