2025-2026
CORPORATE SOCIAL
RESPONSIBILITY
PROF. GWENNY THOMASSEN
TIAGO BOEYNAEMS
, Hoorcollege 1 – Vrijdag 13/02/2026 – What is CSR?
1. Introduction
The class of today: What is CSR?
2. Course set-up
Learning outcomes: (6 classes + guest lectures + assignment)
3. The need for social responsibility
Example: Bhopal, 1984
• This company produce pesticides. (Chemical company)
• One day it went wrong and a lot of chemicals came free in the air. The safety
procedures failed that day.
• A lot of people were affected (thousands of people died) and the company paid
some compensation. They tried to sue the CEO but he fled to USA and never
came back.
• The disaster is one of the biggest industrial disasters ever happened.
1
,Example: Dhaka, 2013
• Rana Plaza Building in Bangladesh
• Plaza building with textile manufacturers. In April there was said there were
structural problems with the building and the next day the building collapsed
with the manufacturers in it.
• But who is responsible for this?
• Primark, Mango, … made their clothes there. Are they
responsible?
• Some of them paid compensation for it (primark paid the
biggest) but most of them did not.
• Example of a disaster.
• There have been some changes since then in the value chain of this sector.
Example: Grok, 2026
• About the AI bot of X. There was a scandal because a lot of people were
undressed by the tool. But who is responsible? Grok?
• Big tech companies are little harder: how far are they responsible? (same with
TikTok)
→ The examples show that we need some CSR
The justice argument:
In each of the stages there might be some unwanted impact/externalities
4. What is the purpose of a company?
What is a company? (4 theories)
Artificial entity • Companies are artificial entities that owe their existence
theory completely to the government
• It exists, it has rights, it can do things that on a private way
you cannot because they are given by the state.
2
, Real entity • Each corporation has an identity and existence that is
theory separate and independent from the state and the individuals
who organize, operate and own it.
• It says that is not linked to the government and that it stand
on itself.
Aggregate • Corporations are merely collections of individuals tied
theory together through the intersection of various obligations.
• The people are what makes the company
• Owners, employees, managers
Collaboration • Collaborations among the state governments and the people
theory who organize, operate and own them.
• A bit of a combinations
Artificial Real entity Aggregate Collaboration
What is the purpose of a company?
Two streams:
Friedman doctrine
• “There is one and only one social responsibility of business: to use its
resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits so long as it
stays within the rules of the game” (Milton Friedman)
• Neoclassical economist. He says that there is only one social responsibility of
a company and it is about increase in profits. It is the only thing you should
look at. As a manager you cannot do more than what you are legally obliged to
do. Quite extreme.
Purpose-driven companies
• Maximize the contribution to society while ensuring adequate return for
shareholders
• You start from what society needs and the constraint is money
• Examples: Danone, Patagonia, Bees Coop Supermarket, Veja, Tony’s
Chocolonely
3
CORPORATE SOCIAL
RESPONSIBILITY
PROF. GWENNY THOMASSEN
TIAGO BOEYNAEMS
, Hoorcollege 1 – Vrijdag 13/02/2026 – What is CSR?
1. Introduction
The class of today: What is CSR?
2. Course set-up
Learning outcomes: (6 classes + guest lectures + assignment)
3. The need for social responsibility
Example: Bhopal, 1984
• This company produce pesticides. (Chemical company)
• One day it went wrong and a lot of chemicals came free in the air. The safety
procedures failed that day.
• A lot of people were affected (thousands of people died) and the company paid
some compensation. They tried to sue the CEO but he fled to USA and never
came back.
• The disaster is one of the biggest industrial disasters ever happened.
1
,Example: Dhaka, 2013
• Rana Plaza Building in Bangladesh
• Plaza building with textile manufacturers. In April there was said there were
structural problems with the building and the next day the building collapsed
with the manufacturers in it.
• But who is responsible for this?
• Primark, Mango, … made their clothes there. Are they
responsible?
• Some of them paid compensation for it (primark paid the
biggest) but most of them did not.
• Example of a disaster.
• There have been some changes since then in the value chain of this sector.
Example: Grok, 2026
• About the AI bot of X. There was a scandal because a lot of people were
undressed by the tool. But who is responsible? Grok?
• Big tech companies are little harder: how far are they responsible? (same with
TikTok)
→ The examples show that we need some CSR
The justice argument:
In each of the stages there might be some unwanted impact/externalities
4. What is the purpose of a company?
What is a company? (4 theories)
Artificial entity • Companies are artificial entities that owe their existence
theory completely to the government
• It exists, it has rights, it can do things that on a private way
you cannot because they are given by the state.
2
, Real entity • Each corporation has an identity and existence that is
theory separate and independent from the state and the individuals
who organize, operate and own it.
• It says that is not linked to the government and that it stand
on itself.
Aggregate • Corporations are merely collections of individuals tied
theory together through the intersection of various obligations.
• The people are what makes the company
• Owners, employees, managers
Collaboration • Collaborations among the state governments and the people
theory who organize, operate and own them.
• A bit of a combinations
Artificial Real entity Aggregate Collaboration
What is the purpose of a company?
Two streams:
Friedman doctrine
• “There is one and only one social responsibility of business: to use its
resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits so long as it
stays within the rules of the game” (Milton Friedman)
• Neoclassical economist. He says that there is only one social responsibility of
a company and it is about increase in profits. It is the only thing you should
look at. As a manager you cannot do more than what you are legally obliged to
do. Quite extreme.
Purpose-driven companies
• Maximize the contribution to society while ensuring adequate return for
shareholders
• You start from what society needs and the constraint is money
• Examples: Danone, Patagonia, Bees Coop Supermarket, Veja, Tony’s
Chocolonely
3
