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Panel presentation :
This panel compares Japanese and Korean cases of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to evaluate CSR-initiated collaboration among the government, businesses, and civil society and explores the Asian context of CSR. The increase in activities across national boundaries has expanded economic markets and led to the globalization of corporate undertakings. Besides pursuing profitable goals, the business sector is required to fulfill specific responsibilities towards society, such as maintaining compliance with laws and ordinances, protecting the environment and human rights, and respecting labor standards and consumer interests. The CSR concept summarizes such essentials. CSR signifies that corporations need to recognize the social influence of their corporate activities and implement the relevant decision-making procedures and initiatives that will benefit all the stakeholders, including consumers, stockholders, customers, and civil society.
Numerous studies describe that there are two different types of CSR in Europe and the US: (1) CSR which is conducted as part of business activities and (2) CSR which is conducted as charitable activities and is not directly linked with business. Most of studies about the effectiveness and consequences of CSR have been dominated by cases in Europe and the US: CSR studies on other regions such as Asia are in their nascent stage. The proposed panel attempts to bridge the gap between existing studies and their practical application in Japanese and Korean societies and their collaboration among the government, business, and civil societies.
This panel is part of the Joint Research Projects under the Bilateral Collaborations Program, applied to the funding by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science and the National Research Foundation of Korea. This research analyzes the role of CSR in community development by examining six themes (diversity, welfare, consumer issues, business, employment, and environment) and focusing on the collaboration among three sectors: the government, businesses, and civil society. By focusing on these collaborations, the research attempts to evaluate CSR as the driving force of a developing civil society. In addition, this research reveals the manner by which companies and organizations have exercised CSR in cooperation with the governments and non-profit organizations and its contribution in developing the community and constructing civil society.
Japan and Korea are similar with regard to the increasing influence of civil society. Both these countries have stabilized liberal democracies with strong central governments. This creates several opportunities for collaboration among the government, business, and civil society. While the business and civil society sectors operate independently, they have also work in collaboration with the central and local governments. The objective of the comparison between Japan and Korea is to analyze the advantages and disadvantages of CSR collaboration in a civil society and democratic traditions under a strong centralized government and to identify the differences between Japanese and Korean political and social cultures. These comparisons will contribute in understanding of the CSR model in the Asian context.
This panel is based on important issues in the Japanese and Korean CSR models including employment, environment, and consumer issues. The panel consists of six presentations: one presentation focuses on the theoretical and quantitative overview of Japanese and Korean CSR and the other five are significant case studies.
