Marketing and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Moving between broadening the concept of marketing and social factors as a marketing strategy

Abstract

In recent years, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has been addressed and managed by all types of companies and organizations in several ways. It has also led both business people and scholars to articulate varied interests on the incorporation of this concept into their activities. Accordingly, this article seeks to relate the CSR concept to marketing by presenting a classification of different theoretical perspectives according to which these two constructs are interrelated.

It is important to evaluate the ways in which marketing managers can apply CSR-related activities to generate value for their various stakeholders. It is just as important to advance knowledge on CSR implementation in the field of marketing through this literature review and corresponding empirical evidence.

Resumen

La RSE (Responsabilidad Social Empresarial) se ha convertido en los últimos años en un asunto abordado y gestionado en distintas formas por todo tipo de empresas y de organizaciones al igual que ha conducido tanto a personas de negocios como a los académicos, a manifestar intereses variados frente a su incorporación dentro de sus actividades. En este artículo se procura relacionar este concepto de la RSE con el marketing proponiendo una clasificación de distintas perspectivas teóricas que interrelacionan estos dos constructos.

Es importante analizar la manera en que los directivos de marketing de las organizaciones pueden adelantar actividades relacionadas con la RSE con el objetivo de brindar valor a sus distintos grupos de interés al igual que por medio de esta revisión de literatura y, de las evidencias empíricas correspondientes, es valioso poder avanzar en el conocimiento sobre la implementación de la RSE en el campo del marketing.

Introduction

CSR has emerged as an important academic construct and as a factor on the agendas of all kinds of companies and particularly large organizations and conglomerates. Although there has been a relentless academic debate regarding CSR as a concept, it is now possible to state with certainty that there is no universally accepted definition of the term since on one hand, scholars continue to debate its content and meaning, and on the other hand, the largest companies seem to have found a common ground on which they have developed keys strategies and developments on the subject. While there appears to be no agreement on its definition, its conceptualization and application have been adopted enthusiastically within the business world.

The definition of this marketing concept has evolved considerably. This has been led by the American Marketing Association (AMA), which brings together the world's scholars and practitioners of the discipline. The purpose of this definition effort has been to account for changes in the environment and in management practices to contribute to the further development of the discipline. Likewise, theoretical contributions have shaped the evolution of marketing thought, associating it with certain schools that have yielded fundamental concepts that for years have been subjected to study, research and practice.

This article integrates CSR and marketing by analyzing how the marketing literature has discussed CSR by not only reviewing definitions but also major topics and perspectives discussed within the framework of its integration into the academic field, which has evidently extended to business practices. This analysis is intended to be neither exhaustive nor restrictive given the multiple conceptualizations and contributions on this object of study, but rather it aims to stress and illustrate some of these perspectives to develop a strong understanding of its scope and application.

It should be noted that Corporate Social Responsibility has been discussed in a fragmented manner in the field of marketing, that some major schools of thought of the discipline have encouraged the generation of theories on this topic and that many contributions have been limited to certain dimensions of the construct within the literature. By contrast, numerous theoretical studies and categorization efforts pertaining to CSR are found in the management literature, limiting marketing to few but valuable categorizations of theoretical perspectives. In addition, when marketing scholars first started to discuss aspects related to CSR within the discipline, they initially focused on broadening marketing concepts and then analyzed business social functions to currently focus on strategic ways to apply the construct, which in most cases have only focused on major company stakeholders: customers and consumers and the channels of distribution.

As this article aims to analyze to what extent and how the marketing literature has addressed CSR, it is important to define constructs separately to understand related concepts clearly and to then proceed to interrelate them. Attempts have been made to interrelate these fields of study because marketing is a key business discipline that is perhaps one of the most heavily concerned with the link between companies and environments in which they are embedded (Vaaland, Heide, & Gronhaug, 2008). Furthermore, given the current climate of mistrust toward businesses due to scandals mainly involving prominent accounting firms, companies in general have declared themselves “socially responsible” and in turn have applied strategic initiatives in this regard (Maignan & Ferrell, 2004). In addition, it is important to define and illustrate the inclusion of CSR in the field of marketing, as it is worth developing an overview of theoretical perspectives on the integration of such concepts (Alvarado, 2007).

The definition of marketing has changed from 1935 to 2007–2013. The discipline initially focused on distribution, next on managers’ tasks related to the design and supply of a marketing mix, and finally on the full involvement of organizations (through their relationships with different stakeholders) in societies in which they perform business activities. This evolution of the discipline's conceptualization has focused on the “marketing approaches” companies should adopt, and thus it is necessary to reflect on the true scope of such approaches that currently involve a much broader collection of stakeholders in addition to consumers.

Likewise, and still in the field of marketing, some schools of thought such as the management macromarketing (Shaw & Jones, 2005; Sheth, Gardner, & Garrett, 1988) and activist (Sheth et al., 1988) schools have oriented themselves toward the discovery and study of all discipline-related activities to deliver a substantial body of knowledge and have focused on key issues relating to the relationship between businesses and society that must be highlighted.

Very interesting studies have focused on the evolution of different notions of CSR as a concept (mainly from the field of management), demonstrating that the concept has had a long and varied history in the literature, including worthwhile references dating to earlier than the 1950s of the last century (Carroll, 1999). It is essential to analyze this concept, as it addresses and takes into account the most central concerns of different public audiences regarding relationships between businesses and society (Carroll, 1999).

Regarding the integration of the two concepts, it has been found that a growing number of organizations around the world are embracing CSR and feel the need to better understand its meaning and scope as well as its relationship to marketing. CSR actions are gradually becoming high-priority corporate issues, and companies are implementing several initiatives in this regard, all of which seek to make sense of the concept and of its true magnitude (Marín, Ruiz, & Rubio, 2009). Such growing interest in this topic is partly related to its effects on consumer behavior when consumers request more than high quality but inexpensive products from organizations (Marín et al., 2009; Sen & Bhattacharya, 2001).

The integration of both concepts is so important that some authors have alluded to the leading role that marketing should play in the analysis of CSR (Lantos, 2001), and some have even attempted to set out a definition of such forms of responsibility in the marketing field (Vaaland et al., 2008).

The following proposal is intended to be a contribution to the marketing field not only from the point of view of the academic works of discipline researchers, as further lines of research based on their proposed theoretical perspectives are suggested but also for marketing practitioners who have categorized ways to strategically apply the CSR through their daily activities.

Therefore, this article is organized as follows. The following section analyzes key concepts of marketing and CSR and then reviews concepts of CSR discussed in the marketing literature to classify major topics that under no circumstances are intended to be exhaustive or restrictive. The findings of this review are listed at the end of the article.

Conceptual review

Key concepts and aspects of CSR presented in the marketing literature

The two main concepts focused on in this article are marketing and CSR.

It has been always assumed that marketing occurs in a social context. The core concepts of marketing as a social discipline have always been linked to exchanges between social agents, individuals, groups and organizations and as proclaimed by Hunt (1983, p. 13), “marketing science is the behavioral science that seeks to explain exchange relationships.” This definition has been reworded over time; therefore, an analysis of the evolution of this definition is proposed based on definitions presented by the AMA (international professional association for those involved in the practice, teaching and study of marketing). These “official” definitions are reviewed in Table 1 above through an analysis of each definition's contribution and approach.

Table 1.

AMA (American Marketing Association) definitions of marketing.

