Understanding CSR will not be complete without reading R. Edward Freeman, a major contributor to the stakeholder literature. This proponent of CSR identifies the similarity between CSR and effective stakeholder management. In effect, Freeman believes that good business is when a company makes great products that consumers like and that those products make their lives better; when a company has great suppliers that want to work with it and the relationship makes both parties better; when a company has employees who really want to work for it; when a company is a good citizen in the communities in which it is located; and when a company makes a lot of money for shareholders and other financiers.

For Freeman, these points that actually mean good business are nothing but corporate social responsibility all rolled into one.

A completion of all these points, of course, is nearly impossible to achieve, pointing to the fact that a company can never be too good or perfect, and that it can never have a full slate in CSR. There are always trade-offs in business vs. business stewardship.

Multinationals such as big pharma may be good citizens in their branch locations, make effective products, have wellness programs for employees, and manage a good supply chain – but, somewhere down the line, they can be criticized for such things as selling the most expensive medications, etc, etc.

Good business and CSR can never really be synonymous. CSR will always be just an add-on or value-added factor to business. It is when stakeholders demand ethical business, and when the company grants the demand, that CSR becomes simply good business – in both profitability and stewardship.

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