On Government As A Driver Of Corporate Social Responsibility

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a system. It seems that CSR is the enterprise's own business philosophy and operating behavior management system; in fact, its implementation needs synergy of many social bodies. Modern society is a syntheses of state, business, non-government organizations (NGOs) and citizens. Government as the main body of social governance plays a leading role, and business as the socio-economic entity also play an important role in public affairs management. In today's China, the emphasis of CSR is legal responsibility. Therefore, CSR is not only the enterprises'consciously proactive behavior, but also needs the government's guide and promotion, which includes the leading role of legislation and enforcement, policy support, media communication, market surveillance, international cooperation.Study on CSR could be done from many perspectives such as economics, management, law and sociology. This dissertation is mainly based on law, especially economic law theory, and applies the economic law principles, concepts and requirements of the government regulating the economy to the specific practice of government to promote corporate social responsibility. The main aim is to explore the rationality and necessity of government promotion of CSR from the perspectives of theory and practice, as well as study the relevant important topics of Chinese government as a driver of CSR, including system-building, propaganda system, cooperation system, supervision system and the driving force of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) CSR. The whole text, divided into six chapters (except introduction), is about 26 thousand characters long.Chapterl:"Theory analysis of government promoting CSR." This chapter is focused the theory basis of CSR promotion. Through detailed legal research of CSR, the author puts forward the concept of CSR in this dissertation, as well as the relationship between government and CSR in different countries and stages, and points out that Chinese government should play a leading role in promoting CSR.Complete theory frame is the premise and basis of CSR research. From the law perspective, the contractual theory of the firm is the most important starting point of CSR study. The rise of CSR breaks through the main three principles of private law: absolute ownership, contract freedom and fault liability. Therefore, we should use economic law which is society-based and concerns the overall interests of society to regulate CSR because the only private law cannot realize the aim. CSR is the unity of legal responsibility and ethics responsibility, and legal responsibility is the core part.As the dissertation points out, the subject of CSR is company, so company autonomy is the basis of CSR, and government is not the stakeholder of CSR. CSR realization depends on the combination of company limited autonomy and government moderate intervention. Government moderate intervention should be based on clearing government functions, respecting the market rules, and clarifying the boundary of government functions and CSR by laws. In current China, government should play roles in propaganda, system-building, creating good policy and society environment to support CSR, strengthening supervision as well as cooperating with foreign governments and international originations.Chapter 2:"System-building of government promoting CSR." This chapter is mainly study the roles of government in policy making and legislation of CSR. From the request of legislation and policy, the dissertation points out the innovation direction in these sides.CSR is the unity of legal responsibility and ethics responsibility. The main task of study CSR from law perspective is to explore the rationality, range, way and judicial practice of law regulating CSR. This is the fundamental guarantee of CSR realization and the important way of government promoting CSR. In view of our current legislative status of CSR, we should perfect the related content of commercial law, especially corporate law, strengthen united coordination of economic laws, as well as complete judicial practice system. From policy perspective, some local governments have made relevant policies to guide enterprises fulfill their social responsibilities. They should clear further the true meaning of CSR, innovate government performance evaluation system, and encourage local government promote CSR by preferential measures such as taxes.Chapter 3:"Propaganda system of government promoting CSR." This chapter aims at searching main ideas of government promoting CSR from related communication theories, points out innovation direction of government propagating CSR according to the main problems of current propaganda.Through reviewing the prime communication theories such as agenda-setting theory, communication and national development theory and "gatekeeper" theory, the author thinks that we should guide CSR actively, strength comprehensive scientific propaganda of CSR, improve government ability to have CSR policy information by expanding channels.At present, Chinese government has propagandized CSR by expanding media channels, setting up awards, building the platform of communication and so on, but there still are many problems. We should pay more attention to the CSR awareness-rising of government and media, propaganda of exact CSR concept, strengthen guiding role of mainstream media and education of entrepreneurs on CSR. Through comprehensive reform, we can promote CSR effectively.Chapter 