Responsabilité sociale de l’entreprise : revue de la littérature

In recent years, CSR has seen growing interest in both the academic and managerial spheres. It is also at the center of several heated debates on the role of business in society. However, there is still no universal consensus today on the responsibilities that a company must assume. This state of affairs results in much confusion and controversy as to the meaning of the concept of CSR. In this research paper we will attempt to dispel these conceptual confusions by presenting a literature review which highlights the main definitions granted to CSR as well as its historical evolution. We also present a comparative analysis of the perceptions of the various theoretical approaches which are interested in this subject. The results of this confrontation have shown that the theoretical frameworks that underlie CSR focus on two central questions. The first tackles the nature of the relationship that the company must maintain with society while the second relates to the motivations which encourage firms to adopt responsible behavior