AMA (American Marketing Association) definitions	Definition approach
1935 Marketing is the performance of business activities that direct the flow of goods and services from producers to consumers.	It should be noted that there is an economic approach that favors a management function responsible for the coordination of the supply and demand for goods and services. Marketing is viewed as a business activity that stresses the importance of distribution and transactions and mainly in the short term.
1985 Marketing is the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion, and distribution of ideas, goods, and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organizational objectives.	Marketing continues to be viewed as a management function designed to satisfy exchanges. The marketing manager's main task is to manage the marketing mix (4 P's) by essentially seeking two objectives: to meet the needs of the market and to achieve company profitability through such exchanges.
2004 Marketing is an organizational function and a set of processes for creating, communicating and delivering value to customers and for managing customer relationships in ways that benefit the organization and its stakeholders.	Marketing is an organizational function that not only involves the work of a specific area. The main purpose of the discipline is to create value for the market. The importance of managing relationships with all interest groups or stakeholders must be noted. This reveals a clear relationship between the business world and society and the impacts of marketing activities in this regard.
2007, 2013 Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.	Marketing activities are required to benefit society as a whole. This inclusive definition explicitly recognizes other achievements of the discipline beyond those of instrumental rationality. Marketing is also considered to be a science, an educational process and a philosophy rather than a mere management system. It allows anyone to market anything to do well or to take society at large into account. (The AMA's Committee of Directors approved of this new definition of the discipline in 2007 and validated it in 2013).

Source: Prepared by the author based on the www.ama.org website and Keefe (2008).

The last of the AMA's definitions listed above addresses the roles and responsibilities of marketing relating to society. It also states that marketing builds, delivers and should offer comprehensive value not only to customers and consumers and to a company but also to society as a whole. Likewise, defining marketing at a more global level seems to highlight the existence and contributions of many marketing activities, institutions and processes beyond just those of a single company and its managers, which has traditionally been its field of action.

On the other hand, the current definition, which considers marketing-added aspects, extends the relationship between marketing and other disciplines such as management, in which the main aspects of CSR have been discussed extensively. Finally, this broader definition (2007, 2013), through the systemic properties it tacitly addresses, is easily translated into conceptualizations of markets and people affected by companies and discipline practitioners’ actions, thus implying close ties between organizations and the societies in which they operate.

Schools of marketing thought

Progress in the generation and dissemination of marketing discipline knowledge has been characterized by what some authors have referred to as schools of thought. These schools have emerged as “for the analysis of any academic discipline, ideas and topics are debated, and as time passes these concepts and arguments become critical masses that must be described as a means to structure the subject matter and to have an approach suitable for the understanding of the discipline, or as a school of marketing thought” (Shaw & Jones, 2005, p. 239).

It is important to determine the exact meaning of a “school of thought” and to do this, it is assumed that one should be based on the following criteria: (1) it should constitute an essential body of knowledge, (2) it should be developed by key scholars and, (3) it should explain at least one question related to the “what“, “who“, “how“, “why“, “when” and “where” of marketing activities carried out (Shaw & Jones, 2005, p. 241) and it should also involve “an approach which is different and relevant to the goals and objectives of marketing by stating who should or would benefit from the discipline activities and practices” (Sheth et al., 1988, p. 19). It should also be noted that “there must be a group consensus acknowledging that the leading scholar's standpoint is interesting and it is worth seeking it within marketing, and to have a perspective about which marketing activities are carried out by stakeholders” (Sheth et al., 1988, p. 19).

In view of the foregoing approach, some schools of thought (Sheth et al., 1988 propose twelve schools of thought in the field of marketing while Shaw & Jones, 2005 present ten schools) have directly addressed concerns regarding the broadening of the discipline's subject matter (a broader marketing concept), the social functions of marketing and the relationship between marketing and society, which are issues central to our analysis of the integration of marketing and CSR concepts. Certain contributions from the schools’ scholars have generated silos of knowledge that have been further discussed by other intellectuals and applied by business people. Below we present short definitions of these schools of thought and a table highlighting each school's fundamental contributions to the subject matter.

Managerial school (1950–1960)

The Marketing Management School addresses the following question: How should organizations market their products and services? The school explores the practice of marketing from the sellers’ perspective with a focus on manufacturers while excluding dealers or suppliers of services or other types of businesses, and it broadens the marketing paradigm to other types of organizations such as non-profit organizations (Shaw & Jones, 2005). Likewise, its goal is to apply abstract economic theories generated by scholars as principles of business practices. This school essentially seeks a more managerial approach to company marketing (Sheth et al., 1988).

Activist school (1970–1980)

This school represents conceptual thinking and empirical research related to consumer well-being and satisfaction. In particular, it focuses on the imbalance of power between buyers and sellers and on the poor marketing practices of market firms (Sheth et al., 1988). It is assumed that this school is similar to the consumer's behavior and macromarketing schools (the other two of the twelve schools of marketing thought proposed by these authors), as it focuses more on the consumer's market perspective than on the company's perspective. At the same time, this school differs from the two aforementioned schools as it adopts a “pro-consumer” normative perspective and focuses on individual consumers without applying an institutional or macro perspective.

School of macromarketing (1970–)

This school focuses on the role and impacts of marketing activities and institutions on society and vice versa (Sheth et al., 1988). The school addresses central questions such as the following: How does the marketing system affect society? How does society affect the marketing system? Most importantly, how productive is the global marketing system? (Shaw & Jones, 2005).

Growing concern about the role of companies in society emerged during the 1960s. At this time, public opinion viewed businesses as a viable and essential institution for societal development based on the free enterprise system, but it began to express doubts regarding business intentions and activities. Academic institutions in turn began to deliver seminars on business ethics and on the analysis of company stakeholders. This school thus emerged as a result of a growing interest in the role of businesses in society as reflected in the creation of a journal exclusively dedicated to the marketing-society relationship (Journal of Macromarketing, 1981) (Table 2).

Table 2.

Schools of marketing thought.

School of marketing thought	Authors and topics addressed
Managerial School (1950–1960)	• Kotler and Levy (1969) suggest broadening the marketing concept from its historical business context to the implementation of the marketing mix in non-profit organizations. Likewise, they raise the question of whether the discipline's principles may be extended to organizations, people and ideas. • Lazer (1969) also suggests broadening the concept of marketing but in a different direction focused on the social impacts of the discipline. Marketing responsibilities extend beyond the “kingdom of profits;” the social responsibility of marketing is then postulated. • Kotler and Zaltman (1971) recommend the application of marketing concepts to the promotion of social objectives and to ways of addressing problems of the same nature. Social issues such as fraternity, safe driving and family planning can be addressed using marketing tools.
Activist school (1970)^a	• Nader (1965) is responsible for the development of the consumers’ movement in 1966 with the publication of his study on car safety. • Beem (1973) outlines the main foundations of the consumers’ movement as well as the various institutions and individuals responsible for creating and supporting it. • Gardner (1976), Russo (1976), Jacoby and Small (1975), Preston (1976), Armstrong, Kendall, and Russ (1975), Armstrong, Gurol, and Russ (1979), and Ford and Calfee (1986) focus on issues such as misleading advertising and information labeling on products. • Andreasen (1975), Ashby (1973), Kassarjhian, 1969, Bauer and Cunningham (1970) and Bullock (1961), following the main findings of sociological studies on the fact that “poor people pay more for the same products,” make interesting contributions related to minority groups in the market (Black, Hispanic, disabled, low-income, etc.). • Drucker (1969) and Kotler (1972) analyze issues of consumerism to examine marketing practices more from the buyers’ perspective than from the sellers’ point of view. • Laczniak (1983) analyzes ethical aspects of the marketing field. • Hunt and Chonko (1984), through a survey of more than 1000 practitioners of the discipline, find that the profession is not exactly viewed as “Machiavellian.” • Ferrell and Gresham (1985) offer a conceivable conceptual framework for assessing ethical decisions made in the field of marketing. • Robin and Reidenbach (1987) consider the challenge of integrating ethics and social responsibility within strategic processes of marketing. • Gaski and Etzel (1986) analyze consumers’ sentiments toward marketing and find them to be slightly unfavorable.
School of macromarketing (1970–)	• Vaile, Grether, and Cox (1952) analyze marketing in the American economy, highlighting the importance of this social institution for the free enterprise economy. • Steiner (1976) states that the practice of marketing has always been subject to social scrutiny and even long before the industrial era. • Hunt and Burnet (1982) make a clear distinction between macromarketing and micromarketing fields of action with reference to the fact that macromarketing relates to the study of marketing systems and to the impacts of marketing on society and vice versa. • Zif (1980) seeks to show that the managerial approach (very typical of micromarketing) is equally applicable to macromarketing situations and difficulties. It is assumed that public sector managers who also address social problems can focus their management strategies in the same way as peers responsible for marketing products and/or services in the private sector. • Wilkie and Moore (1999) analyze the scope of the marketing field and its contributions to society. Wilkie and Moore (2003) suggest that questions, ideas, principles and findings that shape interactions between marketing and society should not escape the minds of future leaders of the discipline. • Currently, the Journal of Macromarketing focuses on subjects such as competition and markets, global policies and the environment, marketing and economic development, the history of marketing and quality of life.

