The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the theoretical discussion on the best way to define Corporate Social Responsibility. The methodology used is a bibliographic review through a search for articles in different catalogues (Redalyc, Ebsco, JStor, SAGE, Science Direct, and Springer), focusing on articles that addressed the study of definitions of this concept. The different ways of defining it are identified and analysed in order to find a definition can encompass all the others. The paper also proposes that locating this concept at the level of management philosophy (and not simply as a desirable or expected behaviour) facilitates the construction of agreements around a consensual definition, unlike under the predominant behavioural approach of its conceptualisation as corporate behaviour. The paper concludes by proposing to define Corporate Social Responsibility as a management philosophy based on the responsible management of the company’s operational externalities on stakeholders, society, and the environment. It is concluded that this definition contributes to the theoretical discussion, strengthens empirical research, and improves the application of Corporate Social Responsibility in the corporate world.

Research work on the relationship between Corporate Social Responsibility and financial performance has been going on for seven decades. Even when the prevailing studies are those that found a positive influence of social responsibility on financial performance, strong conclusive results are still unavailable. Some explanations for this situation are based, among other reasons, on the fact that the variables have a relation mediated by multiple factors. Additionally, it is still unknown whether the results obtained can be extrapolated to all types of companies since the majority of studies have focused on large companies listed on the stock exchange. This research studied how one of those factors (stakeholder satisfaction) mediated in companies of different sizes (including SMEs) and different types of companies (publicly listed companies or private ownership companies). A questionnaire was used, including indices relative to (1) the degree of development of the company’s social responsibility policies, (2) the changes in the satisfaction of four key stakeholders (employees, customers, suppliers, and shareholders) and financial performance (sales and profitability). Findings show the existence of a correlation between social responsibility and financial performance and also that such a relationship is mediated by the satisfaction of stakeholders. That relationship was also found to be independent of company sizes and the type of company This research work is intended to be a contribution towards that field of study, as it has detected a relationship between variables in medium-sized and private ownership companies.

The ISO 26000 Guidance provides valuable conceptual and methodological guidelines for making corporate social action an effective tool through which organizations contribute to the solution of social problems within the communities they operate. These guidelines focus on their potential to contribute to the institutional strengthening of the social institutions of these communities, as well as to empower, generate autonomy, and develop skills in their final beneficiaries. Nevertheless, the academic literature has paid little attention to these guidelines. This document presents the results of pioneering research which was intended to provide information on the application of corporate social action. For measurement, a battery of 24 indicators was built and included in a structured questionnaire which was applied to a non-probabilistic sample of companies that carry out social actions. It was found that most of them apply the guidelines to a large extent and that this application correlates with the importance they assign to corporate social responsibility, with the degree to which they have incorporated it into their management, and with the construction of alliances with social organizations. Also, it was found that the application of these guidelines is independent of knowledge of the Guide and the approach to social responsibility that companies adopt.

Enterprises increasingly publish sustainability reports to address concerns about their environmental and social impact. However, the voluntary nature of these reports and the lack of independent auditing often lead to skepticism regarding their authenticity, with some perceiving them as mere marketing or greenwashing tools. This study aims to investigate whether the publishing of sustainability reports truly reflects transparency and responsible behavior. The relationship between the publishing of sustainability reports, environmental responsibility policies, and transparency policies is analyzed. The research was conducted in Uruguay. A quantitative methodology was used. The sample was made up of a group of companies that evaluate their social and environmental responsibility practices. This is a non-probabilistic sample, which includes companies that publish sustainability reports and companies that do not publish them. The environmental responsibility and transparency of both groups were compared. Thirteen indicators were used to measure environmental responsibility, and eight indicators were used to measure transparency. To evaluate the relationship between the variables, different statistical techniques were used: chi-square, difference of means test, and simple correlations. Our findings reveal that: (1) enterprises publishing sustainability reports tend to have more developed environmental responsibility policies and greater transparency compared to those that do not publish, and (2) interestingly, the choice of reporting standards, particularly the Global Reporting Initiative, does not significantly impact the observed outcomes. Furthermore, the relationship among report publication, environmental responsibility, and transparency is influenced by enterprise size but remains unaffected by public trading status or capital origin (local or international). Despite its methodological limitations, this work contributes to the debate on the sincerity of companies that publish sustainability reports. Its results contribute to reducing the skepticism and distrust that exists about these reports. Also, the work contributes to the study of the relationship between environmental responsibility and the publishing of reports because it included segments of companies that are not considered in most research: medium-sized companies and private companies that are not listed on the stock market.

El llamado de UNESCO de 2015 a conceptualizar la Educación Superior (ES) como un bien común abre las puertas a una nueva perspectiva para la comprensión y búsqueda de solución a un conjunto de problemas derivados de su creciente privatización. Este llamado, para no quedar en el discurso y producir un impacto real transformador, requiere reflexionar sobre las implicancias teóricas y prácticas de esta nueva forma de conceptualizar la ES. Se necesita construir un marco teórico y herramientas prácticas que permitan migrar de las formas actuales de gobernanza de la ES, diseñadas para gestionar un bien público, hacia las formas específicas de la gobernanza de los bienes comunes. En este documento se argumenta que el llamado de UNESCO tiene un sustento teórico sólido, para lo cual se realiza una revisión bibliográfica sobre la teoría de los bienes comunes y se demuestra que la ES califica para ser considerada como tal. Además, se reflexiona sobre los impactos que esta re-conceptualización tiene sobre la gobernanza de la ES y sobre los cambios que se necesita introducir en ella. El documento concluye sugiriendo que el marco teórico y metodológico de la Responsabilidad Social Universitaria aporta una base sobre la que edificar esos cambios.

El objetivo de este trabajo es la construcción de una definición de voluntariado corporativo útil para analizar cómo este concepto puede vincularse con el de Responsabilidad Social Empresarial. Se recurrió a la investigación bibliográfica mediante la consulta de diversas bases de datos. Se analizó un amplio espectro de interpretaciones teóricas e investigaciones empíricas, lo que sirvió para identificar cada uno de los componentes de la definición propuesta y para fundamentar que esa definición es funcional a las principales formas de definir la Responsabilidad Social Empresarial. La definición combina características específicas del voluntariado corporativo, elementos relacionados a su gestión y una síntesis de los beneficios que esta actividad genera para los actores involucrados. Este trabajo contribuye al desarrollo teóricodel voluntariado corporativo, a la construcción de herramientas útiles para realizar investigaciones empíricas y a la elaboración de estrategias y metodologías de gestión para la implementación de programas de voluntariado corporativo que funcionen efectivamente como herramientasde Responsabilidad Social Empresarial.