CSR AND PERFORMANCE: TWO SUBSTITUTABLE CONCEPTS FOR MEASURING ORGANIZATIONAL REALITIES: A THEORETICAL APPROACH

The objective of this article is to study the contribution of CSR in relation to the neighbouring but much older concept of performance. The emergence of CSR embodies an evolution of the company whose borders are becoming increasingly permeable and evolving. The firmÂ’s conception based on the existence of formal property rights is thus undermined by the existence of cooperation strategies, alliances, the use of outsourcing, and more generally by an increasing interdependence with all its stakeholders. The main consequence of this development is the extension of the scope of the companyÂ’s responsibility, including legal responsibility, to all the companyÂ’s stakeholders, thus influencing the notion of performance. - The first part of this paper presents in a synthetic way the concept of CSR and in particular its foundations and its variations. - The second part brings together the concepts of performance and CSR, highlighting their convergences and oppositions. Even if these two concepts diverge theoretically, their purposes being different, the tools for measuring performance and the degree of consideration of the social responsibility of firms seem quite similar.