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This paper explores different approaches to regulating corporate social responsibility (CSR) patterns of adopting codes of conduct, and discusses the approach that courts should embrace.

Case studies from various legal systems will be examined. The paper presents new typology relating to different patterns of the Corporate Social Performance (CSP) model, based on aspects of the CSR pyramid, namely, legislative CSR and ethical CSR. Legislative CSR includes adoption of thin codes which reflect compliance within current legal standards of the criminal code, while ethical CSR includes codes reflecting ethical norms and corporate social citizenship beyond mere compliance. The paper also includes the interplay of different patterns of CSR and three approaches to regulation regarding these patterns.

Both the Israeli negative CSR regulatory approach and the American legislative CSR regulatory approach present difficulties.

The paper introduces a theory for regulating CSR within criminal law, drawing on the pyramid of CSR. It presents an original discussion of distinct approaches to regulation of corporate liability, while further developing the institutional theory of CSR and the interplay of regulation and CSR. The paper suggests a novel solution regarding the regulation and acceptance of CSR: the granting of protection from criminal liability to corporations who adopt CSR.

This chapter intends to contribute to the debate on the determinants of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and their impact on performance measurement and communication systems. It aims at analyzing the relationship between the reasons why firms adopt CSR and the importance given to voluntary CSR disclosure.

Two main categories of CSR determinants have been identified: the external ones, coming from the environment outside the firm, and the internal determinants, which are linked to some specific characteristics of the enterprise and to the objectives it pursues.

The analyzed sample consists of 120 large Italian manufacturing and nonmanufacturing enterprises. The research hypotheses concerning the relationship between external and internal determinants of CSR and CSR disclosure were verified using an independent sample t-test, evaluating the equal variances of clusters using the Levene’s test.

Main results point out that in companies giving importance to CSR disclosure, the internal drivers are more relevant than the external ones in determining the attitude toward CSR. Among the internal determinants, drivers related to company and management values and ethics are quite relevant.

This study is subject to the limitations that generally apply to cross-sectional survey-based research.

Our research findings show that legitimacy theory represents the most relevant theory in explaining CSR disclosure practices of Italian large firms, as well as the operational implementation of stakeholder theory, such as stakeholder management. On the contrary, institutional theory only partially explains CSR disclosure, with respect to the pressures coming from financial markets.

This chapter explores the impact of UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and Rio + 20 in improving Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) practices. While MDGs and Rio + 20 have suggested additive guidelines for improving CSR practices, they do not provide a strong legislative mandate. We find both MDGs and Rio + 20 have had limited cumulative effect on CSR practices and discourses within the corporate reports. UN bodies should bring a new policy and regulatory framework that addresses limitations in the principles espoused in the MDGs and Rio + 20. An independent monitoring system (a social compliance audit mechanism) can be mandated in an attempt to make incremental substantive change.

The purpose of this article is to discuss the role that law plays for corporate social responsibility (CSR) in substance, action and reporting, including whether CSR functions as informal law.

The theoretical point of departure is based in legal science. Through a discussion of various contexts of CSR in which law and legal standards feature, the article questions the conception that CSR is to do “more than the law requires”. CSR is discussed with the triple bottom line as a point of departure, focussing on social (esp. labour and human rights) and environmental dimensions.

It is argued that CSR functions as informal law, and that important principles of law function as part of a general set of values that guide much action on CSR. Furthermore, it is argued that aspects of law in the abstract as well as in the statutory sense and as self‐regulation influence the substance, implementation and communication of CSR, and that the current normative regime of CSR in terms of demands on multinational corporations may constitute pre‐formal law.

Through its discussion, observations and examples of the role played in CSR by law in the abstract as well as the statutory sense, by international, supranational and national soft and hard law and documents, and by public regulation as well as corporate self‐regulation, the paper is of value to corporate managers, public regulators, NGOs and individuals with an interest in CSR, including as an aspect of corporate governance.

This study aims to examine the nexus among financial inclusion, legislative corporate social responsibility (CSR) and the financial performance of banking companies in India.

The study uses the fixed-effect model to measure the impact of financial inclusion on the financial performance of banks listed in the Bank Nifty Index from 2015 to 2022. Furthermore, it examines the interaction effect of legislative CSR and financial inclusion on the performance of banks.

The study shows that financial inclusion indicators positively affect financial performance, which is critical for banking institutions. Empirically, the study provides evidence that legislative CSR is a significant moderator that can influence the relationship between financial inclusion and the financial performance of banks.

The emerging nations may concentrate on implementing legislative CSR spending to achieve economic value for their firms and societal responsibility toward stakeholders.

As per the authors’ collective knowledge, this study is the one that extends the empirical evidence that the legislative CSR is a potential moderator which influences the relationship between financial inclusion and the performance of banks.

This paper reviews and analyzes the corporate social responsibility (CSR) legal framework worldwide, discussing the new CSR definition which comprises legal features and debates for and against CSR validation. The work contributes in linking CSR and corporate laws by considering the legislative approaches worldwide.

