Editorial

Citation

Aras, G. and Crowther, D. (2012), "Editorial", Social Responsibility Journal, Vol. 8 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/srj.2012.36808daa.001

Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: Social Responsibility Journal, Volume 8, Issue 4

An analysis of the papers published recently in SRJ or presented at recent International Corporate Social Responsibility Conferences reveals that people are more concerned about some issues than others. This is of course no surprise and the first issue of concern is that of transparency. This includes matters as reporting, information and comunication through media and internet and anything which leads to stakeholders and society knowledge on social responsibility of a special activity. Transparency, as a principle, means that the external impact of the actions of the organisation can be ascertained from that organisation’s reporting and pertinent facts are not disguised within that reporting. Thus all the effects of the actions of the organisation, including external impacts, should be apparent to all from using the information provided by the organisation’s reporting mechanisms. Transparency is of particular importance to external users of such information as these users lack the background details and knowledge available to internal users of such information. Transparency therefore can be seen to be a part of the process of recognition of responsibility on the part of the organisation for the external effects of its actions and equally part of the process of transferring power to external stakeholders. It is a principle which is related to disclosure and disclosure has been a core issue for social responsibility research for many years. Arguably the concern is shifting somewhat though from MNCs to SMEs and from developed to developing countries. Nevertheless it still remains the main research topic.

The second matter of importance has been organisational. In part this is a concern with social reslponsibility in different organisational structures. Organisations of any kind and with any structure have been under attention but especially people have started to show particular interest in publicly owned enterprises (POEs) and in small and medium enterprises (SMEs), alongside a continuuing interest in multinational companies. Governance – both organisational governance and corporate governance occupy the third priority. This is important because organisational governance influences all the other issues related to social responsibility activities inside an organisation. And it clarifies the role of decision makers in social responsibility. This is an issue which has become much more prominent recently, probably because of the recent financial and economic crises and the poor behaviour which has been therby disclosed. The fourth matter of interest has been that of sustainability/sustainable development; the terms have different meanings but are often used interchangeably.

The range of topics covered in this issue remains as wide as in previous issues, continuing to demonstrate the diversity of the field and the extent of interest there is in social responsibility. The field also shows development over time as different issues become important for research. This is an indication of a vibrant and developing field – and of a healthy journal which is representative of that field and its development. And of course our aim in the production of this journal is to further the discourse of social responsibility. In doing so however it is also one of changing this global village into a global community.

Guler Aras, David Crowther