Corporate Social Responsibility and Corporate Governance: The Contribution of Economic Theory and Related Disciplines (International Economic Association Series Book 149)

Corporate social responsibility is examined in this book as multi-stakeholder approach to corporate governance. This volume outlines neo-institutional and stakeholder theories of the firm, new rational choice and social contract normative models, self regulatory and soft law models, and the advances from behavioural economics. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is fast becoming a social demand and standard of behaviour in terms of the equitable treatment of corporate stakeholders to which all businesses feel they are expected to conform. Increasingly governance of corporations is viewed as accountable not just to shareholders but to multiple stakeholders, requiring an extension of the firm's fiduciary duties. Such ideas are even more topical after the last global financial crisis. This volume addresses the question: what does the rise of corporate social responsibility mean for economic theory? It considers, in particular, microeconomic theory and the theory of the firm alongside new-institutional and behavioural theories, game theory, stakeholder theory, incomplete contracts and law and economics. Drawing on the contributions of outstanding scholars like the Nobel laureate Oliver Williamson among others, it is shown that corporate social responsibility forces the economic theorist to engage with ideas emanating from other disciplines, including ethics, political philosophy and the law. The result is a set of essays that is perhaps more interdisciplinary than is usual for books on economic theory. This volume looks certain to establish itself as an invaluable text for scholars of economic theory, as well as their students in both advanced undergraduate and postgraduate courses. Part I explores the relation of CSR, offering different perspectives on the nature of the business firm and its governance structure based on human asset specificity, team production and the stakeholder approach (O. Williamson; M. Aoki; R.E. Freeman; A. Wicks and B. Parmar; A. Kaufman and E. Englander; and L. Stout and M. Blair). Part II considers alternative normative foundations of CSR and corporate governance based on models of the social contract, reputation effects, and collective rational agency (V. Vamberg; L. Sacconi; L. Andreozzi; and B. Chapman). Part III illustrates various approaches to the regulation and self-regulations of CSR, with special emphasis on social standards and multi-stakeholder organisations analysed alongside the more recent acquisition in behavioural economics (M. Blair, C. Williams and L. Lin; L. Becchetti and N. Pace; M. Osterloh, B. Frey and H. Zeitoun; A. Ben Ner, T. Ren and L. Putterman) Corporate Social Responsibility Is Seen In This Book As Multi-stakeholder Approach To Corporate Governance. This Volume Outlines Neo-institutional And Stakeholder Theories Of The Firm, New Rational Choice And Social Contract Normative Models, Self Regulatory And Soft Law Models, And The Advances From Behavioral Economics-- Corporate Governance: A Contractual And Organisational Perspective / Oliver E. Williamson -- Human-asset Essentiality And Corporate Social Capital In A Stakeholders-society Perspective / Masahiko Aoki -- Stakeholder Theory As A Basis For Capitalism / R. Edward Freeman, Andrew C. Wicks And Bidhan Parmar -- Behavioral Economics, Federalism And The Triumph Of Stakeholder Theory /allen Kaufman And Ernie Englander -- Specific Investment And Corporate Law / Margaret M. Blair And Lynn A. Stout -- Corporate Social Responsibility In A Market Economy: The Perspective Of Constitutional Economics / Viktor J. Vanberg -- A Rawlsian View Of Csr And The Game Theory Of Its Implementation (part I): The Multistakeholder Model Of Corporate Governance / Lorenzo Sacconi -- A Rawlsian View Of Csr And The Game Theory Of Its Implementation (part Ii): Fairness And Equilibrium / Lorenzo Sacconi -- When Reputation Is Not Enough: Justifying Corporate Social Responsibility / Luciano Andreozzi -- Rational Association