Journal Article

(Re)discovering the Social Responsibility of Business in Germany

Oppen, Maria, Sobczak, André, Antal, Ariane Berthoin

2009

Overview

The concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a relatively recent addition to the agenda in Germany, although the country has a long history of companies practicing social responsibilities. The expectations of society had remained stable for many years, encapsulated in laws, societal norms, and industrial relations agreements. But the past decade has seen significant changes in Germany, challenging established ways of treating the role of business in society. This contribution reviews and illustrates the development of diverse forms of social responsibility in German corporations and analyzes how actors in business and society can build on traditional strengths to find new institutional arrangements for sharing tasks and responsibilities in the interests of achieving a better balance between societal, economic, and environmental needs.

• Publisher: Springer,Springer Netherlands,Springer Nature B.V,Springer Verlag
• Subject: Business / Business administration / Business and Management / Business Ethics / Business practices / Business structures / Civil society / Corporate citizenship / Corporate culture / Corporate responsibility / Corporate Social Responsibility / Corporations / Deutschland / Education / Ethics / Experimentation / Germany / Gesellschaftliches Bewusstsein / global responsibility / Humanities and Social Sciences / Integrated approach / intentional experimentation / International agreements / Labor relations / Management / Organizational change / Organizational culture / Philosophy / Private sector / Quality of Life Research / Responsibility / Social action / Social responsibility / Society / Unternehmensethik / Working conditions