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The authors have systematically reviewed 534 corporate social responsibility communication (CSRC) papers, updating the current debate about the ontological and epistemological paradigms that characterize the field, and providing evidence of the interactions between these paradigms and the related methodological choices. The purpose of this paper is to provide theoretical and methodological implications for future research in the CSRC research domain.

The authors used the Scopus database to search for titles, abstracts and related keywords with two queries sets relating to corporate social responsibility (e.g. corporate ethical, corporate environmental, social responsibility, corporate accountability) and CSRC (e.g. reporting, disclosure, dialogue, sensemaking). The authors identified 534 empirical papers (2000–2016), which the authors coded manually to identify the research methods and research designs (Creswell, 2013). The authors then developed an ad hoc dictionary whose keywords relate to the three primary CSRC approaches (instrumental, normative and constitutive). Using the software Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count, the authors undertook an automated content analysis in order to measure these approaches’ relative popularity and compare the methods employed in empirical research.

The authors found that the instrumental approach, which belongs to the functionalist paradigm, dominates the CSRC literature with its relative weight being constant over time. The normative approach also belongs to the functionalist paradigm, but plays a minor yet enduring role. The constitutive approach belongs to the interpretive paradigm and grew slightly over time, but still remains largely beyond the instrumental approach. In the instrumental approach, many papers report on descriptive empirical analyses. In the constitutive approach, theory-method relationships are in line with the various paradigmatic traits, while the normative approach presents critical issues. Regarding methodology, according to the findings, the literature review underlines three major limitations that characterize the existing empirical evidence and provides avenues for future research. While multi-paradigmatic research is promoted in the CRSC literature (Crane and Glozer, 2016; Morsing, 2017; Schoeneborn and Trittin, 2013), the authors found no empirical evidence.

This is the first paper to systematically review empirical research in the CSRC field and is also the first to address the relationship between research paradigms, theoretical approaches, and methods. Further, the authors suggest a novel way to develop systematic reviews (i.e. via quantitative, automated content analysis), which can now also be applied in other literature streams and in other contexts.

The chapter aims to enhance our understanding of “opportunity” in the context of social entrepreneurship through a paradigm interplay juxtaposing a functionalist thematic analysis and interpretivist sensemaking. This paradigmatic contrasting identifies differences and connections in the tensions of: linearity and simplicity/dynamism and complexity; forward/backward, generalizability/situated relationality, and value-laden/value-neutral. These contrasts deepen our understanding of “opportunity” so that the theoretical and practical implications can be seen.

Presents the view that total quality management in higher education institutions, and the development of a so‐called managerialist ideology, has led to the inevitable adoption of an approach to human resource management (HRM) policy and practice which is functionalist. Asserts that the criteria favoured by managerialism represented by TQM is not only inappropriate in higher education but that, more importantly, it limits the productive activity of individuals. This limitation occurs to the extent that, at the level of the individual “academic” in higher education organizations, quality control and assurance which has traditionally been a localized process of self and close peer review, has become formalized by externally imposed systems and procedures; a necessary condition under the current funding arrangements for enabling internal quality assurance systems to meet the requirements of external agencies. Suggests that only a truly professionalizing, “soft”, individualistic and user‐focused collegial culture will provide a sufficient condition for total quality enhancement to become reality. Provides a summary of the rapidly changing nature of higher education organizations (and the conditions they face) with specific reference to the new university sector in the UK. Reviews the recent literature on human resource management (HRM). Offers recommendations for strategic managers and those invested with responsibility for quality in the new universities.

CSR is a relatively new concept which can be defined as the set of rules by which a company equips itself in order to ensure compliance to various regulations, as well as ethical and environmental standards, that have to be addressed in relation to the sector in which it operates. Despite this international definition, it is hard to deal with this notion in a legal perspective. The chapter investigates how the notion is operating in the European and Chinese Green Energy Industry.

The approach is functionalist in nature and is based on comparative law method.

The insights about the diverse notions of CSR in the energy industry can be useful for lawyers and compliance managers working in transnational contexts.

CSR represents a way of marketing for consumers and society. Understanding the real functioning in the world of affairs beyond the policy declamations may increase the public accountability of the CSR processes.

The functionalist approach based on comparative law method has never been applied to the intertwined issues about CSR in the energy industry.

Due to impressive market growth over several decades, consulting can today be regarded as an influential industry. In spite of this success, consulting is confronted with prejudices, which, to some extent, can be linked to difficulties in the evaluation of consulting services. By guaranteeing certain qualification levels, professionalism is generally considered useful for reducing this kind of uncertainty. In this chapter, using a German case as an example, we analyze professionalization efforts among consultants. We argue that these efforts will never be successful if the classical concept of professionalism is applied. However, seen from the perspective of the “new professionalism” that concentrates on work behaviour, consultants qualify as highly professional.

The purpose of this paper is to examine a variety of research approaches which information managers may find useful to meet the needs of working in the networked, digitized age.

This is achieved by a discussion of the research paradigms inherent within both information theory and social theory.

The findings work towards a final justification for an interpretist approach as the most appropriate context in which to work, in order to meet the emerging trends and current challenges of information technology management.

The central theme of this paper is that research which deals primarily with people and information in a world of change, competition, and fluid communications technology should take into account and allow for an understanding of human behaviour. This understanding helps to highlight different contexts, backgrounds, and cultures and therefore provides assistance in making appropriate choices concerning research paradigms and information management, which in turn will ensure thoughtful methodology and justifiable research results.

This paper examined questions regarding the choices of research paradigms and the practical application of philosophy to the life of professional information managers.

The International Integrated Reporting Council claims that integrated reporting (IR) can enhance corporate accountability, yet critical and interpretative studies have contested this outcome. Insufficient empirical research details how preparers experience accountability while constructing IR; to fill this gap, the purpose of this paper is to analyse how the preparers’ mode of cognition influences the patterns of accountability associated with IR.

A functionalist approach to narratives helps elucidate the role that the IR preparers’ narrative mode of cognition plays on accountability towards stakeholders. The empirical analysis particularly benefits from in-depth interviews with the IR preparers of a global insurer that has used IR since 2013.

The preparers’ narrative mode of cognition facilitates dialogue with IR users. It addresses accountability tensions by revealing the company’s value creation process. Preparers’ efforts to establish a meaningful dialogue with a growing variety of stakeholders through broader and plainer messages reveals the potential of IR as a narrative source of a socializing form of accountability. However, financial stakeholders remain the primary addressees of the reports.

This paper focusses on preparers’ views; further research should integrate users’ accountability expectations.

This paper offers new insights for dealing with corporate reporting and accountability in a novel IR setting.