Proceedings of the International Association for Business and Society

Volume 16, 2005

Proceedings of the Sixteenth Annual Meeting

Equal Financial Returns of Corporate Social Responsibility and Irresponsibility
The Paradox of Potential CSR Adoption Not Being Reduced

Many scholars have pointed out obstacles to establishing a causal link between Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and financial performance. Good Management Theory suggests CSR is necessary to maximizing financials. Others believe that, realistically, less ethical means are necessary. In response, this article proposes the Equivalency Theory of Corporate Social Responsibility and Financial Returns (ETRR). It holds that, while CSR contributes to financials when managed adaptively and intelligently, unfortunately, corporate social irresponsibility produces equally strong financials when it is managed adaptively and intelligently. ETRR implies greater personal moral freedom and therefore responsibility for executives.