Corporate Responsibility: The American Experience
Cambridge University Press, 8/30/2012
EAN 9781107020948, ISBN10: 1107020948
Hardcover, 632 pages, 24.7 x 17.4 x 3.5 cm
Language: English
This thought-provoking history of corporate responsibility in the USA is a landmark publication documenting the story of corporate power and business behavior from the mid-eighteenth century to the modern day. It shows how the idea of corporate responsibility has evolved over time, with the roles, responsibilities and performance of corporations coming increasingly under the spotlight as new norms of transparency and accountability emerge. Today, it is expected that a corporation will be transparent in its operations; that it will reflect ethical values that are broadly shared by others in society; and that companies will enable society to achieve environmental sustainability as well as a high standard of living. As we enter the second decade of the twenty-first century, the social, political and economic landscape is once again shifting: the need for an informed public conversation about what is expected of the modern corporation has never been greater.
About the authors
Foreword
Preface
Introduction
the corporation in the public square
Part I. The Seeds of Corporate Responsibility
1. Foundations of capitalism and the birth of the corporation (1776–1880)
2. The turbulent rise of the corporation (1880–1900)
3. The Progressive Era and a new business–government relationship (1900–18)
4. The corporation's case for social responsibility (1918–29)
5. The corporation and national crisis (1929–45)
Part II. Corporate Responsibility Comes of Age
6. Corporate legitimacy affirmed (1945–63)
7. A revolution of rising expectations (1963–73)
8. Managing corporate responsibility (1973–81)
Part III. Taking Account of Corporate Responsibility
9. Stakeholders and stockholders (1981–9)
10. Corporate responsibility institutionalizes and globalizes (1989–2001)
11. A new social contract for the twenty-first century (2001–11)
Conclusion
patterns and prospects
Endnotes
References
List of plates
Index.
Advance praise: 'This amazing book provides a terrific overview of the emergence and development of the ways that businesses have both responded to public pressures for taking on more responsibilities and, in some instances, abrogated those very responsibilities. It is a tale that has been waiting a long time to be told and should be required reading for anyone hoping to understand the context in which today's corporate responsibility paradigm has arisen. The four authors' voices blend perfectly to create a stunning panorama sweeping over 200 years, focusing on both the flaws and the greatness of corporations in America today.' Sandra Waddock, Galligan Chair of Strategy and Carroll School Scholar of Corporate Responsibility, Boston College