The Role of Corporate Actors in Shaping Human Rights Outcomes: A Qualitative CSR Review
Keywords:
Corporate Social Responsibility, Human Rights, Business Ethics, Organizational Culture, Stakeholder Engagement, Iran, Qualitative ResearchAbstract
This study aims to explore how corporate actors understand, implement, and influence human rights outcomes through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) practices within the organizational and regulatory context of Tehran, Iran. Using a qualitative design, data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 14 CSR professionals, legal advisors, and civil society experts based in Tehran. Participants were selected through purposive sampling, and interviews continued until theoretical saturation was reached. All interviews were transcribed and analyzed using thematic analysis in NVivo software. The analysis followed a three-stage coding process: open coding, axial coding, and selective coding. Three main themes emerged from the analysis. First, strategic integration of human rights in CSR was facilitated by formal policy commitments, risk management systems, stakeholder engagement, and code of conduct enforcement. Second, corporate culture and ethical responsibility were shaped by leadership tone, employee awareness, and internal communication, though challenges such as resistance and cultural misalignment were also reported. Third, external pressures—including regulatory expectations, NGO influence, consumer and investor scrutiny, and global supply chain standards—played a critical role in shaping corporate human rights behavior. Participants emphasized that crisis events often triggered meaningful reforms, suggesting a reactive dimension to human rights implementation. The findings underscore that human rights engagement in the corporate sector is a multifaceted process shaped by internal structures, organizational culture, and external accountability mechanisms. In the Iranian context, despite regulatory and cultural constraints, companies are adopting a range of strategic and ethical practices to fulfill human rights obligations. The study contributes to global CSR literature by providing context-specific insights from a non-Western setting and offers practical implications for business leaders, policymakers, and stakeholders working to advance corporate human rights performance.
Downloads
References
Abdollahzadeh, G., Faraji, M., & Sadri, M. (2018). Barriers to corporate social responsibility implementation in Iran: A qualitative study. Social Responsibility Journal, 14(1), 105–122. https://doi.org/10.1108/SRJ-01-2017-0014
Aguinis, H., & Glavas, A. (2012). What we know and don’t know about corporate social responsibility: A review and research agenda. Journal of Management, 38(4), 932–968. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206311436079
Baumann-Pauly, D., Nolan, J., van Heerden, A., & Samway, M. (2017). Mapping the landscape: Corporate accountability in human rights. Business and Human Rights Journal, 2(1), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1017/bhj.2016.30
Brammer, S., Jackson, G., & Matten, D. (2012). Corporate social responsibility and institutional theory: New perspectives on private governance. Socio-Economic Review, 10(1), 3–28. https://doi.org/10.1093/ser/mwr030
Crane, A., Matten, D., & Spence, L. J. (Eds.). (2008). Corporate social responsibility: Readings and cases in a global context. Routledge.
Dashwood, H. S. (2012). The rise of global corporate social responsibility: Mining and the spread of global norms. Cambridge University Press.
Deva, S., & Bilchitz, D. (Eds.). (2013). Human rights obligations of business: Beyond the corporate responsibility to respect? Cambridge University Press.
Frynas, J. G., & Stephens, S. (2015). Political corporate social responsibility: Reviewing theories and setting new agendas. International Journal of Management Reviews, 17(4), 483–509. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijmr.12049
Greenwood, M. (2007). Stakeholder engagement: Beyond the myth of corporate responsibility. Journal of Business Ethics, 74(4), 315–327. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-007-9509-y
Maak, T. (2007). Responsible leadership, stakeholder engagement, and the emergence of social capital. Journal of Business Ethics, 74(4), 329–343. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-007-9510-5
Matten, D., & Moon, J. (2008). “Implicit” and “explicit” CSR: A conceptual framework for a comparative understanding of corporate social responsibility. Academy of Management Review, 33(2), 404–424. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2008.31193458
Mayer, D. M., Kuenzi, M., Greenbaum, R., Bardes, M., & Salvador, R. B. (2010). How low does ethical leadership flow? Test of a trickle-down model. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 108(1), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2008.04.002
Nolan, J. (2013). Human rights and global corporate citizenship: A legal framework for CSR. In S. Deva & D. Bilchitz (Eds.), Human rights obligations of business (pp. 43–69). Cambridge University Press.
Ruggie, J. G. (2008). Protect, respect and remedy: A framework for business and human rights. Innovations: Technology, Governance, Globalization, 3(2), 189–212. https://doi.org/10.1162/itgg.2008.3.2.189
Schrempf-Stirling, J., Palazzo, G., & Phillips, R. A. (2016). Historic corporate social responsibility. Academy of Management Review, 41(4), 700–719. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2014.0137
United Nations. (2011). Guiding principles on business and human rights: Implementing the United Nations “Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework. https://www.ohchr.org/documents/publications/guidingprinciplesbusinesshr_en.pdf
Yousefzadeh, M., & Karbasi, A. (2021). The state of CSR reporting in Iran: Trends and challenges. Iranian Journal of Management Studies, 14(2), 301–322. https://doi.org/10.22059/ijms.2020.306967.673813
Zarneshan, M., Ghasemi, M., & Pournader, M. (2022). Navigating CSR in emerging markets: A study of institutional constraints and strategic responses in Iran. Journal of Business Ethics, 175(4), 849–868. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-020-04786-5
Downloads
Published
Submitted
Revised
Accepted
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
