A
Adaptive Social Problems
Complex problems, with an unknown answer, for which no single entity has the resources or authority to bring about the necessary change. For example, reforming public education. (Kania & Kramer, 2011)
Compare to Technical Social Problems
Angel Investors
B
B-Corporations
For-profit businesses with a certified social impact mission supported by transparency and accountability requirements. In this case, “b” stands for benefit. The nonprofit B Lab administers the certification. (Boyea-Robinson, 2015)
B-Corp Certification measures a company’s social and environmental performance at every level: supply chain, workers, customers, charitable giving, etc. (B Lab, n.d.)
Blended Value
A conceptual framework viewing the value a company creates as unified and holistic rather than as separate elements (environmental, social, financial, etc.). (Emerson, 2019)
Compare to Shared Value
Brand Activism
Business Ethics
C
Cause-Related Marketing (CRM)
Circular Economy
Cluster Strategy
A Corporate Social Responsibility strategy in which a company chooses two or more clusters or issues to support that match the organization’s core values. (Roza, 2017a)
See also Coalition Strategy, Diffuse Strategy, and Focused Strategy.
Coalition Strategy
A Corporate Social Responsibility strategy in which several parties enter into a partnership to address a specific issue. (Roza, 2017a)
See also Cluster Strategy, Diffuse Strategy, and Focused Strategy.
Collective Impact
The commitment of a group of important actors from different sectors to a common agenda for solving a specific social problem. Uses a centralized infrastructure, a dedicated staff, and a structured process leading to a common agenda, shared measurement, continuous communication, and mutually reinforcing activities among all participants. (Kania & Kramer, 2011)
Compare to Isolated Impact.
Collectivist Charity
Community Chest
Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs)
Complementary Corporate Foundation
A type of Corporate Foundation with low independence from the affiliated company, dependent on them for funds and personnel, and likely shares the same name as the company. (Roza, 2017b, 3:00)
Compare to Enhancing Corporate Foundations, Integral Corporate Foundations, and Sovereign Corporate Foundations.
Consumer-Company Indentification
Corporate Citizenship
Corporate Community Involvement (CCI)
Corporate Foundation
Corporate Philanthropy
Corporate Social Investing
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
A company’s commitment to improving or enhancing community well-being through discretionary contributions of corporate resources. (Roza, 2016)
There are five dimensions of CSR: Environment, Social, Economic, Stakeholder, Volunteerism. (Dahlsrud, 2008)
CSR Congruence Model (or CSR-ESR Congruence Model)
A model for assessing the compatibility between employer and employee social responsibility within individual organizations:
- Low social responsibility: neither employees nor employer care about social responsibility
- Identity-based social responsibility: organizations and employees perceive and project themselves as socially responsible while taking little or no action to support this
- Behavior-based social responsibility: high levels of involvement in socially responsible behavior without adopting the corresponding identity
- Entwined social responsibility: identities and behaviors are aligned for both employer and employee
CSR Positioning
The extent to which a company relies on its Corporate Social Responsibility activities to position itself, relative to the competition, in the minds of the consumers. (Du, Bhattacharya, & Sen, 2010)
Corporate Sustainability Management
D
Dashboard
A tool that can be used to measure Corporate Social Responsibility performance; usually includes community impact, financial results, and stakeholder influence. (Frumkin, 2017b, 1:52)
See also: Scorecard
Descriptive Model
A model of Corporate Social Responsibility where activities are linked to the organization’s identity, core values, and/or purpose. (Roza, 2017b, 0:32)
See also: Instrumental Model and Normative Model
Diffuse Strategy
A Corporate Social Responsibility strategy in which a company focuses efforts on needs or interests of certain stakeholders. (Roza, 2017a)
See also Cluster Strategy, Coalition Strategy, and Focused Strategy.
Do Tank
A body of individuals, groups, or companies with an action-oriented aim. The concept evolved from the idea of a think tank.
Donor-Advised Funds
Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSI World)
Global index consisting of the top 10% of the largest 2,500 stocks in the S&P Global Broad Market Index based on their sustainability and environmental practices. (Chen, 2018)
E
Ethical Trusteeship Model
A model in which Corporate Social Responsibility is seen as a voluntary commitment by companies to public welfare and nation building. (Handy, 2017, 0:54)
Compare to Liberal Model, Stakeholder Model, and Statist Model.
Employee Engagement Models
Models for engaging employees with Corporate Social Responsibility:
- Transactional Approach – Approach to employee engagement where programs are undertaken to meet the needs and interests of employees who want to take part in socially responsible efforts of a company
- Relational Approach – Approach to employee engagement where an organization and its employees together make a commitment to social responsibility
- Developmental Approach – Approach to employee engagement where a company aims to more fully activate and develop its employees and the firm to produce greater value for business and society
Employee Lifecycle Management
Employee Matching
Enhancing Corporate Foundation
A type of Corporate Foundation that is highly independent from affiliated company. The foundation typically has a strong relationship to the company’s core business and acts as the company’s independent partner. (Roza, 2017b, 4:56)
Compare to Complementary Corporate Foundations, Integral Corporate Foundations, and Sovereign Corporate Foundations.
