The link between corporate social responsibility and success in management

How vital is it for leaders in modern business to be ‘socially responsible’? Can business ethics influence quality management? Recent open access research from Cogent Business & Management identifies key parallels between quality management and the importance of taking socially responsible steps in business.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is growing in practice as more businesses look to give back through social and environmental initiatives. Any proven nexus between quality management and CSR may help to address concerns of CSR hindering core business or economic objectives. New findings published in Cogent Business & Management from authors at Cadiz University, Spain, highlight a clear correlation for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) implementing CSR with better Total Quality Management (TQM), or the assumption that every staff member should abide by, and aspire to, superior standards of work and commitment.

As independent theoretical concepts, CSR and TQM promote values, methods and efforts contributing to higher performance in all aspects of business operations, anticipating greater levels of dedication, integrity and openness from employees. In essence, engaging in CSR has been found to improve the quality of a firm and its successes, and this article concludes both Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Total Quality Management (TQM) are interconnected and co-dependent to each other in modern business. This study therefore provides a helpful baseline for further empirical scholarship in business ethics, as well as a talking point for professionals moving from necessary discussion and debate into responsible action.