Source: Prepared by the author based on Sheth et al. (1988) and Shaw and Jones (2005).

a

Shaw and Jones (2005) categorize the Activist school as part of the Macromarketing school.

The schools of marketing thought are not designed to separately account for analyses of the entire discipline, and integrating them with their conceptual relationships would be a major task for scholars. However, it is clear that the schools mentioned herein reflect major concerns regarding interrelationships between marketing and CSR and that without any explicit intention, each scholar-innovator who helped generate this body of knowledge laid the foundations for studies central not only for the discipline's development but also for its integration with other fields of knowledge, thus favoring its interdisciplinary nature.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

As noted above, there is no consensus regarding definitions of CSR, and it has even been stated that the concept is “fuzzy and confusing” (Lantos, 2001, p. 595) while at the same time it has undergone several and diverse conceptualizations (Maignan & Ferrell, 2004) that make it necessary to identify major points of view for analyzing the concept. Notwithstanding the above, it is essential to identify some definitions of the concept without examining some of them or trying to categorize different theoretical perspectives on the concept. Interesting classifications of CSR theories can be found in Garriga and Melé (2004) and De Bakker, Groenewegen, and Den Hond (2005) and in Carroll's (1999) analysis of definitions of evolution. This article thus only considers some CSR definitions in the field of management and it only presents definitions of this construct used in the field of marketing (Vaaland et al., 2008).

To this end, and for the sake of clarity, Table 3 lists these definitions.

Table 3.

Definitions of corporate social responsibility.

Definition	Reference
Entrepreneurs’ obligations to promote policies; make decisions or follow lines of action desirable in terms of the society's objectives and values.	Bowen (1953)
The term is presented as a vague idea defined in several ways. When used in a management context, it refers to the decisions of entrepreneurs and to actions taken for reasons, at least partially, extending beyond the technical or economic interests of a company.	Davis (1960)
A socially responsible company is one in which management personnel must balance several interests. Instead of fighting only for large profits for its shareholders, it also takes into account its employees, suppliers, distributors, local communities and nation.	Johnson (1971)
It is the company's acceptance of its social obligation beyond the requirements of the law.	Davis (1973)
The social responsibility of companies covers the economic, legal, ethical and discretionary expectations that society has placed on organizations at a given time.	Carroll (1979)
This definition focuses on the broad voluntary obligations companies have to constituent groups of society other than shareholders, and this extends beyond what is established through law or contracts	Jones (1980)
Corporate social responsibility involves making sufficient profits to cover future costs. When this is not achieved, no other responsibilities can be fulfilled.	Drucker (1984)
For CSR to be accepted by an aware businessperson, it shall be structured in such a way as to cover the full range of corporate responsibilities. Four (4) forms of social responsibility constitute CSR: economic, legal, ethical and philanthropic responsibility.	Carroll (1991)
CSR concerns the ethical and transparent relationship between a company and its public audiences, the establishment of goals in line with the sustainable development of society, the conservation of natural and environmental resources for future generations, respect for diversity and support for the reduction of social inequality.	Ethos (2016)
CSR involves a commitment to improving community well-being through discretionary business practices and corporate resource contributions.	Kotler and Lee (2005)
CSR involves the management of stakeholders’ concerns about responsible and irresponsible actions related to environmental, ethical and social phenomena to create corporate benefits.	Vaaland et al. (2008)
CSR involves a new way of doing business whereby companies manage their operations in a sustainable manner economically, socially and environmentally while recognizing the interests of different public audiences they relate to (i.e., shareholders, employees, the community, suppliers, and customers) in consideration of the environment and sustainable development.	Forum Empresa (2016)^a
CSR involves a company's voluntary integration of social and environmental concerns regarding its business operations and relationships with representatives (2001). It refers to the responsibility that companies have in structuring their impacts on society (2011).	UE Green Paper (2001, 2011)

Source: Prepared by the author based on Carroll (1999) and other sources such as Ethos (2016), Forum Empresa (2016), Kotler and Lee (2005) and the UE Green Paper (2001, 2011).

a

Forum Empresa is a network of business organizations that promote Corporate Social Responsibility in the Americas.

It should be noted that in the management literature, the field presenting the most work on CSR, multiple conceptions are proposed, and their integration and comparison would be difficult to achieve due to differing levels of analysis considered (enterprises at large, individual companies, business persons, managers, etc.) and their use of varying points of view such as normative, managerial and instrumental perspectives (Maignan & Ferrell, 2004), which do not allow for a unique conceptualization. Although this table of definitions is not exhaustive, different units of analysis for the concept's definition refer to the business people, entrepreneurs, companies, companies at large, etc. In the same way, Vaaland et al. (2008) highlight the emphasis (to establish a definition of CSR) placed factors such as corporate profits; stakeholders; concerns about responsible and irresponsible actions and ethical, environmental and social phenomena.

Corporate Social Responsibility in the marketing literature

It has been shown that while there has been considerable analysis on CSR within the marketing discipline, such analysis has been limited to a focus on certain dimensions of the construct. Some authors have stated that the main perspectives applied in global terms include: social cause-related marketing, environmental marketing, consumers’ responses to the CSR actions of companies (Maignan & Ferrell, 2004; Vaaland et al., 2008) and social marketing, quality of life, and socially responsible purchases and sustainable consumption (Vaaland et al., 2008).

The main theoretical perspectives of the two constructs found in the literature are described in the following section (Sanclemente, 2012). An attempt is being made to specify and illustrate these theoretical contributions. Therefore, each of these perspectives is first presented through a brief explanation and a table presenting key contributions. While specific theoretical perspectives that relate marketing and CSR are proposed here, other prominent authors (Kotler & Lee, 2005) propose specific social initiatives of marketing carried out by companies to facilitate CSR that are covered further on in this paper.

According to Sanclemente (2012), perspectives applied include the following¹:

• 1.

