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Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility
A Holistic Approach to Sustainable and Impactful Business
Third Edition
- Debbie Haski-Leventhal - Macquarie University, Australia, Macquarie Business School, Macquarie University, Australia
September 2025 | 432 pages | SAGE Publications Ltd
In today's world, being the best in the world is no longer enough. Businesses are now expected to be the best for the world: socially and environmentally responsible, sustainable, and ethical.
This updated edition of Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility offers a comprehensive approach to CSR, presenting key concepts, theories, and practical tools for real-world application. The book is divided into three parts: theoretical background, CSR approaches and implementation, and measuring and communicating CSR.
New to this edition is a chapter on social and global issues, along with three new case studies from Africa, Asia, and Latin America. The content has been extensively revised, adding summary questions at the end of each chapter and highlighting cutting-edge technology, including AI, machine learning, virtual reality, and blockchain.
Featuring case studies from globally recognized brands like Ben & Jerry's, Google, H&M, and Unilever, this book is an essential resource for students on Corporate Social Responsibility modules.
Debbie Haski-Leventhal is Professor of Management at Macquarie Business School and an expert on corporate social responsibility (CSR), responsible management education (RME) and volunteerism.
Detailed updates for the 3rd edition:
This updated edition of Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility offers a comprehensive approach to CSR, presenting key concepts, theories, and practical tools for real-world application. The book is divided into three parts: theoretical background, CSR approaches and implementation, and measuring and communicating CSR.
New to this edition is a chapter on social and global issues, along with three new case studies from Africa, Asia, and Latin America. The content has been extensively revised, adding summary questions at the end of each chapter and highlighting cutting-edge technology, including AI, machine learning, virtual reality, and blockchain.
Featuring case studies from globally recognized brands like Ben & Jerry's, Google, H&M, and Unilever, this book is an essential resource for students on Corporate Social Responsibility modules.
Debbie Haski-Leventhal is Professor of Management at Macquarie Business School and an expert on corporate social responsibility (CSR), responsible management education (RME) and volunteerism.
Detailed updates for the 3rd edition:
- Nearly half the book is rewritten. The book is restructured for a better flow, as are many of its chapters. It now has many new images and figures too
- New cases from outside the US, such as Fairphone (The Netherlands), Sony (Japan), and Lush (The UK) and many new mini cases from around the globe, including Egypt, Bangladesh, and China
- A new and more holistic definition of Strategic CSR, with six original components
- An emphasis on how cutting-edge technologies, such as AI, machine learning, virtual reality and blockchains, can serve responsible and sustainable business
- Each chapter now ends with summary questions that be used in class or for assessment
- A new and powerful Foreword by Professor David Cooperrider, a CSR leader and the father of appreciative inquiry, and several new endorsements
- Additional exercises and questions for interactive learning together with revised online materials, such as a teaching guide and PowerPoint presentations
- Updated references and links after each case study and chapter, with up to date literature and thinking
Part I: The Foundations of CSR
Chapter 1: Strategic CSR: Our changing world and the evolution of corporate responsibility
Chapter 2: From CSR pyramids to shared value and beyond: CSR models and frameworks
Chapter 3: Environmental sustainability: The role of business in sustainable development
Chapter 4: The S in CSR: Social and global issues
Chapter 5: Business Ethics: How philosophy guides ethical behaviour and decisions in business
Part II: CSR and Stakeholder Leadership
Chapter 6: Responsible leadership: business leaders who change the world
Chapter 7: Beyond shareholders: CSR and stakeholders integration
Chapter 8: All aboard: Involving stakeholders in CSR
Part III: CSR Measurement and Communication
Chapter 9: CSR impact: Creating, measuring and communicating net positive impact
Chapter 10: Benchmarking CSR: Frameworks, standards and certifications
Chapter 11: CSR reporting: signalling impact
Chapter 12: CSR and marketing: Three frontiers
Chapter 13: The way forward: Making the shift
Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility is a masterful and timely work that redefines the role of business in society. Debbie Haski-Leventhal offers a comprehensive, yet accessible, roadmap for companies to embed purpose and responsibility into their core strategy, creating net positive impact for all stakeholders. This book is an essential guide for leaders who seek to elevate their businesses as forces for good, aligning perfectly with the principles of Conscious Capitalism.
FEMSA Distinguished University Professor of Conscious Enterprise, Tecnológico de Monterrey & Co-founder of Conscious Capitalism Inc.