Impacts of socio-economic management research: Going beyond the triple bottom line
Résumé
The very proliferation of books and articles devoted to the analysis of triple bottom line, sustainable development and company social responsibility issues should urge us to refrain from adding our own comments to the scholarly disquisition triggered off by these sensitive concepts. But even a quick look at the literature will suffice to show that a majority of authors concur to say that there is no common consensus to start with. The impression one can derive is that of a rather confusing collection of definitions far too broad to be helpful to company managers. To avoid having to refer to CSR as jumble, mishmash, hodgepodge, rag-bag and the like, some authors advocate custom made or tailor-made definition, but the moot-point is then the inescapable limits and restraints of a contingent approach.