  Broadening of the concept of marketing: the application of major marketing concepts and techniques for the support of the social objectives and roles of companies. Marketing shall be applied for purposes extending beyond the mere promotion of consumer goods.

• 2.

  Marketing and society: marketing and economic development, macromarketing, marketing contributions to society as a whole, and business opportunities at the “bottom of the pyramid.” The marketing system is analyzed in its entirety.

• 3.

  Specific dimensions of social responsibility in marketing: marketing ethics; retailing and CSR; social marketing; “cause-related marketing;” fair trade, responsible consumption and consumer vulnerability; philanthropy; green marketing and “greenwashing;” and responsible marketing. Social/environmental aspects are linked to economic aspects and are related to marketing by applying applicability and a specific scope to constructs of CSR in this discipline.

• 4.

  CSR, corporate associations, images, reputations and stakeholders: this area examines CSR actions as a communication tool for increasing consumer loyalty and for reputation building, corporate marketing, consumer identification and responses (perceptual associations) to companies based on their CSR actions. The needs of the company stakeholders are also taken into account.

• 5.

  The relationship between CSR and overall company performance: This involves considering CSR as a corporate strategy and as a source of competitive advantage in organizations. A company's performance is also linked to actions undertaken in this regard.

Broadening marketing concepts

This approach relates to the essential contributions of the marketing discipline responsible for broadening the application of this concept to fields outside of business. Similarly, it highlights the important social roles that companies perform within the economy (Table 4).

Table 4.

Extended marketing.

Authors	Study subject matter or topic addressed	Objectives and variables addressed
Kotler and Levy (1969)	The authors analyze the application of major marketing concepts to non-profit institutions and organizations. The authors value the transferability of these principles to people, ideas and organizations.	The concept paper highlights the importance of marketing as a socially useful activity. Both forms of marketing are presented: marketing designed to sell, influence and persuade and marketing that perceptively addresses human needs.
Lazer (1969)	The author theorizes on the social responsibilities of marketing. Questions regarding the boundaries of marketing in a highly automated and industrialized society are posed.	The theoretical article explains that marketing extends beyond making profits and is involved in society's problems and goals. The article focuses on lifestyles, marketing and consumption in times of excess.
Kotler and Zaltman (1971)	The authors explore ways to apply major concepts and techniques of marketing to address social problems and to promote objectives of the same field.	The authors propose a conceptualization of social marketing through an analysis of social advertisements and the effectiveness of social campaigns.
Kotler (1971)	The author explores the notion of social action to the extent that man can improve society through collective and organized efforts.	The theoretical article, which is based on concepts of social problems, social transformation and social action, proposes a reference framework of five elements for the latter: causes, agents, and target markets for transformations, channels and corresponding strategies.
Steiner (1972)	The author recommends the establishment of policies that allow businesses to uphold social responsibilities effectively.	The author establishes guidelines on policies that balance business and societal interests based on social contract theory and organizations’ social responsibilities.
Gidengil (1977)	The author studies corporate social responsibility efforts led by executives and through a survey evaluates their views on environmental issues.	The empirical study involved a questionnaire of sales and marketing executives from 64 manufacturing companies based in England, Scotland and Wales that identified company attitudes toward environmental issues. In total, 1052 companies were studied and 398 companies completed a questionnaire.
Gross and Verma (1977)	The authors suggest that businesses must meet society's needs and wishes and should not to dictate the social order that must prevail. Assisting society in solving its problems and needs is viewed as the full adoption of marketing principles.	The concept paper shows that companies must recognize priorities imposed by society and must provide goods and services that address these needs. This does not reflect a new role for businesses but rather an old concept of marketing.
Levy and Kotler (1979)	The authors consider the broad role of marketing in the social order.	The authors respond theoretically to other authors who criticize the broader premise of marketing. Language changes as ideas and social order do, and it is important to stress the role of the discipline in this changing world.
Handelman and Arnold (1999)	Through institutional theories on the retail distribution environment, the authors study interactions between social and economic marketing.	Through an experiment whereby 4 hypotheses are formulated, it is shown that there is an acceptable minimum level of marketing with social dimensions in an industry (the distribution industry) from which the effectiveness of industrial economic actions can be compromised.
Gonzalez-Padron and Nason (2009)	The authors assess the market's sensitivity to social interests.	From a theoretical background on stakeholders, hypotheses are formulated in relation to the market and to stakeholder responsiveness capacity levels by linking these variables to company innovation. Various relationships proposed through the hypotheses are tested on a sample of 172 companies from different industries listed on the United States stock exchange.
Kotler and Keller (2016)	The holistic marketing concept is based on the development, design, and implementation of marketing programs, processes, and activities that recognize their breadth and interdependencies. Holistic marketing acknowledges that everything matters in marketing and that a broad and integrated perspective must often be applied.	Holistic marketing thus recognizes and reconciles the scope and complexities of marketing activities. Four broad components characterize this concept: relationship, integrated, internal, and performance marketing. Performance marketing requires developing an understanding of financial and nonfinancial returns of marketing activities and programs to businesses and society. Top marketers are increasingly looking beyond sales revenues to examine marketing scorecards and to interpret market shares, customer loss rates, customer satisfaction levels, product quality levels, and other measures. The authors also consider the legal, ethical, social, and environmental effects of marketing activities and programs (social responsibility marketing).

Source: Prepared by the author based on different authors.

Marketing and society

This field gathers all contributions related to the nexus between the marketing discipline and society (economic growth and development). It focuses on the economy as an arena for addressing the “bottom of the pyramid” that is broadly as follows: “the world's distribution of wealth and income-generating capacity can be generated under the shape of an economic pyramid. Rich people are at the top of the pyramid, with several opportunities to generate high levels of income. More than four billion people are at the bottom of the pyramid, earning less than 2 dollars a day” (Prahalad, 2005, 2010) (Table 5).

Table 5.

Marketing and society.

