25 September, 2005

Stanford, CA - An article recently published in the Stanford Social Innovation Review says that large corporations care little about corporate social responsibility, focusing more on profits for their shareholders.

As a result, the corporate social responsibility movement - which assumes that companies can do well by doing good - is lulling the public into a false sense of security, warns Deborah Doane, author of the featured article.

"CSR as a concept simplifies some rather complex arguments and fails to acknowledge that ultimately trade-offs must be made between the financial health of the company and ethical outcomes," argues Doane.

Doane went on to say, "When trade-offs are made, profit undoubtedly wins over principles".

Among alternatives to CSR that Doane proposes is a change to the legal structure of the corporation both in Europe and the United States, so that company directors would view as company stakeholders not just shareholders, but communities, employees, and the environment as well.

The Stanford Social Innovation Review is published by the Center for Social Innovation at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

The article by Deborah Doane can be read at the Institute's website.