Corporate Social Responsibility Audit: From Theory to Practice

Journal of Business Ethics (2005) 62: 315325 Springer 2005

DOI 10.1007/s10551-005-0274-5Corporate Social Responsibility Audit:From Theory to PracticeRisako MorimotoJohn AshChris HopeABSTRACT. This research examines the possibility ofdeveloping a new corporate social responsibility (CSR)auditing system based on the analysis of current CSRliterature and interviews conducted with a number ofinterested and knowledgeable stakeholders. This workattempts to create a framework for social responsibilityauditing compatible with an existing commercially successful environmental audit system. The project is unusualin that it tackles the complex issue of CSR auditing with ascientific approach using Grounded Theory. On theevidence discovered to date in the literature review andthe interviews, CSR seems to be perceived by many asthe social strand of sustainable development. However,there is far less agreement regarding its measurement.Both the literature review and the interview analysisindicate that developing an applied CSR auditing

procedure will be a challenging task. This is principallydue to the lack of formal study of this complex subject,which, despite the widespread debate it has engendered,still lacks a single and broadly accepted definition. Theconcepts developed from the findings of this research,together with the key factors identified in a literaturereview of CSR, were developed into a prospective CSRaudit protocol.KEY WORDS: audit, business ethics, corporate socialresponsibility, environmental and social auditing,measurement, stakeholder management, sustainabledevelopment, ethical investment.IntroductionBusiness and academic researchers have shownincreasing levels of interest in Corporate SocialResponsibility (CSR) during recent years (Maignan,2002). The theme of environmental and socialresponsibility appears in a number of political andlegal documents and is gaining ever-greater importance at the international level. Today, corporateleaders face a dynamic and challenging task inattempting to apply societal ethical standards toresponsible business practice. Increasing pressure forsocial responsibility was ranked second in a FinancialTimes/Price Waterhouse Coopers survey of theviews of 750 Chief Executive Officers on the mostimportant business challenges for companies in2000.1 Companies, especially those operating inglobal markets, are increasingly required to balancethe social, economic and environmental components of their business, while building shareholdervalue.This research examines the possibility of developing a new CSR auditing system based on theDr. Risako Morimoto is a professor of strategy at ToulouseBusiness School in France. She was also a research associatein the Judge Institute of Management at the University ofCambridge, UK. She obtained her PhD in environmentaleconomics from the University of Cambridge.John Ash is the James Tye British Safety Council ResearchFellow at the...