Authors	Study subject matter or topic addressed	Objectives and variables addressed
Drucker (1958)	The author analyzes the key roles of marketing in developing countries and deems marketing a driver of economic development due to its ability to support managerial and entrepreneurial development.	The concept paper shows that marketing is pivotal in a developing economy. In poor countries, marketing acts as a catalyst that turns latent resources into real resources and desires into achievements and that molds leaders into economically responsible and informed citizens.
Hunt and Burnet (1982a)	The authors analyze macromarketing matters that must be considered by comparing them with micromarketing matters (management marketing and consumer behavior); they highlight the social perspective and the impacts of marketing on society and vice versa.	Based on 9 proposals and Hunt's (1976) three dichotomies model, the authors present taxonomies of macro and micro marketing elements to be addressed by companies. Self-administered questionnaires on these topics were sent to 1,399 marketing academicians, and 289 complete questionnaires were analyzed.
Wood and Vitell (1986)	The authors carry out a review, synthesis and evaluation of major contributions to the marketing and economic development literature of the last 30 years to better understand their effects and to render their imperceptible benefits more apparent.	To organize and classify the previous marketing and development research, the authors use Hunt's scope of marketing model (1976) on profit/non-profit, micro/macro and positive/normative perspectives.
Rogers, Ogbuehi, and Kochunny (1995)	The authors analyze the conflicts faced by transnational corporations when operating in developing countries based on conflicts between their interests for profit maximization and the economic growth and development of these countries.	Based on social contract theory and Friedman (1962, 1970) and Mills’ (1957) arguments that the goal of any organization is to make profits and that the “invisible hand” guides all companies, the authors show that due to their power and size, transnational enterprises are obligated to the countries in which they operate in ways that extend beyond economic and legal aspects.
Wilkie and Moore (1999)	The authors analyze the scope of the marketing field and the contributions that it makes to society. The authors carry out a retrospective review of society to study the entire marketing system.	The authors recapitulate societies and the operations and structures of the global marketing system through time. Economic contributions made by the nation to individuals and the ways they experience these contributions are also analyzed.
Prahalad and Hart (1999, 2000)	Large multinational companies can grow in a cost-effective manner and can spur influential innovations when they transform the world's poor population into active consumers, thus encouraging technological and business model innovation. The authors propose concepts of growth and sustainable development for bringing the rich and poor together.	Theoretical approaches are based on assumptions made by multinational companies so as not to address markets of the poor. Strategies for the so-called “bottom of the pyramid” through which business leaders must take on certain challenges are proposed.
Prahalad and Hammond (2002)	The authors suggest that improving the lives of billions of people at the “bottom of the pyramid” is not only a noble endeavor but also a profitable operation.	It is suggested that the market at the bottom of the economic pyramid (by the number of people and their income levels) constitutes an important source of growth for multinational companies. This market, which is in its early stages of development, can generate rapid growth.
Prahalad (2005, 2010)	The author suggests that the true source of promise in the market does not lie with the few rich people of the developed world and not even with middle-income consumers of developing countries, but instead with the billions of poor people on that will begin to be incorporated into the market economy for the first time.	The book elaborates on a much more proactive commitment that must be pursued by the private sector in the construction of marketing ecosystems to achieve transformation in the bottom of the pyramid (2005). Prospects for businesses and executives who have led initiatives at the bottom of the pyramid as well as their achievements, lessons and new commitments are explored (2010).
Kotler, Roberto, and Leisner (2006)	The authors argue that poor people could represent a huge untapped market if companies were to find ways to adequately meet their needs. To identify such needs, they suggest that significant segmentation tasks must be carried out.	Based on conceptualizations of poverty problems and on actions of the World Bank and United Nations, the authors highlight the use of segmentation, targeting and positioning (STP) tools to describe specific aspects of this global community and various ways of meeting its needs aside from the application of standardized assistance programs developed at the national level.
Brugmann and Prahalad (2007)	The authors recommend joint work between corporations and non-governmental organizations in fighting against global poverty.	The concept paper recommends collaboration between enterprises and NGOs for the development of local innovative companies such as self-help saving companies, lending groups and construction firms. The authors explore ways to collaborate to meet specific needs and to build trust in the market via flexibility and transparency.
Karnani (2007)	The author analyzes ways in which the private sector can strive to eradicate poverty at the global level. Improving the skills and productivity levels of the poor and working together to ensure that they themselves create new job opportunities could represent major contributions of the private sector.	It is theoretically argued that Prahalad's theory (2004), which states that selling to the poor can be profitable while at the same time eradicating poverty, is too good to be true and is wrought with fallacies. The only way to alleviate poverty is to increase real incomes, to cease viewing the poor as a consumer group and to incorporate the poor as producers.
Vachani and Smith (2008)	The authors introduce the concept of “socially responsible distribution” and through a case study describe the access the poor should be afforded in rural areas relative to higher levels of access available in urban areas.	Strategies for distributors in rural areas are presented on the basis of factors that affect this population in terms of income and quality of life measures (infrastructure: roads, communications, electricity; lack of information; knowledge and inadequate skills; illiteracy).
Ferrell and Ferrell (2008)	The authors propose an ethical reference framework for the field of micromarketing concerning the economic and social impacts of the fair distribution of products and other resources through the marketing system.	The suggested frame of reference is based on organizational cultures, orientations toward stakeholders and distributive justice.
Mitchell, Wooliscroft, and Higham (2010)	The authors recommend replacing the traditional “market approach” of the discipline with a “sustainable market” approach that takes into account economic, social and ecological sustainability.	A guiding model for companies called the “sustainable market approach” that needs to be validated through empirical research is presented.

Source: Prepared by the author based on different authors.

Specific dimensions of CSR in marketing

This area concerns specific applications of marketing to social problems and objectives. In this area, distinctions must be made between social marketing, cause-related marketing and CSR. In this regard, it can be concluded that “social marketing, philanthropy or patronage, are the company's understandings of the problems that affect the society from a specific perspective. In contrast, the CSR is a long-term commitment undertaken by the company and it has growing implications on the design of the corporate strategy” (Marín, 2004, p. 49).

Likewise, some ethical and CSR aspects are taken into account through the marketing strategies of companies based on this perspective, which also involves fair trade considerations that seek to protect the rights of goods producers. Particular attention is paid to retailers’ undertakings and to the incorporation of CSR elements into significant market-driven activities.

More tangible dimensions of interrelationships between both concepts can be found in Kotler and Lee (2005, p. 23), who specifically mention and differentiate between “social initiatives” devised in referring to:

• 1)

  Cause Promotion: a corporation provides funds, in-kind contributions, or other corporate resources to increase awareness or concern on a social issue,

• 2)

  Cause-Related Marketing: a corporation commits to donating a percentage of revenues to a specific cause based on product sales,

• 3)

  Corporate Social Marketing: a corporation supports the development and/or implementation of a behavior change campaign intended to improve public health, safety, environmental, or community well-being,

• 4)

  Corporate Philanthropy: a corporation makes a direct contribution to a charity or cause, and most often in the form of cash grants, donations, and/or in-kind services,

• 5)

  Community Volunteering: a corporation encourages employees, retail partners, and/or franchise members to volunteer their time in support of local community organizations and causes and,

• 6)

  Socially Responsible Business Practices: a corporation adopts and conducts discretionary business practices and investments that support social causes to improve community well-being and protect the environment (Table 6).

  Table 6.

  Specific dimensions of CSR in marketing.

