governments, activists, and the media have become adept at
holding companies to account for the social consequences of their
activities. Myriad organizations rank companies on the performance of
their corporate social responsibility (CSR), and, despite sometimes questionable
methodologies, these rankings attract considerable publicity. As a result, CSR has
emerged as an inescapable priority for business leaders in every country.
Many companies have already done much to improve the social and environmental
consequences of their activities, yet these efforts have not been nearly as
productive as they could be – for two reasons. First, they pit business against society,
when clearly the two are interdependent. Second, they pressure companies
to think of corporate social responsibility in generic ways instead of in the way
most appropriate to each firm’s strategy