Inherited Scepticism and Neo-Communist CSRWashing: Evidence from a Post-Communist Society

Petya Koleva, Maureen Meadows

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    13 Citations (Scopus)
    255 Downloads (Pure)

    Abstract

    The sizeable theoretical and empirical literature on corporate social responsibility (CSR) and business ethics in Western, developed economies indicates that the topic has attracted significant interest from academics and practitioners. There is, however, less evidence of the practice of CSR and business ethics in non-Western, transition economies, as insufficient attention is paid to the contextual specifications and underlying processes that may lead to different versions of CSR. Therefore,
    this paper examines the practice and sense-making of CSR and business ethics from the perspective of the fertile and under researched post-communist context of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), to join the growing academic debate about the
    impact of cultural and historical traditions on the practice and sense-making of CSR and business ethics in non-Western contexts. The study adopts a particular focus on the post-communist and under researched context of Bulgaria where CSR is still a relatively new phenomenon. By following an exploratory research design and by collecting qualitative data from 34 executives employed by public and private sector organisations in Bulgaria, the study finds that the local business environment
    is composed of a complex mix of various institutionalised pressures and challenges that predispose organisations to adopt a particular approach to CSR, ethical misconduct and CSR-washing. Apart from the significant contributions related
    to the practice, understanding and contextualisation of CSR in non-Western countries, the study also identifies challenges of business ethics in transition economies and adds depth to the emerging literature on CSR-washing by proposing a model for neo-communist CSR-washing. The study also offers contributions for practitioners and policy-makers.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)783-804
    Number of pages22
    JournalJournal of Business Ethics
    Volume174
    Issue number4
    Early online date20 Oct 2021
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Dec 2021

    Bibliographical note

    The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10551-021-04929-7

    Copyright © and Moral Rights are retained by the author(s) and/ or other copyright owners. A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. This item cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the copyright holder(s). The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders.

    Keywords

    • CSR
    • CSR-washing
    • Grounded Theory
    • Post-communist countries

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • General Business,Management and Accounting
    • Economics and Econometrics
    • Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)
    • Law
    • Business and International Management

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