Corporate social responsibility as a new paradigm in the European policy: how CSR comes to legitimate the European regulation process

Purpose Since its Green Paper (2002) entitled “Promoting a European framework for Corporate Social Responsibility”, the European Commission multiplies communications and actions about corporate social responsibility (CSR). The purpose of this article is to question the emergence of CSR as a paradigm of the European referential in terms of public policy. Design/methodology/approach This article analyses the emergence of this concept in the Community Action asking the question of the nature of this action and the link with the main Community policies. To achieve it the research leans on a public policy analysis by a mixed approach founded on a causal analysis and a cognitive approach. Findings If the main theoretical founders of the discourse about CSR seem to be effectively inspired by the North American school of business ethics, in fact we can also argue that there are some specificities in Community action in CSR. More than a specific policy of CSR in the Community, CSR seems to become an element of transversal policy which has to be re‐considered in the larger triptych “CSR‐sustainable development‐governance” promoted by European Commission as a way of a new European regulation. Research limitations/implications This hypothesis should have to be worth thinking about in the light of the new communication of European Commission published in 2006 and future development. Originality/value Opening the question of the specificity of a CSR European approach, this article also offers a new contribution to the debate on the European regulation process.