CSR Ltd.: the Business Case for Corporate Social Responsibility

Abstract

In the share-holding conflict regarding GrameenPhone, Telenor didn’t seem so wrong in doing what it did. Meanwhile, what Yunus was criticizing seems persuasive as well. The main concern of this thesis could be constructed as follows: As far as corporate executives are concerned, to what extent does CSR "make business sense"? Is there a limitation to "CSR that makes business sense"? First, by using Milton Friedman’s critique of CSR as a point of departure, I will argue that CSR is neither immoral nor illegal. Furthermore, I think the concept of "enlightened self-interest" could be regarded as a normative justification for the business case of CSR. Finally, although enlightened self-interest seems feasible, it is to a certain degree conceptually limited by the idea of public trust. I will conclude with a tentative argument that in order to get out of the prisoner’s dilemma of mutual distrust. In the end, CSR is not only about what the corporation has done, but also about how we as the public and the corporation as a whole think about CSR.