Summary:
This paper focuses on one of the assumptions of corporate social responsibility (CSR), namely, its usefulness as a tool for eradicating poverty in developing countries. The intergovernmental organisations, such as United Nations and the World Bank, together with business associations, support actively this idea. Conversely, civil society organisations and in part, academia, remain sceptical of the potential impact of CSR on poverty alleviation in developing countries. Both views are analysed in order to examine the issues that such agents include under the umbrella of CSR and the diversity of considerations that question the role of business on poverty reduction. The authors find that, although usually considered as ideologically neutral, the theoretical and operational discourse of CSR requires the introduction of ideological debate to meet the goal of poverty eradication.
Keywords: poverty alleviation; corporate social responsibility; stakeholder relations; business role on development; millennium development goals
DOI reference:
https://doi.org/10.1080/09614524.2011.546005
Published on paper: April 2011.
Citation:
A. Merino, C. Valor, The potential of corporate social responsibility to eradicate poverty: an ongoing debate. Development in Practice. Vol. 21, nº. 2, pp. 157 - 167, April 2011.
