Corporate Social Responsibility: A Longitudinal Analysis in the Retail Sector

Today, corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become a central topic in corporate management, such that it has favoured the transition from the idea of organizational culture to that of a responsible corporate culture. The aim of this study is to analyze the social responsibility practices of several major retailers to verify similarities and differences in their approaches to defining socially responsible strategies and examine how this strategy has changed over time. The analysis is based on a longitudinal study that compares the CSR-related practices of 12 large retailers from five countries. Combining multiple case studies with a longitudinal analysis offers the opportunity to identify patterns indicative of dynamic processes, providing a close-up view of those patterns as they evolve over time. The companies analyzed are assumed to represent the most advanced CSR experiences in the retail industry and in their country of origin. The results show that these organizations go far beyond the limits imposed by law based on their CSR strategies. They evolved toward committing to social and environmental issues, thereby overcoming formal and showcase interventions, which were more frequent in the past.