Abstract :
Concepts and theories of corporate social responsibility (CSR) have been examined and
classified by scholars since the mid-1970s. However, owing to the evolving meaning of CSR
and the huge number of scholars who have begun to analyze the issue in recent years fresh
efforts are needed to understand new developments. Since there is a great heterogeneity of
theories and approaches, the task remains a very hard one, mainly because heterogeneity
derives from multi-disciplinary diversity. The criterion for selection is to consider the role
that theorists confer to the firm. Following this idea, three groups of theories have been
discerned: (1) the utilitarian group, in which the corporation is intended as a maximizing
‘black box’ where problems of externalities and social costs emerge; (2) the managerial
category, where problems of responsibility are approached from inside the firm (internal
perspective); (3) relational theories, or those in which the type of relations between the firm
and the environment are at the center of the analysis. The three perspectives allow the
reader to understand the most significant differences between the various theories of CSR. The
objective is to classify the theories and to draw a map in which group specificities can be made
available. This allows scholars to reach a better understanding of corporate–society relations,
and enhances developments both in theoretical and empirical terms.
