City Research Online

The reconciliation of fraternal twins: Integrating the psychological and sociological approaches to ‘micro’ corporate social responsibility

Gond, J-P. ORCID: 0000-0002-9331-6957 & Moser, C. (2019). The reconciliation of fraternal twins: Integrating the psychological and sociological approaches to ‘micro’ corporate social responsibility. Human Relations, 74(1), pp. 5-40. doi: 10.1177/0018726719864407

Abstract

Aguinis and Glavas’ (2012) call for a deeper understanding of the microfoundations of corporate social responsibility (CSR) has spurred a growing number of empirical micro-CSR studies. Micro-CSR scholars share the common goal of developing a clear picture of the microfoundations of CSR—a holistic theoretical and empirical understanding of how individual actions and interactions drive CSR-related activity—but pursue this objective from a variety of angles. Our research suggests that although many scholars work under the same ‘micro-CSR’ banner, they approach their goal from a wide range of disciplines, use different methodologies, and study different phenomena. In this critical essay, we show that most micro-CSR research can be classified in one of two distinct sub-fields: ‘psychological micro-CSR’ and ‘sociological micro-CSR’. We compare the differences between these orientations (including their distinct empirical approaches, and contributions of both fields of micro-CSR) and explore possible opportunities for cross-fertilization between the psychological and sociological approaches. Finally, we suggest ways in which micro-CSR scholars could exploit the complementarities and eliminate the blind spots common to the two dominant micro-CSR approaches.

Publication Type: Article
Publisher Keywords: Corporate social responsibility, Individuals, Micro-CSR, Microfoundations, Organizational behavior, Organizational theory
Subjects: B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor
H Social Sciences > HM Sociology
Departments: Bayes Business School > Management
SWORD Depositor:
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