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Denial/rejection
There is little doubt that some executives remain unconvinced that corporate social respon-
sibility represents anything other than charitable giving, and that such initiatives are uncon-
nected, or at best only loosely related, to customer value. Underpinning such responses and 
negative attitudes towards CSR is probably the residual belief among some managers and 
investors that it is simply not the role of business to pursue social goals, but rather to cre-
ate the economic wealth that facilitates the pursuit of such objectives by public authorities 
Figure 17.5 
Corporate responses to CSR imperatives
Source: Adapted from Piercy and Lane (2009b).
Company CSR responses
Denial/rejection
Managers have no belief in the
impact or importance of CSR
Employee/
manager
perceptions
Other
stakeholder
perceptions
Customer
value
Company
social
credibility
Limited engagement
Some moves are made towards
socially beneficial actions
Defensive approaches
CSR moves to respond to
customer/competitor pressures
Strategic moves
CSR is an active part of how the
company plans and delivers value
New business models
New ways of doing business focus on
social and commercial value delivery

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CHAPTER 17 CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND ETHICS
and not-for-profit organisations. This is a legitimate and defensible position to take. CSR-
related actions in this situation may amount to little more than meeting legal obligations 
and compliance with regulation in countries of production, operation and distribution, but 
the cost may be vulnerability to attack and missed opportunities.