The Evolution of Corporate Social Responsibility Discourse: From Ethical Commitment to Legal Obligation in Light of the Analysis of Right and Interest

Salehi, Hadi; Kardooni, Neda

doi:10.48308/eclr.2024.235508.1060

The Evolution of Corporate Social Responsibility Discourse: From Ethical Commitment to Legal Obligation in Light of the Analysis of Right and Interest

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Hadi Salehi ¹

Neda Kardooni ²

¹ Assistant Professor, Faculty of Law & Political Science, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran Corresponding Author Email: hadi.salehi@shirazu.ac.ir

² PhD, Faculty of law, Queens University, Kingston, Canada

https://doi.org/10.48308/eclr.2024.235508.1060

Abstract

The role and relationship of corporate social responsibility (CSR) within the legal system have always been a subject of debate. The question of whether CSR is a voluntary or mandatory mechanism is increasingly being questioned today, given the developments in some national and international systems such as the European Union. This article, using legal theory on ethics, highlights the link between legal and ethical responsibilities and outlines a two-way interaction between the economic goals of companies and corporate social responsibilities to show that corporate social responsibility commitments are closely linked to the legal obligations of businesses. Since these commitments are also related to corporate accountability, this paper, focusing on the concept of stakeholders in ethical and legal approaches, shows that a large part of the scope of corporate social responsibility commitments is mandatory, not voluntary. However, this obligation may not arise from a law in the narrow sense and state-centered.

Keywords

Corporate law

economics

ethical principles

policy making

stakeholders

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