External Corporate Social Responsibility
Corporate Social Responsibility efforts directed toward factors outside the firm: environment, local community, customers, suppliers, etc. (Hameed, Riaz, Arain, & Farooq, 2016)
F
Firm-Specific Human Capital
Focused Strategy
A Corporate Social Responsibility strategy in which a company links their CSR to their core business. (Roza, 2017a)
See also Cluster Strategy, Coalition Strategy, and Diffuse Strategy.
Fourth Sector
G
H
I
Impact Investing
Investments made with the intention to generate positive, measurable social and environmental impact alongside a financial return. (Global Impact Investing Network, n.d.)
Institutionalized CSR Programs
Instrumental Model
A model of Corporate Social Responsibility in which CSR activities are linked to a company’s strategy and innovation. (Roza, 2017b, 2:29)
See also: Descriptive Model and Normative Model
Integral Corporate Foundation
A Corporate Foundation with low independence from the affiliated company. The foundation operates similarly to a Corporate Social Responsibility department at a company and activities are fully controlled by the company. (Roza, 2017b, 4:07)
Compare to Complementary Corporate Foundation, Enhancing Corporate Foundation, and Sovereign Corporate Foundation.
Integrity-Based Ethics Management
Internal Corporate Social Responsibility
Isolated Impact
Approach oriented toward finding and funding a solution embodied within a single organization, combined with the hope that the most effective organizations will grow or replicate to extend their impact more widely. (Kania & Kramer, 2011)
Compare to Collective Impact.
J
K
L
Liberal Model
A Corporate Social Responsibility model focused on the needs of its private owners and shareholders; favors economic privatization and deregulation. (Handy, 2017, 1:50)
Compare to Ethical Trusteeship Model, Statist Model, and Stakeholder Model.
Logic Model
M
Matching Gift
A donation made by a company to a nonprofit or charitable cause that “matches” an employee’s donation.
See also: Employee Matching
Management Top 250
Metrics
Microcredit/Microloans/Microfinance
N
Normative Model
A model of Corporate Social Responsibility in which CSR activities are linked to pressure from stakeholders: government, consumers, investors, employees, etc. (Roza, 2017b, 3:38)
See also: Descriptive Model and Instrumental Model
O
P
Person-Environment Fit
When an individual and the work environment characteristics are well matched. (Roza, 2017c, 0:30)
See also Value Congruence.
Promotional CSR Programs
Public Value
Q
R
RepTrak Pulse
S
Scorecard
A tool that can be used to measure Corporate Social Responsibility performance; usually includes community impact, financial results, and stakeholder influence. (Frumkin, 2017b, 1:52)
See also: Dashboard
Shared Value
A management strategy in which companies find business opportunities in social problems; rather than focusing on “giving back” or minimizing harm, shared value focuses leaders on maximizing competitive value of solving social problems in new customers and markets, cost savings, talent retention, and more. (Shared Value Initiative, n.d.)
Compare to Blended Value
Signaling
Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship
SMART Goals
Social Enterprise
Social Entrepreneurship
Social Impact
Social Impact Bonds
Social Intrapreneurship
Socially Responsible Mutual Funds
Social Return on Investment (SROI)
Social Venture Capital
Sovereign Corporate Foundation
A Corporate Foundation that is highly independent from the affiliated company; operates similarly to a private grant-making foundation without a dominant living donor. (Roza, 2017b, 3:40)
Compare to Complementary Corporate Foundation, Enhancing Corporate Foundation, and Integral Corporate Foundation.
Statist Model
Corporate Social Responsibility in the context of socialist, mixed economies, with a focus on state-owned companies and legal requirements that influence CSR. (Handy, 2017, 1:19)
Compare to Ethical Trusteeship Model, Liberal Model, and Stakeholder Model.
Stakeholder Model
Corporate Social Responsibility in the context of globalization, with a focus on citizen and stakeholder activism, large participation by nongovernmental organizations; Model of CSR that responds to the needs of all stakeholders (i.e., customers, employees, and communities). (Handy, 2017, 2:14)
Compare to Ethical Trusteeship Model, Liberal Model, and Statist Model.
Stakeholder Theory
A view of capitalism that stresses the interconnected relationships between a business and its customers, suppliers, employees, investors, communities, and others who have a stake in the organization; argument that firms should create value for all stakeholders, not just shareholders. (Stakeholder Theory, n.d.)
See also Stockholder Theory
Stockholder Theory
View that management of a corporation has a duty to maximize shareholder returns (also known as shareholder theory). (Hunsaker, 2018)
See also Stakeholder Theory
T
Technical Social Problems
Think Tank
Triple Bottom Line
Trusteeship Model
U
V
Value Congruence
Values-Based Approach
Values-Driven Management
Venture Philanthropy
A blanket term describing forms of philanthropy that express a more purpose-, results-, and responsibility-driven worldview. Usual characteristics include:
- Strategic framing which coordinates targeted resources so they collectively create systemic change
- Scales of intervention that address systems and sectors rather than individual organizations or projects
- Sector focuses that tend to be cross-sectoral, engaging civil society, markets, and/or governments as needed
- Funding mechanisms that blend grants and investments as appropriate to the theory of change
- Hands-on engagement styles using extended interactions with and between grantees
- Engagement periods reflecting the goal of systems change, often five to ten years rather than one to two
- Culture and capabilities focused on innovation and experimentation
- Monitoring and evaluation that allows quick adaptation and focuses on outcomes and impacts
W
X
Y
Z
References
craig snyder
CEO, World Affairs Council of Philadelphia