concept has emerged as the managerial framework wherein the relationship between

business and society is studied.

To conclude, although CS and CSR have different roots and developed along diverse

theoretical paths, they ultimately converged and overlapped from both the academic and

practical perspectives. This strong complementarity is evident in some recent definitions

of CSR provided by international organization like the Prince of Wales International

Business Leaders Forum: “CSR means open and transparent business practices that are

based on ethical values and respect for employees, communities, and the environment.

It is designed to deliver sustainable value to society at large, as well as to shareholders.”

Furthermore, this red line is strengthened in some institutional documents, including the

European Union Green Paper “Promoting a European Framework for CSR,” which

defines corporate responsibility as “a concept whereby companies integrate social and

environmental concerns in their business operations and in their interaction with their

stakeholders on a voluntary basis” (CEC, 2001).

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND THE MANAGEMENT DISCIPLINE

The discussion of the way in which management science had to include in its theoretical

framework the concept of Sustainable Development started in the nineteen nineties.

Over the years numerous papers and articles have been published with the goal of both

building a systematic conceptual theory of sustainability at the corporate level, and

empirically exploring the phenomenon of “going sustainable” with a set of

methodological tools.

14