  Authors	Study subjects or topics addressed	Objectives and variables addressed
  Kotler and Zaltman (1971)	The authors present social marketing as “the design, implementation and control of programs intended to influence the acceptance of social ideas, involving considerations of product, pricing, communication, distribution and market research planning.”	A theoretical approach that highlights the applicability of marketing concepts to different social problems faced by communities is proposed. The authors also define and elaborate on the scope social marketing.
  Dornoff and Tankersley (1975)	The authors analyze ways in which retailers understand social responsibility and conclude that retailers have not yet applied this matter to their daily work plans.	Three different types of distributors are analyzed: discount stores, specialized stores and large department stores. In total, 35 out of 51 distributors contacted participated in the study. The authors analyzed 14 specific cases involving conflicts between buyers and sellers to determine actions taken.
  Hunt and Burnet (1982b)	The authors analyze the social responsibility commitments of retailers and classify retailers as purchasing agents of society and not as usurpers of consumer rights.	This theoretical proposal shows that in the past and in terms of social responsibility distributors were required to supply goods that consumers wanted to buy. Today, consumers require distributors to deliver only what is good for the market.
  Robin and Reidenbach (1987)	The authors consider the challenge of integrating ethical and CSR issues within strategic processes of marketing. The authors also analyze why the adoption of these concepts has been somewhat limited by entrepreneurs and professionals.	The theoretical paper combines the social responsibility of companies with marketing strategies by establishing a parallel between problems faced by families and companies to emphasize the values needed to solve such problems.
  Varadarajan and Menon (1988)	The authors establish the main features of cause-related marketing viewed as important marketing tools for every kind of business.	The theoretical paper describes characteristics of cause-related marketing and presents it as a convergence of several perspectives: marketing for non-profit organizations, sales promotion, public relations, philanthropy and corporate social responsibility.
  Andreasen (1994)	The author reviews the field of social marketing and presents a definition that considers the use of technologies of commercial marketing.	A new definition and scope of social marketing is presented in a conceptual manner.
  Kang and Ridgway (1996)	The authors present a conceptual framework for determining social support that should be provided to elderly consumers in making purchases in consideration of their mental and physical well-being.	The authors present a conceptual framework that relates social support and health to the buying habits of consumers of a certain age based on theories of consumer behavior and relationship marketing.
  Sirgy and Lee (1996)	The authors establish objectives of responsible marketing using a “quality of life” approach.	A conceptual framework of general and specific objectives for marketing strategies is developed following a quality of life approach that leads companies to adopt socially responsible approaches.
  Menon and Menon (1997)	The authors apply environmental considerations to corporate policies and strategies in the field of marketing to converge organizational needs with those of the environment.	The authors present a precedence and consequence model that includes environmental considerations in company marketing strategies. Twenty-four marketing managers, six portfolio managers and one journalist specializing in environmental issues within their corporations are interviewed.
  Moliner (1998)	The development of campaigns related to social causes is explored through case studies.	The book explains the major topics of social marketing referred as to “social causes.”
  Whysall (2000)	The author addresses ethical retail issues from a stakeholder's perspective.	Services that the retail distribution sector ought to deliver to each stakeholder based on the inputs, costs and risks each faces when entering a relationship with these companies are theoretically proposed.
  Follows and Jobber (2000)	The authors propose a behavioral model of socially and environmentally responsible consumption.	The authors present a methodology for studying environmentally sustainable product purchases and propose a theory for understanding decisive factors of this form of buying behavior. The model considers environmental and individual consequences, self-transcendence, self-preservation and self-improvement values.
  Scholder, Mohr, and Webb (2000)	Using the theory of attribution and the literature on talents and gifts, the authors analyze conditions under which cause-related marketing may be evaluated more positively, and especially within the realm of donations.	Certain conditions are evaluated through an experiment on the retail distribution context (food and hardware stores): donations for disaster relief, coherence between donations and a company's main activity, company efforts and commitments to a cause.
  Ottman (2000, 2008)	Green marketing strategies and standards are recommended and defined.	Green marketing rules are established based on the fact that companies have no other option but to maintain a genuine commitment to the sustainable and environmental design of products. This constitutes an opportunity to innovate, grow, and strengthen a brand and involves determining what is important for customers, thus empowering them to see the difference and to be transparent with the market in maintaining quality and in carefully evaluating concerns in terms of prices.
  Muñoz (2001)	The author presents considerations and cases referring to contents and forms of social marketing in the Colombian context.	The book analyzes social marketing plans, variables of the social marketing mix and target market performance in the social sphere.
  Simcic and Belliu (2001)	The authors explore uses of cause-related marketing in company marketing communication campaigns.	A theory on cause-related marketing as a communication tool for increasing customer loyalty and building company reputations is proposed.
  Dolan (2002)	The author examines limitations of sustainable consumption in relation to inadequate attention given to social, cultural and historical contexts of consumption.	The author presents a theoretical approach whereby sustainable consumption extends beyond the needs and desires of rational individuals and regards consumption practices as relationships between people.
  Porter and Kramer (2002)	The authors argue that there are no inconsistencies between improving the competitiveness of a company and making a genuine commitment to improving society via corporate philanthropy.	The authors make a theoretical proposal that as a company's philanthropic efforts meet a competitive context, it will make stronger contributions to society.
  Kotler and Lee (2005)	The authors propose social marketing initiatives based on their definition of CSR.	This book differentiates between 6 main types of corporate social initiatives of marketing: Corporate Cause Promotion, Cause-related Marketing, Corporate Social Marketing, Corporate Philanthropy, Community Volunteering and Socially Responsible Business Practices. Several examples of each initiative are presented to describe related benefits for causes and companies based on best practices and recommendations for their implementation.
  Laczniak and Murphy (2006)	The authors make a set of normative recommendations for improving the practice of ethics in marketing.	The authors present an approach based on seven key perspectives that consider several implicit dimensions of ethics in marketing.
  Nill and Schibrowsky (2007)	The authors carry out a review of the marketing ethics literature by classifying the subject matter of this discipline into macro and micro perspectives.	The authors carry out a systematic review from two points of view: the development of subject classifications and an analysis of the content of articles published in journals between 1981 and 2005.
  Terra Choice Environmental Marketing Inc. (2007)	The authors present six (6) major sins of company “greenwashing” (a term that describes consumers’ opinions regarding misleading initiatives employed by companies to promote their environmental practices or the environmental nature of their products or services to “wash their face” and to account for other actions that may have affected or be affecting the environment).	The authors examine fifty-six types of products for which environmental claims have been identified through surveys; 1018 products with 1753 claims of this type are identified. Of the products studied, for all of them except for one, false or misleading statements have been made in reference to their audiences. Based on the results of the study, six forms in greenwashing are identified.
  Becheur, Diaz-Pedregal, and Ozcaglar (2008)	The authors analyze degrees of “justice” in exchanges within the fair-trade framework based on a definition of the term given by the European Fair Trade Association: “It is a trade association based on the dialog, transparency and respect that seeks greater equity in international trade. It contributes to sustainable development by offering better trade conditions and by protecting the rights of producers and marginalized workers, especially in the south.”	The authors study the extent to which fair trade actors actually apply fair trade principles in their exchanges through a case study, documentary and ethnographic research.
  Gupta and Pirsch (2008)	The authors assess the effects of retailer CSR on company reputations from a consumer's perspective.	Many attributes influence distributors’ images, and the authors analyze the effects of CSR on such images through an online experiment involving 460 people that proves that there is a positive effect that can even spur satisfaction and loyalty.
  Golding (2009)	The author explores challenges related to fair trade marketing communications.	Through a case study, the communications strategy employed by a fair trade company is analyzed.

  Source: Prepared by the author based on different authors.

CSR, corporate associations, images, reputations and stakeholders

This area focuses on the impacts of company CSR actions designed to improve company reputations among public audiences and on the perceptions that people have of socially responsible enterprises. It also focuses on the implementation of CSR in companies in light of “stakeholder” viewpoints (Table 7).

Table 7.

Perceptual associations between CSR and stakeholders.