CSR has mostly a voluntary character whilst it entails a normative condition attributable to social and market demands. A detailed examination of CSR worldwide is presented paying attention to international CSR legal framework in Europe, USA, Asia, Africa and Australia. Arguments for and against CSR legalization are studied.

The authors show that more regulations have to be launched mainly concerning the consequences of corporations' activities impacting the environment. Governments should promote CSR and relative encouragements focusing on a win-win state of affairs for companies.

It seems that in the future, more regulations will be established particularly concerning the effect of companies' activities toward the environment. Little research has been conducted on the legal aspect of CSR; therefore, future research should focus on this, providing new insights. Analysis in sector level will be helpful and instructive.

Many further disputes have to be worked out to set up and support arrangements which will direct and observe conversions into sustainable, habitable and low pollution.

The authors examine and discuss in details CSR schemes around the world concentrating to the international CSR legal framework in Europe, the USA, Asia, Africa and Australia. At the same time, the authors study the arguments for and against CSR legalization.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting in six large banks each from Japan, China, Australia and India over the period of 2005-2011.

CSR and banks’ annual reports and websites were analysed using a comprehensive disclosure framework to evaluate the themes of ethical standards, extent of CSR reporting, environment, products, community, employees, supply chain management and benchmarking.

Over the seven years, bank CSR disclosure improved in all four countries. Australian banks were found to have the best scores and Indian banks demonstrated maximum improvement. Despite the absence of legislative requirements or standards for CSR, this paper finds that CSR reporting continued to improve in quality and quantity in the region on a purely voluntary basis.

This study indicates that financial institutions have a commitment to CSR activities. The comparison between financial institutions in developed and developing economies suggests that the motivation for such activities is complex. A review of the studied banks suggests that strategic rather than economic drivers are an important influence.

Asia-Pacific Governments need not mandate bank CSR reporting standards as the banks improved their CSR reporting consistently over the seven years despite the Global Financial Crisis (GFC).

A disclosure framework index is used to assess the comprehensiveness of bank practice in relation to CSR reporting. This approach enables cross-sectional and cross-country comparisons over time and the ability to replicate and apply to other industries or sectors.

This paper aims to explore the question of the role of business in development from a contextual point of view. The context is Nigeria and its development challenges contrasted with the Nigerian oil industry, which dominates the Nigerian economy as the core resource. It examines the country's attempt to reconnect the oil industry business with development through the Nigerian Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB).

This paper primarily examines the attempt to re‐orient the oil industry in Nigeria through the Nigerian PIB. It adopts a conceptual approach analyzing the current debates and delays surrounding the bill in line with themes of human development and corporate social responsibility (CSR). It therefore examines and questions the linkages between business, development, law and governance.

The main findings suggest that development is best viewed in context of the needs of the relevant country and therefore if corporations through CSR are to engage more meaningfully with the developmental agenda then it must move beyond “self‐interested” models of CSR and engage meaningfully and fairly with facilitative frameworks in the “local” contexts, including the use of law.

This paper is an exploratory discussion that examines the potential and limitations of linking business to development agendas in an ongoing context. This is because the Nigerian Petroleum Industry Bill, originally drafted in 2008, has not yet passed into law at the end of 2011. This is the result of delays and uncertainty, which is costing the industry and the country significantly at a time when the developmental needs are paramount.

In recent times the government has emerged as an enabling and empowering facilitator promoting the adoption of corporate social responsibility (CSR) by businesses to leverage economic competitiveness and growth. India provides a unique context to explore the mandated role of government in relation to CSR specifically within the context of understanding its effective use to resolve grand challenges which the country is facing at present. Grand challenges are complex social, economic and environmental problems which require innovative and collaborative solutions. In this chapter we explore extant secondary data, related to CSR and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to examine whether mandatory CSR implementation which has been unfolding in India over the last few years has been effective in addressing India's grand challenges. Specifically, it focuses on the role of the Indian government, at the national and state levels, in directing CSR activities towards the SDGs.

The purpose of this paper is to determine how national cultural context may be harnessed to support corporate social responsibility (CSR) implementation when sourcing fashion garments from developing country manufacturers.

A qualitative case study approach was adopted, using purposive sampling to select seven export garment manufacturers of varying size and business model in Sri Lanka. Primary data were collected through on‐site, face‐to‐face interviews with managerial level and operational level informants within each company and through non‐participant observation within factory environments.

It was found that harnessing the local cultural context can support and progress CSR implementation at the factory level: in Sri Lanka, the Buddhist philosophy provided the moral underpinning and hence facilitated supplier engagement with CSR implementation. The presence of governmental support reduces the likelihood of CSR transgressions by adding an extra level of accountability for suppliers. Furthermore, the level of socioeconomic development also affects CSR implementation, as managerial competency increases with higher education levels.

Analysing the success of CSR implementation in the Sri Lankan export garment manufacturing industry enables the identification of country‐specific factors which support CSR implementation. The managerial perspective taken within the research would be of use to fashion brands and retailers that are looking for ways of progressing CSR implementation in their global supply chains.

This paper presents industry‐specific data from a key global garment manufacturing country on a commercially sensitive subject. It identifies factors within the national cultural context that support CSR implementation in the fashion supply chain.