4:"Cooperation system of government promoting CSR." This chapter pursues for cooperation system between governments and between government and non-government organization mainly from the background of economy globalization. Government as a driver of CSR has gone beyond national boundaries, or the government functions, so government should pay attention to cooperate with relevant originations, and promote CSR with them. Improving human development, economy globalization also brings many global social problems, such as food safety, environment pollution, and labor protection. Because the different governments'attitudes towards CSR, there are many difficulties in multinational companies conducting CSR in different countries. At present, recognition of CSR is the pragmatic attitude of global partnership to promote CSR, adhering to the "common but differentiated responsibility" principle is a realistic choice of global partnership to promote CSR, and co-building CSR standards is the urgent requirement of global partnership to promote CSR.In cooperation of government and NGO promoting CSR, government should make great efforts to nurture and develop NGO, allow them play active roles in building CSR standards, publicizing CSR and supervising CSR. Government should cooperate with NGO well in promoting CSR.Chapter 5:"Supervision system of government promoting CSR." This chapter reviews government social supervision theory, studies government supervision system of CSR by setting food safety as specimen, as well as the mechanisms for information disclosure of listed companies.Government social supervision aims at protecting labors and consumers'safety and health and environment and preventing disaster, provides some standards of goods and service, and includes safety supervision, health sanitation supervision and environment supervision. This kind of supervision has consistency with the content of CSR.By setting food safety as specimen, this chapter analyses main problems of previous food safety supervision. Through reviewing the experience and characteristic of foreign countries food safety supervision, the author thinks that Food Safety Law has a positive meaning in improving our country's food safety regulation, but there are still some institutional issues to resolve. We should improve further the food safety regulatory bodies and institution, straighten out the duties of central and local governments, and strengthen the food safety law system.CSR information disclosure has an important meaning in improving corporate governance structure, protecting public interest, building a harmonious society. At present, there still are many problems in Chinese CSR information disclosure, such as a small number of companies who disclosures CSR information voluntarily, bad continuity, non-uniform content, low value of information. Therefore, we should further improve CSR information disclosure system through strengthening Mandatory disclosure of information, improving the contents and methods of the information disclosure, strengthening the supervision of information disclosureChapter 6:"The driving force of state-owned enterprises' CSR." State-owned enterprise is a means of economic adjustment of country (government), so it is worth studying this special corporation's social responsibility and the role of government in promoting CSR. This chapter defines state-owned enterprises'CSR values, meanings and scope, points out the main problems of state-owned enterprises' CSR, as well as the reform direction such as property rights reform, clearing CSR meaning by law, making the evaluation system scientific and the supervision bodies independent and systematism.State-owned enterprises have both profitability and commonweal. Commonweal is the primary nature, and it prevails when it contradicts with profitability in state-owned enterprises. This shows that the value of state-owned enterprises should be equity. CSR differences of state-owned enterprises and common enterprises lie in the values, whether the government is the stakeholder or not, the primary responsibility and the functions. On this basis, the author concludes the scope of state-owned enterprises'CSR:commonweal responsibility, economic responsibility legal responsibility, ethical responsibility and philanthropic responsibility, and commonweal responsibility is the primary responsibility.Reviewing the history of "enterprise-run society" and current state-owned enterprises'CSR situation, this chapter concludes the experience of government promoting state-owned enterprises'CSR. Although state-owned enterprises conduct actively in CSR both in history and today, there are still many problems because the vague concept of state-owned enterprises'CSR, confusion with general CSR and etc.The author thinks that we should promote state-owned enterprises'CSR by following steps. First of all, we should reform the state-owned enterprises'property, and build "national shareholder's right-business property ownership" construction. We can lay a good foundation for state-owned enterprises' CSR through defining ownership of property as the core content property rights by law, clearing that state-owned enterprises have ownership with their property including the investment of shareholders. Secondly, we should define state-owned enterprises'CSR by law through combination of summary-type and list-type. Thirdly, we should reform the performance appraisal criteria and make it more rational and scientific. Last, we should improve the supervision system of state-owned enterprises, and introduce multi-subject to promote CSR.