Globalization and Corporate Social Responsibility

Abstract This article analyzes the advent of globalization and delineates its impact on the corporation and its social responsibilities. It begins with an explanation of the concept of globalization. Next, it describes the traditional paradigm of corporate social responsibility (CSR) where the responsibilities of businesses are discussed vis-à-vis a more or less properly working nation-state system and a homogeneous moral. It describes the new situation of regulatory gaps in global regulation, an erosion of national governance, and a loss of moral and cultural homogeneity in the corporate environment. It also discusses the consequences of the post-national constellation with the help of two recent observations of business firms' behavior which call for a fresh view of the concept of CSR. Finally, it describes the necessary paradigm shifts toward a new politically enlarged concept of CSR in a globalized world.