Le dilemme entre responsabilité économique et responsabilité sociale de l'entreprise : une étude comparative.

Abstract

We analyze, by means of a comparative approach, the compatibility perceived by the managers between economic responsibility and corporate social responsibility. Different theories lead to alternative visions of corporate responsibilities. Our hypotheses link the gaps related to the organizational culture, corporate governance systems and management education on the compatibility between corporate responsibilities. A scale of enterprise goals is developed and its cross-national invariance tested. The analyses, taking into account gender and professional experience, reveal that in countries with high power distance, where the corporate governance is less strict and the management education adopt an integrated model, the social responsibility is perceived as being relatively incompatible with the economic responsibility, while in countries with low power distance, where the corporate governance is strict and the management education adopt a functional model, social responsibility and economic responsibility are perceived as being more compatibles.