Title: How to develop a corporate social responsibility strategy

Authors: Sarah Margaretha Jastram; Zara Berberyan

Addresses: Chair of International Business Ethics and Sustainability, Department Strategy and Leadership, Hamburg School of Business Administration, Willy-Brandt-Str. 75, 20459 Hamburg, Germany ' Chair of International Business Ethics and Sustainability, Department Strategy and Leadership, Hamburg School of Business Administration, Willy-Brandt-Str. 75, 20459 Hamburg, Germany

Abstract: In this paper, we derive a systematic framework for corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy development, which aims to guide managers in formulating a competitive CSR strategy that allows for more innovative and unique CSR approaches and reduced isomorphism. Despite the well-documented advantages of strategic CSR, there is a lack of coherent management models on how to develop a comprehensive CSR strategy. This gap results in increasingly exchangeable and often not strategic CSR practices. By transferring general models of strategy formulation to the CSR context and complementing each step with CSR-specific analytical tools based on an integrated supply chain perspective, we offer a well-grounded guiding framework for CSR strategy formulation and analysis.

Keywords: CSR strategy; CSR strategy development; CSR positioning.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSSM.2021.117862

International Journal of Sustainable Strategic Management, 2021 Vol.9 No.1, pp.51 - 62

Received: 25 Apr 2020
Accepted: 26 Sep 2020
Published online: 04 Oct 2021 *