Understanding CSR: an empirical study of private regulation

This article is a study of an important burgeoning form of regulation - private self-regulation - in the area of Corporate Social Responsibility ('CSR). Rather than taking a purely theoretical approach or a social scientific study relying on publicly reported data, the article addresses the issue by way of interview-based case studies. As a study in regulation it clarifies the difference between various types of self-regulation, trade associations' codes as private self-regulation and government sponsored self-regulation. This distinction hampers efforts to understandt he important aspects of motivation and compliance. This study provides an empirical examination of compliance in private self-regulation. Given the impact and reach of muitinational companies ('Nst as5 ' we! las ti cutUies associated with regulating them through hard law, the necessity of effective CSR becomes paramount. CSR is a global movement of self-regulation utilised by MNCs with decidedly mixed outcomes. This study shows how private self-regulation can work by leveraging the personal motivation of employed managers educated in CSR and given discretion to pursue important social ends, particularly in conjunction with their communities.