Paper info

Coping with CSR: some conceptual foundations on discussing contradictions and their interplay

Markku Nikkanen

The paper was published at the 35th IMP-conference in Paris, France in 2019.

As a concept and practice CSR is subject to debate and controversy. Currently, corporations want to increase their engagement in sustainability-related issues, particularly in redefining their value proposals. On the other hand, more criticism has arisen of the Triple Bottom Line model inter alia. The primary purpose of this conceptual study is to examine the issues of responsibility and sustainability in a two-fold manner: (1) to investigate theoretically how the oneness of things is understood in various scientific and philosophical approaches especially comparing and contrasting non-Western traditions to modern Western thinking; and (2) based on the explication on the first stage, to scientifically discuss how a pre-defined entity, such as a TBL- model, can be understood as a one paying attention to opposites, which actually seem to segregate the aspects under consideration (profit vs planet vs people). Based on the current theoretical study, it is proposed whether it would be reasonable to accept the separation and disaggregation as a consequence as conceptually it is not possible to reach a total integration of opposite dimensions in theories and models.