The accountability of corporate social responsibility : Norsk Hydro in Argentina - a vehicle to development?

Abstract

Abstract This thesis is about Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and discusses to what extent this paradigm can contribute to sustainable development. The thesis considers how transnational companies have an impact on human development and resource management through their business activities and introduction of agendas for CSR. The thesis is based on a study of a subsidiary of the Norwegian corporation Norsk Hydro ASA operating in Argentina. The logic of corporate behavior is analyzed through organizational theory. It concludes that behavior in accordance with the principles for CSR has resulted from both institutional and rational-economic mechanisms. Hydro has contributed to a new way of strategic thinking, as measures have been introduced that favor both employees and the firm. This thesis shows that a strategic CSR agenda might contribute to development, but that its implementation may be limited to what are win-win measures. The implication of this might be that the commitment to the stakeholders might be secondary to the commitment to the stockholders. In other words, it is uncertain to what extent a corporation can be depended upon to make voluntary efforts for the improvement of the society at large.