Legitimation strategies of Russian companies: a bricolage of social responsibility

ABSTRACT Russian companies, with their long-established tradition of social responsibility, still operate social and infrastructure projects at the regional and local levels. Adopting the framework of organisational “bricolage”, this article explores how managers combine various ideas and understandings about social responsibility, creating narratives addressed to multiple audiences, including the market, state, employees and local community. The analysis builds on 116 semi-structured interviews with company representatives and stakeholders, conducted in Russia in 2018. The empirical findings show that managers construct a bricolage of social responsibility that prioritises business interests and highlights loyalty towards the authorities; Soviet-era remnants are of minor importance.