Systemic corporate social responsibility: micro-to-macro transitions, collective outcomes and self-regulation

Purpose - We call attention to the need to revitalize the systemic nature of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and offer some suggestions about how this might be accomplished. We introduce the concept of systemic CSR and associate it with micro-to-macro transitions, the need to make systemic objectives explicit, and the responsibility of system participants to regulate their behavior in order to contribute to these outcomes. Design/methodology/approach - We comment, from a systemic perspective, on four different management approaches to CSR—shareholder value, corporate social performance, stakeholder theory and corporate citizenship. Three general systemic principles that participants can use as decision-making guides are a focus on value creation, ongoing assessment of collective outcomes, and reflective engagement in the aggregation process. Findings - We observe that businesses routinely demonstrate their ability to think in systemic terms in strategic contexts that require it. If businesses can address systemic issues in these contexts, then they can also apply systemic logic in furtherance of collective (or system-level) objectives. Originality/value - We propose an approach to CSR that emphasizes micro-to-macro transitions, the need to make systemic objectives explicit, and the responsibility of system participants to regulate their behavior in order to contribute to these desired objectives. Systemic CSR is unique in its explicit focus on the micro-to-macro transition (i.e. the process of aggregation), systemic objectives, and the need to actively insource responsibility for contribution to the realization of those objectives.