Think Flat: "Why Robert Reich is Wrong About Corporate Social Responsibility"

An interesting HBR viewpoint from Mark Kramer about CSR.

Mark Kramer is the co-author, with Michael Porter, of the McKinsey Award-winning Harvard Business Review article, "Strategy and Society: The Link Between Competitive Advantage and Corporate Social Responsibility."

One of the reasons that CSR is different today than a few years ago is the availability and access to information. Easy information access makes it easier for consumers to form opinions about responsible (or irresponsible) behavior of companies: Imagine all that gets written about known and "not so well known" corpororate activities in personal blogs and discussion forums.

While only a small percentage of people will translate their opinions about companies into purchase choices, their opinions will have a substantial impact on the company's brand perception. It would also have an impact on recruitment and retention. It is never fun to have to defend your employer's behavior to your friends and family.

Mark Kramer talks about direct business benefits of CSR and how it is a business reality.

Maybe a better word for "CSR" would be "Corporate Responsibility", because it is not merely "social" any longer.