Authors	Study subject matter or topics addressed	Objectives and variables addressed
Fombrun and Shanley (1990)	This paper analyzes company “name” and reputation building with CSR viewed as part of the “non-economic agenda.”	The results of an empirical study on 292 large US companies supports the overall assumption that audiences understand reputations based on information on the relative positioning of companies within their organizational fields and specifically based on accounting and market signals (performance and institutional signals).
Fombrun (1996)	The author examines the construct of company reputation based on identities and images. CSR is viewed as a constituent of reputation.	This book describes the value of reputation, as it informs products that one should buy, companies to work for and what stocks to invest in. It also offers considerable strategic value, as it highlights companies’ appealing characteristics and expands the number of options available to their managers in terms of actions and decisions.
Brown and Dacin (1997)	The authors examine corporate associations (all information that a person has on a company) and consumer responses to companies are viewed as socially responsible.	The impacts of two forms of corporate associations with responses to a company's products are evaluated based on three studies. One study focuses on a company's capacity to produce products and the other focuses on a company's CSR activities as viewed by the market.
Brown (1998)	The author studies corporate marketing association antecedents and consequences, which include CSR actions.	Based on previous empirical research and an extensive literature review, a model on ways that the market responds to companies (trust and commitment) and products (perceptions, evaluations, intentions and behaviors) with a focus on company social responsibility as a perceptual corporate association is proposed.
Webb and Mohr (1998)	The authors study consumer responses to company initiatives in terms of cause-related marketing. Differences are found between skeptical and socially concerned consumers.	Five questions are posed through a qualitative study that involves in-depth interviews that analyze the effects of cause-related marketing campaigns on market responses to companies. This proves useful for classifying consumers.
Sen and Bhattacharya (2001)	The authors study consumer reactions to company CSR actions.	This article studies how, when and who CSR initiatives adopted by companies serve. Findings focus on specific company features such as CSR related issues a company chooses to focus on for the quality of its products, as in specific factors such as personal support from consumers on CSR issues regarding their beliefs concerning the concept. A conceptual framework for the evaluation of companies and purchase intent is proposed.
Bhattacharya and Sen (2004)	The authors measure company CSR initiatives based on factors relevant to consumers.	Via focus groups, in-depth interviews, surveys and experiments, market responses to company CSR actions are analyzed to reveal a contingent conceptualization of CSR focused on the consumer. The company, consumer and cause are included in this model.
Brammer and Pavelin (2004)	The authors examine reputation building initiatives based on company CSR actions.	A conceptual framework that emphasizes the need to adjust company CSR actions and other key characteristics is presented. The reputations of 227 companies listed on the London Stock Exchange are examined.
Bigne, Chumpitaz, Andreu, & Swaen (2005)	The authors study young university students’ points of view regarding enterprise CSR actions within the context of four countries (two Latin American countries and two European countries).	This work seeks to evaluate CSR perceptions and relevance as a purchasing criterion for university students in Argentina, Chile, Spain and Portugal. The cross-cultural study evaluates how consumers respond to company CSR practices and how they communicate based on the individual values and cultural backgrounds of the survey respondents.
Maignan, Ferrell, and Ferrell (2005)	A “stakeholder” model used to apply CSR activities in the field of marketing is proposed. The model allows one to build an organizational identity and a reputation based on standards and values of company stakeholders.	A comprehensive management framework for understanding and orienting stakeholder groups is proposed to allow for the application of CSR in the market. The authors employ specialized literature that links stakeholders with the market across time.
Balmer and Greyser (2006)	The authors explore the notion of corporate marketing, which integrates corporate identity, images, branding, communications and reputations. Ethics and CSR constitute part of a company's performance and are measurable.	The authors make theoretical reflections to analyze the emerging field of corporate marketing based on key studies related to marketing though history.
Marín and Ruiz (2007a, 2007b), Marín and Ruiz (2008), and Marín et al. (2009)	The authors examine consumer evaluations of companies based on CSR actions and company identifications with consumers that extend beyond the marketing of relationships.	Based on social identities, brands, reference groups and marketing of relationships theory, ways in which consumers identify with companies are analyzed. Models on ways that the market values enterprise business skills and supports social causes that favor communication are also proposed. Ways in which CSR favors marketing loyalty are also proposed.
Jones, Comfort, and Hillier (2008)	The authors examine uses of CSR by food retailers as a communicative strategy applied to consumers shopping at their stores.	Through an exploratory survey of the 10 main retailers in the United Kingdom, it is found that the most important CSR issues dealt with in these stores include the following: organic, healthy and fair trade local products, community-related issues, etc. All of these factors must be reported on to the market through labels on the goods and through leaflets and informational billboards.
Bhattacharya, Korschun, and Sen (2009)	The authors study the strengthening of relations between companies and their stakeholders via mutually beneficial CSR initiatives.	The authors propose a model for understanding stakeholder responses to company CSR actions, and especially in terms of psychological mechanisms that induce these responses. This proposal is made based on the “means-end” chain and based on the relationship marketing literature.
Korschun, Bhattacharya, and Sen (2009)	The employee is conceived of as an “internal customer” and the improvement of his relationships with consumers is assessed based on CSR actions.	A study is carried out on two components based on social identity theory: CSR and domestic markets. The first part of the study involves two employee focus groups and in-depth interviews. The second part of the study is quantitative and involves the use of an online questionnaire.
Peloza and Shang (2011)	The authors show how CSR activities applied by companies can be used to build stronger relationships with “stakeholders” while at the same time creating value for companies.	This theoretical paper suggests that relationships between CSR and stakeholder responses have been varied and inconsistent. A literature review on these relationships is thus conducted and avenues for future research in this area are proposed.
Hult, Mena, Ferrell, and Ferrell (2011)	Definitions of stakeholder marketing and conceptual frames of reference are proposed.	The purpose of this article is to better understand stakeholder theory and how it is applied to different phenomena in the field of marketing. A conceptual framework is developed to reveal links and interrelationships between marketing activities, multiple exchanges between stakeholders and performance results. The approach is based on an extensive review of the marketing literature (58 articles on primary and secondary stakeholders).
Gonzalez-Padron, Hult, and Ferrell (2016)	The authors describe how stakeholder marketing shapes firm performance through higher levels of customer satisfaction, innovation, and firm reputation.	Grounded in stakeholder theory, the study provides a conceptualization of stakeholder orientations based on cultural values distinctive from stakeholder responsiveness, and it examines the relationship between stakeholder responsiveness and firm performance. The study determines the mediating role of marketing outcomes in the impact of stakeholder responsiveness on firm performance. Multiple regression analysis tests based on qualitative data obtained from corporate documents and based on quantitative data drawn from respected secondary sources are conducted.
Deigh, Farquhar, Palazzo, and Siano (2016)	This study shows that community engagement involves four spheres of activity: donations, employee voluntarism, projects and partnerships. Philanthropy forms a component of largely ad hoc CSR actions by firms. The study also shows that philanthropy is not merely a desired function of the CSR pyramid but constitutes an essential function.	This paper aims to extend corporate social responsibility (CSR) theory by exploring how firms engage with the community. The community is frequently cited as a stakeholder of the firm, but in spite of its status in networks it has not been the focus of research. Drawing on community theory and Carroll's pyramid, the authors undertake an empirical investigation to advance knowledge on CSR engagement with a particular stakeholder group.
Mishra and Modi (2016)	The authors explore moderating role of marketing capability in the CSR–shareholder wealth relationship based on overall CSR and CSR types.	This study posits that marketing capability plays a complementary role in the CSR–shareholder wealth relationship. It further argues that the effects of marketing capability will be more significant for CSR initiatives presenting verifiable benefits for firm stakeholders (i.e., consumers, employees, channel partners, and regulators).

Source: Prepared by the author based on different authors.

Relationships between CSR and overall company performance

This area focuses on the “strategic” benefits of CSR actions for companies. Apart from strategic interventions, remarkable effects on financial business performance must be noted (Table 8).

Table 8.

CSR and global business performance.

