When Public and Business Interests Collide: An Integrated Approach to the Altruism-Instrumentalism Tension and Corporate Social Responsibility Theory

ABSTRACT This article attends to the debate of what motivations – instrumental or altruistic – should drive corporate social responsibility (CSR) decisions and practice; I offer an integrated instrumental and duty-based framework. While the win-win instrumentalism that underlies much of CSR practice is problematic and needs addressing, the notion of altruism is also flawed. Such an application of deontological principles, while well-intentioned, is a) based on a misreading of Kant’s humanity formula, b) does not lend itself to the inherent duality of the CSR concept, and c) constrains the quest and need to mainstream ethical CSR. Instead, I propose that a more pertinent question is how to address firms’ tendency to choose those societal issues that yield private benefits. In this regard, drawing on W.D. Ross’ moral philosophy, I provide a three-level decision criterion for addressing situations where firms’ private interests and social aspirations collide.