European approaches to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) are supposed to be largely different from those in other continents like America, Asia, and Africa. Yet, European approaches to CSR are not a single and static one, but vary across and within national states and shift over time. This edited volume aims at exploring the uniqueness and complexity of European CSR approaches, perspectives, and practices through a critical lens. It contributes to existing understanding of European CSR by addressing the frontier CSR issues in the current state at the EU, national and institutional levels. Specifically, the volume critically examines the macro-level CSR frameworks, policies, and trends and their impact on CSR practices at the micro-level, including the roles of EU and national governments in shaping the CSR landscape in similar and different ways. It also analyses how various stakeholder groups and business sectors and firms across major European countries perceive, interpret and approach CSR in a dynamic way. Contributors of this book are experts mainly from Western and Eastern European countries and thus provide rich experiences, fresh insights, and deep understanding of the critical state of CSR in Europe.

As a response to ongoing economic, social and environmental crises, many private actors have enlarged their definition of 'value' to include environmental and social elements. Such practices, however, appear incompatible with the current epistemological structure of academic financial discourse. This paradox challenges us to reconsider the foundations of modern finance, particularly the dominant role of shareholders. The volume argues there is a need to turn the established order upside down. Studies in economics and finance have to be embedded in environmental and social welfare to answer the challenges we face, and there is a need for a radical break with the methodological individualism that dominates economics, management and (especially) finance. It is our responsibility to question social welfare when it is defined only as maximising shareholder value. Should we instead promote a substitute to the shareholder? How should we (re)define the concept of value? This volume serves as a stepping stone for rethinking academic finance, and attempts to carve out innovative paths for financial research in the 21st century.

"This book is about the management of social capital processes as they are accomplished-understood, experienced and shaped-by owner-managers. The aim of the book is to develop a deeper understanding of these management processes, and thereby to contribute to a greater congruence between lived social capital perspectives and experiences, and theoretical and empirical literature. The book argues that social capital processes are context dependent and hence cannot be fully understood within an economic understanding of rationality. It follows that claims for the universality of the economic way of looking at life, and for looking at social capital processes are over-stated. Predicated on this insight the book investigates economic notions of rationality, as well as other perspectives on rationality in the management of social capital processes."

This book offers a groundbreaking collection of chapters in the emerging field of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Communication. After outlining a theoretical framework, the themed sections cover: (1) Communication in CSR: The Communicative Role, Strategy and Evaluation; (2) CSR Discourses and Corporate Reporting; (3) CSR Online Communication and Social Media; (4) The Role of Stakeholders in CSR Communication: Managers, Employees and Consumers. The 18 chapters explore the theory, practice and issues involved in communicating CSR and make for fascinating reading. An international approach is taken with leading academics and consultants from Australia, Germany, UK, the Netherlands, Poland, Singapore, USA, Sweden, Switzerland and France. The anonymously peerreviewed chapters are theoretically informed and supported with practicebased realworld insights. Rich and detailed they describe, explain and analyse the "why", "what", "when" and "how" of communicating about CSR. As well as furthering theory and academic debate the book will help inform policy and practice. Leading edge, topical and current this book will be essential reading for corporate communicators, business practitioners, academics, students and all those interested in the subjects of CSR and Communication.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become an increasingly heated topic since the 1980s. But there are severe limitations with the concept of CSR and the effectiveness of CSR practices. Addressing such limitations, this volume proposes that the concept of Corporate Social Irresponsibility (CSI) offers a better theoretical platform to avoid the vagueness, ambiguity, arbitrariness and mysticism of CSR. It challenges conventional modes of thinking, unveils the CSR mask of business practices and redirects public attention to the core issues of CSR. This collective work sets up an initial theoretical framework for the subject of CSI and examines the fundamental reasons for irresponsibility in and beyond a corporate context. Rooted in theory and practice it seeks to understand how boundaries of CSR and CSI have been constructed in society, and explores some systemic and structural issues of CSI in practice.

The recent global financial crisis has indicated that the conventional dominant paradigm in finance is unable to cope with the problems of financial systems, markets, and behaviour of financial institutions, and failed to understand the proper role of finance in society and the economic system as a whole. Drawing on the recent movements of corporate social responsibility, socially responsible investing and sustainable development, this volume goes further to examine the ongoing making of financial reality towards social responsibility and sustainability, and aims at a better understanding of finance as a collective construct and endeavour embedded in societal context. Bringing together leading scholarly thinking, this collection opens new avenues of comprehending corporate social responsibility, reveals mechanisms and strategies in shaping the reality of responsible finance, searches alternative approaches towards financial sustainability, and explores new thinking of coping with complex financial choice and financial risks. Moving away from the conventional financial paradigm, this volume demonstrates paradigm shifting in the financial world and provides fresh insights on how we may reshape the financial reality to enable societal betterment and prevent any future financial crisis.

Most people have believed that corporate social responsibility (CSR) played a significant role in the 2008 global financial crisis. However, little research has been done to reflect on the underlying issues of CSR in connection to the financial crisis. This collection brings together leading scholarly thinking to understand why CSR failed to prevent the global financial crisis, how corporate social irresponsibility (CSI) contributed to the financial crisis, and how we may reframe CSR or improve CSR frameworks to help prevent or mitigate any future financial and economic crises. This volume concentrates on three key themes: A critical review of the role of CSR played in the financial crisis and its underlying theses; A unique understanding of the institutionalization of CSR in codified rules and the application of CSR into business and management; and; An in-depth exploration of the future direction of CSR as post-crisis agenda.

Over the last two decades there has been a notable increase in the number of corporate governance codes and principles, as well as a range of improvements in structures and mechanisms. Despite this, corporate governance failed to prevent a widespread default of fiduciary duties of corporate boards and managerial responsibilities in the finance industry, which contributed to the 2007 2010 global financial crisis. This book brings together leading scholars from North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East to provide fresh and critical analytical insights on the systemic failures of corporate governance linked to the global financial crisis. Contributors draw from a range of disciplines to demonstrate the severe limitations of the dominant corporate governance framework and its associated market-oriented approach. They provide suggestions on how the governance problems could be tackled to prevent or mitigate any future financial crisis and explore new directions for post-crisis corporate governance research and reforms.

Over the last two decades there has been a notable increase in the number of corporate governance codes and principles, as well as a range of improvements in structures and mechanisms. Despite this, corporate governance failed to prevent a widespread default of fiduciary duties of corporate boards and managerial responsibilities in the finance industry, which contributed to the 2007-10 global financial crisis. This book brings together leading scholars from North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East to provide fresh and critical analytical insights on the systemic failures of corporate governance linked to the global financial crisis. Contributors draw from a range of disciplines to demonstrate the severe limitations of the dominant corporate governance framework and its associated market-oriented approach. They provide suggestions on how the governance problems could be tackled to prevent or mitigate any future financial crisis and explore new directions for post-crisis corporate governance research and reforms.