Authors	Study subject matter or topic addressed	Objectives and variables addressed
Anderson (1987)	Corporate investment in CSR comes with future benefits, but it is necessary to educate the public on socio-economic processes as a form of social responsibility.	Based on the definition of an investment that must always generate a benefit, Friedman's approach is applied in the sense that any CSR investment must generate benefits in addition to the company's profits; otherwise, such investments are not made.
Stroup, Neubert, and Anderson (1987)	The authors analyze the evolution of CSR from “do well voluntarily” to “do better” paradigms, and this will require a large but profitable investment.	A theoretical proposal that we are entering a new phase of company CSR that extends beyond voluntary social actions is made. Now as part of a third phase, CSR is explored as a form of investment.
Stanwick and Stanwick (1998)	Determining factors of corporate social performance and relationships between CSR, organization size, and environmental and financial performance are studied.	Through an empirical study conducted between 1987 and 1992 on several companies that meet certain criteria (listed on the Fortune reputation index, among the top 500 most heavily polluting companies according to the US Environmental Protection Agency and included in the Fortune 500 based on sales and profitability levels), corporate social performance is shown to be affected by the examined variables.
Maignan, Ferrell, and Hult (1999)	Companies analyze how corporate citizenship supports economic benefits.	The authors call for a conceptualization and operationalization of corporate citizenship. From empirical research conducted on two independent samples, whether components of an organizational culture affect commitment to corporate citizenship and benefit companies is examined.
Porter and Kramer (2006)	The authors evaluate company philanthropy as central to maintaining a competitive advantage. The authors analyze the link between the latter and CSR as something that should form part of an overall strategy.	These theoretical papers suggest that many companies feel forced to make philanthropic donations but that few have done so effectively. Moreover, it is suggested that many companies have already done much to improve the social and environmental consequences of their activities. However, such efforts have not been as productive and potentially for two reasons: companies are confronted with societal issues when they are interdependent and companies are under pressure to think very generically about their actions and without applying adequate strategies.
Bhattacharya, Smith, and Vogel (2004)	The authors explore the integration of CSR with company marketing strategies as central to business models and with a scope that extends beyond that of mere philanthropy.	From a strategic point of view, several social initiatives that have generated results for both companies and society are described.
Neville, Bell, and Menguc (2005)	The authors develop a model on the role of reputations in the relationship between corporate social performance and business financial performance.	The concept of corporate social performance is elaborated on based on principles of corporate social responsibility and social responsiveness. It is affected by stakeholder responses and especially as a result of evaluations they make of a company's reputation.
García de los Salmones, Herrero, and Rodríguez (2005)	The authors study CSR benefits as a marketing tool by assessing their implications in terms of customer loyalty and service assessments.	A multidimensional view of CSR is adopted and market research is conducted to determine mobile phone company user views on the economic, legal, ethical and social features of its operators. Loyalty and overall service ratings are assessed through a structural equation model.
McWilliams, Siegel, and Wright (2006)	A description of several views on CSR based on a framework that considers strategic implications is presented.	Several papers are reviewed from several theoretical perspectives: agency, administrative, company resource, institutional, and firm theory.
Yokohama (2008)	A framework for analyzing company CSR actions and for incorporating them into corporate strategies contributing to overall performance is presented.	The author argues that a company should design its CSR activities to expand its pool of stakeholders, capacities and resources. Moreover, it is suggested that effects of such activities derive from internal (implementation and learning) and external factors (legitimacy and reputation), and the author describes efforts that must be made to stimulate such processes.
Piercy and Lane (2009)	The authors explore the effects of CSR on marketing strategies. It is suggested that CSR affects the delivery of value to customers.	A framework for examining company responses to CSR requirements and for moderating effects of employees, manager and stakeholder perceptions, and the social credibility of a company is presented.
Bai and Chang (2015)	The authors conceptualize of CSR as a multi-dimensional construct and investigate the influence of different CSR dimensions on firm performance. In addition, based on perspectives of strategy–environment fit, their findings reveal that the effects of CSR activities on different stakeholders are contingent on the market environment involved.	Drawing on stakeholder and institutional theories, the authors examine CSR in China based on a multi-dimensional view of CSR and introduce marketing competence as an important moderator between CSR and firm performance. The authors also apply a contingent perspective to examine the role of market environments in moderating effects of CSR on marketing competence.
Amin-Chaudhry (2016)	The definition of CSR has evolved, it is was first viewed as an integral means for businesses to fulfill their social duties to business practices that require a comprehensive reporting of socially responsible and sustainable activities in annual reports.	This paper describes paths toward CSR starting from an “abstract concept” used in the early twentieth century to the well-recognized and “expected business practices” applied at present.
Oh, Bae, Currim, Lim, and Zhang (2016)	This paper identifies conditions under which CSR is and is not related to stock returns by uniquely considering three variables omitted from most past studies: marketing spending, CSR strengths and concerns and short- and long-term stock returns.	The authors seek to understand how marketing spending as a proxy for firm visibility moderates effects of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and concerns regarding stock returns in the short and long term. In contrast to the resource-based view (RBV) of the firm, visibility theory, based on stakeholder awareness and expectations, offers asymmetric predictions on the moderating effects of marketing spending.

Source: Prepared by the author based on different authors.

Conclusion

Several factors should be considered and synthetized in the foregoing proposal. First and foremost, the evolution of definitions of marketing shows that the concept has been affected by a changing environment and that its approach has engaged society. This is particularly valuable, as a discipline's definition should be relevant to both practitioners (entrepreneurs and business people) and scholars and it “should serve as a cornerstone to address several concepts, theories and practices within a community” (Zinkhan & Williams, 2007). It is also shown that the current “official” definition has a formal academic component and conceptualizes of the field as a broad expression of society.

Second, it was found that the various schools of marketing thought responsible for fostering the discipline's development have offered valuable input on its relationships with concepts of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

Third, while numerous conceptualizations and classifications of CSR have been developed in the field of management, few definitions have been developed in the marketing field. In this latter discipline, there have been few classifications on construct perspectives while academic contributions have addressed very limited dimensions, though there is evidence of strong contributions in fields focusing on specific social initiatives of marketing that address CSR (Kotler & Lee, 2005). On the other hand, most of these inputs have only focused on a few of the many stakeholders that companies can have (customers and distribution channels) and have not covered society as a whole. In this regard, it seems that definitions of the discipline have evolved in terms of their scope but not necessarily in terms of their theoretical contributions or relevant applications (in this sense, it is worth further examining Wilkie and Moore's (1999) comments on the true contributions of the discipline to society).

Fourth, it should be noted that practices recommended through the literature based on theoretical and empirical research are not necessarily applicable to all geographic contexts. In this regard, it is worth noting that much of the literature and its corresponding applications are based on the Anglo-Saxon context and therefore do not take into account the specificities of different countries or even continents. It may be found that social, political, cultural and economic variables, which are very specific to a given environment (e.g., the Latin American environment), hinder the extrapolation of theories and practices in this regard (Raufflet & Barrera, 2010). A study of large or multinational enterprise campaigns that accounts for interrelationships between marketing and CSR would certainly reveal very refined practices in this regard.

Finally, from our analysis of marketing studies on CSR, we conclude that the field has evolved from a broadening of the discipline (Years 60) to the real strategic management of CSR that seeks to create differentiation, resulting in a closed market (and/or customer) approach to the management of relationships and to benefits for all stakeholders to significantly improve the financial performance of organizations that undertake specific CSR initiatives linked to marketing. Some even argue that broadening the marketing concept to everything that involves a certain exchange risks “trying to encompass virtually all, marketing does represent almost nothing” (Shaw & Jones, 2005 to paraphrase Holbrook, 1987). Therefore, “it is necessary to reconsider the traditional field of business as the conceptual foundation of contemporary marketing thought” (Shaw & Jones, 2005, p. 273).

In any case, the simple evolution and application of marketing definitions to the business world and their conceptual and even practical links to CSR show that the discipline plays a significant and prevailing role in society and that classifications of the relationship between the two concepts explored herein serve as a tool for both marketing scholars and practitioners in their respective activities.

Conflict of interest

The author declares no conflict of interest.