International CSR and the Role of Government: “Direct” and “Indirect” Policies

This article contributes to the growing research on corporate social responsibility (CSR) and government and focuses on the neglected relationships between national government and international CSR. The main contributions of the article lie in the identification and theorization of the ways in which governments regulate international CSR directly and indirectly and in the relationships between these two types of regulation. Direct public policy for CSR addresses a CSR initiative such as an organization or regulation. Indirect public policy for CSR tackles the same problem to which a CSR initiative is addressed but does so by addressing its wider regulatory context. The paper considers different relationships between the direct and indirect policies for CSR, and their implications.