Revisiting Politics in Political CSR: How coercive and deliberative dynamics operate through institutional work in a Colombian company

This article analyses the political dynamics taking place within a Colombian supplier company during the implementation of a client's global Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme, which radically transformed the local understandings of the supplier's social responsibilities. We distinguish two forms of politics in political CSR - coercive and deliberative politics - and examine how they unfold through lower-level managers' institutional work. Our longitudinal case study identifies four types of institutional work, which combine into three political configurations - irreconcilable politics, complementary politics and aligned deliberative politics - resulting in the hybridization of explicit and implicit CSR. By analysing how local managers from emerging countries and at the bottom of the supply chain cope with the new political role of MNCs, we expand the political microfoundations of CSR and highlight the interactive and political nature of institutional work aimed at addressing major societal challenges.

Automated summary

This article analyzes the political dynamics within a Colombian supplier company during the implementation of a client's global Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme, identifying coercive and deliberative politics in political CSR and examining lower-level managers' institutional work. The study identifies four types of institutional work, resulting in three political configurations and the hybridization of explicit and implicit CSR. The research expands the political microfoundations of CSR by analyzing how local managers cope with the new political role of MNCs and highlighting the political nature of institutional work aimed at addressing major societal challenges.