Integrating Corporate Social Responsibility into Corporate Strategy: The Role of Formal Tools

Paolo Maccarrone and Anna Maria Contri
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Paolo Maccarrone: Department of Management, Economics and Industrial Engineering, Politecnico di Milano, 20156 Milano, Italy
Anna Maria Contri: Department of Management, Economics and Industrial Engineering, Politecnico di Milano, 20156 Milano, Italy

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 22, 1-20

Abstract: This paper contributes to the literature debate on the role that formal tools used in the management of CSR activities can play in the integration of CSR into corporate strategy. In particular, the purpose of this research is two-fold: firstly, to investigate if a high degree of formalisation of CSR activities is needed to reach a high degree of integration of CSR into corporate strategy; secondly, to understand what roles CSR formal tools play in this integration process. In order to answer these research questions, eleven case studies of large multinational companies operating in Italy were developed. The results of the empirical analysis show that a high degree of integration is often coupled with intensive use of formalization, with some interesting exceptions. This result can be explained by the active role that almost all CSR formalisation elements play in the integration process of CSR in the overall corporate strategy.

Keywords: corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy; sustainability management; CSR formalisation; corporate strategy; CSR integration (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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