And Corporate Responsibility / Bruce Chapman -- The Roles Of Standardization, Certification And Assurance Services In Global Commerce / Margaret M. Blair, Cynthia A. Williams And Li-wen Lin -- Voluntary Co-determination Produces Sustainable Competitive Advantage / Margit Osterloh, Bruno S. Frey And Hossam Zeitoun -- Corporate Trust Games In Modern Knowledge Economies / Leonardo Becchetti And Noemi Pace -- Effects Of Different Stakeholder Groups' Strategic Control On Organisational Effectiveness And Well-being Of Customers And Employees: An Empirical Investigation / Avner Ben-ner And Ting Ren -- Trusting, Trustworthiness, And Csr: Some Experiments And Implications / Avner Ben-ner And Louis Putterman. Edited By Lorenzo Sacconi ... [et Al.]. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Machine generated contents note: Introduction PART I: PERSPECTIVE ON THE NATURE OF THE FIRM AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE: TRANSACTION COSTS, TEAM PRODUCTION AND STAKEHOLDER THEORY Corporate Governance: a contractual and organisational perspective Human-Asset Essentiality and Corporate Social Capital in a Stakeholders-Society Perspective Stakeholder Theory as a Basis for Capitalism Behavioral economics, federalism and the triumph of Stakeholder theory Specific Investment and Corporate Law PART II: THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONTRACT AND NORMATIVE RATIONAL CHOICE MODELS OF CORPORATE GOVERNANCE, AND CSR A Rawlsian view on CSR as multistakeholder model of corporate governance, and the game theory of its implementation When reputation is not enough: justifying Corporate Social responsibility Corporate social responsibility in a market economy: the perspective of Constitutional Economics Rational Association and Corporate Responsibility PART III: CSR, REGULATION AND SELF-REGULATION CSR and Sustainable development The role of standardization, certification and assurance service in Global Commerce PART IV: MODELS OF NON-PURELY SELF-INTERESTED ECONOMIC AGENTS AND THE INTRINISIC MOTIVATION FOR THE SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE GOVERNANCE THE ORGANISATIONS Voluntary Co-determination produces sustainable Competitive Advantage Corporate trust Games in modern knowledge economies Effects of Different Stakeholder Groups Strategic control on Organisational Effectiveness and Well-being of Customers and Employees: An Empirical Investigation Corporate Honesty and Business Education: a behavioural Model Trusting, Trustworthiness and CSR: Some Experiments and Implications. Front Matter....Pages i-xli Front Matter....Pages 1-1 Corporate Governance: A Contractual and Organizational Perspective....Pages 3-32 Human-Asset Essentiality and Corporate Social Capital in a Stakeholders-Society Perspective....Pages 33-51 Stakeholder Theory as a Basis for Capitalism....Pages 52-72 Behavioral Economics, Federalism and the Triumph of Stakeholder Theory....Pages 73-98 Specific Investment and Corporate Law....Pages 99-127 Front Matter....Pages 129-129 Corporate Social Responsibility in a Market Economy: The Perspective of Constitutional Economics....Pages 131-156 A Rawlsian View of CSR and the Game Theory of its Implementation (Part I): the Multi-stakeholder Model of Corporate Governance....Pages 157-193 A Rawlsian View of CSR and the Game Theory of its Implementation (Part II): Fairness and Equilibrium....Pages 194-252 When Reputation is not Enough: Justifying Corporate Social Responsibility....Pages 253-271 Rational Association and Corporate Responsibility....Pages 272-295 Front Matter....Pages 297-297 The Roles of Standardization, Certification, and Assurance Services in Global Commerce....Pages 299-331 Voluntary Co-determination Produces Sustainable Competitive Advantage....Pages 332-352 Corporate Trust Games in Modern Knowledge Economies....Pages 353-380 Effects of Different Stakeholder Groups’ Strategic Control on Organizational Effectiveness and Well-Being of Customers and Employees: An Empirical Investigation....Pages 381-409 Trusting, Trustworthiness, and CSR: Some Experiments and Implications....Pages 410-431 Back Matter....Pages 432-441