Traditionally, researchers did not consider the firm a relevant social subject, whilst at the same time business practitioners looked at it as an exclusive and closed space for economic optimization. Indeed, if the firm was recognized to be in production and/or an economic institution, the values, behaviors and standards which structured its organization and decisions seem to be imported from the outside, under the impulse of other actors such as the state, church, family, NGO and schools. During the last few years, this has changed and the social role of the firm has been under scrutiny. This has led to a reflection on the nature and the extent of corporate social responsibility, and particularly on concepts, accountability and reporting: historical background and borderlines of the CSR concept, ethics and legitimacy, corporate citizenship, regulation, sustainable development and globalization versus market pressures, "social" information, and institutional frameworks such as norms, standards and certification. It is in this context that the European Foundation for Management Development (efmd) asked Professor Allouche to lead a project with the view of publishing a collection of studies of Corporate Social Responsibility, including original contributions from twenty-five international experts from nine countries: Belgium, Canada, France, Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, The Netherlands, Spain and USA.

List of Tables and Figures
Foreword
Preface
Acknowledgements
Notes on the Contributors
Introduction
PART I: THE CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY CONCEPT
Beyond Rhetoric: Making a Reality of Corporate Social Responsibility; J.D.Roberts
Rhetoric, Reality, and Relevance for Corporate Citizenship: Building a Bridge to Actionable Knowledge; S.Waddock
From Mortmain to Corporate Social Responsibility: The Historical Background; R.Sparkes
Corporate Sustainability and Sustainable Development: M.van Marrewijk
Globalization: Towards a Cross-National Model of Corporate Social Responsibility; P.Kletz & Y.Pesqueux
Towards a Business Relevant Research Approach to Business and Society; G.Lenssen & N.Dentchev
PART II: ACCOUNTABILITY AND REPORTING
The Broadening Scope of Corporate Accountability: Some Unanswered Questions; M.L.Pava & J.Krausz
Corporate Responsibility and the Law; D.W.Hess
In Search of the 'Hard Law': Judicial Activism and International Corporate Social Responsibility; K.Medjad
Voluntary Disclosure of Non-Financial Information and Corporate Social Responsibility; J.Caby & J.Pinero
Theoretical and Practical Contributions of Social Accounting to Corporate Social Responsibility; B.O'Dwyer
Corporate Sustainability Reporting; R.Labelle, A.Schatt & B.Sinclair-Desgagné
Legal Obligations and Local Practices in Corporate Social Responsibility: O.Dubigeon
The Institutionalization of Corporate Social Responsibility in France: The State Injunction; J.Allouche, F.de Bry, I.Huault & G.Schmidt
Institutional Acceptance of Corporate Social Responsibility; J.Igalens
Corporate Social Responsibility and Management Systems; S.de Colle
Index

JOSÉ ALLOUCHE is Professor of HRM and Head of the Human Resources Department at the Institut d'Administration des Entreprises (IAE), Université Paris Sorbonne in France. A social/industrial economist, his research over the last twenty years has been on corporate performance. He has published widely on organization theory, family businesses and the measurement of corporate social performance.