Managerial Struggles During Practice Implementation: The Case of Corporate Social Responsibility

Although Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has received ample attention in the literature, less is known about the micro-processes involved in organizing and implementing CSR-related practices within organizations. Our study focuses on a category of actors central to these processes: we highlight the role of CSR managers as drivers of CSR implementation. Building on empirical data from MNCs we address the question of what happens within organizations when internal actors attempt to promote the implementation of social, environmental and ethical practices. As we demonstrate, this process of implementation involves a variety of struggles that can be understood along a scope and an involvement dimension. We present an integrative framework that explains the dimensions underlying CSR managers’ role in CSR implementation; we focus on the micro-management of practice adoption and on the internal advocacy that goes along. Our results therefore contribute to the practice adoption and implementation literature, as well as to current debates about how CSR is organized internally.