Corporate Social Responsibility in France: A Mix of National Traditions and International Influences
Corporate Social Responsibility in France: A Mix of National Traditions and International Influences
(Article summary and discussion question- article 5)
This article explaines the practice of corporate social responsability in France. The fact is, that because there is not a lot of literature based on CSR which is not Anglo-American, we thought that other countries have remainded inactive in this point of doing business today. So, the main question is, what can be learned from the French experience with CSR. The aim of this analysis is not only to present the state of the art of CSR in France but to determine the influence of different social, economic, cultural and legal factors on the way CSR is understood and implemented in the country.
The economic structure of France is different from the Anglo-Saxon countries, and this influences the relationship between business and society. Under the pressure of the EU, all the recent French government have privatized many companys, but the French economy still remains characterized by the significance of the public sector. The CSR approach in France can be qualified as a mix of national traditions and factors of change that are common to many other industrialized democracies. The term corporate social responsibility (CSR) causes confusion because in French there is no difference between the nation of responsibility and the legal concept of liabilty. Also the term social, in English includes society, but in France it is focused internally on labor-related issues, not on external stakeholders. In France, here is also a very strong role of the State. In contrast to other national contexts, where CSR activities are considered as private initiatives clearly separate from any intervention of public actors of change. This role of the State gave legitimacy to the concept of CSR and corporate citizenship. The government has the rigtht to influence and intervene where necessary. France introducing mandatory corporate social
(Article summary and discussion question- article 5)
This article explaines the practice of corporate social responsability in France. The fact is, that because there is not a lot of literature based on CSR which is not Anglo-American, we thought that other countries have remainded inactive in this point of doing business today. So, the main question is, what can be learned from the French experience with CSR. The aim of this analysis is not only to present the state of the art of CSR in France but to determine the influence of different social, economic, cultural and legal factors on the way CSR is understood and implemented in the country.
The economic structure of France is different from the Anglo-Saxon countries, and this influences the relationship between business and society. Under the pressure of the EU, all the recent French government have privatized many companys, but the French economy still remains characterized by the significance of the public sector. The CSR approach in France can be qualified as a mix of national traditions and factors of change that are common to many other industrialized democracies. The term corporate social responsibility (CSR) causes confusion because in French there is no difference between the nation of responsibility and the legal concept of liabilty. Also the term social, in English includes society, but in France it is focused internally on labor-related issues, not on external stakeholders. In France, here is also a very strong role of the State. In contrast to other national contexts, where CSR activities are considered as private initiatives clearly separate from any intervention of public actors of change. This role of the State gave legitimacy to the concept of CSR and corporate citizenship. The government has the rigtht to influence and intervene where necessary. France introducing mandatory corporate social