Socially Responsible Enterprise in Cuba: A Positive Role Model for Corporate Social Responsibility?

Denise Baden, null; Stephen Wilkinson, null

doi:10.13169/intejcubastud.6.1.0055

ScienceOpen: research and publishing network

For Publishers

For Researchers

Blog
About

Search
Advanced search

273

views

recommends

If you have found this article useful and you think it is important that researchers across the world have access, please consider donating, to ensure that this valuable collection remains Open Access.

International Journal of Cuban Studies is published by Pluto Journals, an Open Access publisher. This means that everyone has free and unlimited access to the full-text of all articles from our international collection of social science journals. Furthermore Pluto Journals authors don’t pay article processing charges (APCs).

scite_

International Journal of Cuban Studies

Volume 6, Issue 1

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: found

Is Open Access

Socially Responsible Enterprise in Cuba: A Positive Role Model for Corporate Social Responsibility?

Published

research-article

Author(s): Denise Baden , Stephen Wilkinson

Publication date (Print): Spring 2014

Journal: International Journal of Cuban Studies

Publisher: Pluto Journals

Keywords: business ethics, corporate social responsibility, Cuba, implicit CSR, institutional theory, market socialism, social and solidarity economies, socially responsible enterprise

Bookmark

Abstract

This article examines the unique institutional environment of socialist Cuba, where currently a process of controlled marketisation and expansion of private enterprise is taking place. The article investigates business behaviour in Cuba with particular reference to implicit assumptions relating to socially responsible enterprise, or ‘Corporate Social Responsibility’ (CSR) as the term is understood in Western Liberal Democracies. It draws upon a series of interviews with business practitioners and business commentators (both Cuban and non-Cuban residents on the island). The interviews focused on the participants' awareness of business ethics and socially responsible enterprise, and the cultural differences in assumptions and expectations relating to the concept of CSR between the Cuban and non-Cuban interviewees. We find that Cuba at this early stage of tentative marketisation presents a positive role model of socially responsible enterprise. Both the highly regulated State economy, and the embedded norms and values of social equity that have emerged as a consequence of Cuba's socialist revolution facilitate business social responsibility. The relevance of this research to current debates in relation to CSR is discussed, and it is argued that capitalist economies may similarly benefit from tighter regulatory control and by cultivating more pro-social business norms that prioritise ethical over economic concerns.

Content

Author and article information

Contributors

Denise Baden

Stephen Wilkinson

Journal

Journal ID (doi): 10.13169

Journal ID (publisher-id): intejcubastud

Title: International Journal of Cuban Studies

Publisher: Pluto Journals

ISSN (Print): 17563461

ISSN (Electronic): 1756347X

Publication date (Print): Spring 2014

Volume: 6

Issue: 1

Pages: 55-86

Affiliations

University of Southampton, UK

International Institute for the Study of Cuba, UK

Article

Publisher ID: intejcubastud.6.1.0055

DOI: 10.13169/intejcubastud.6.1.0055

SO-VID: 6d52e326-1b11-416c-8534-baf939e7e387

License:

All content is freely available without charge to users or their institutions. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles in this journal without asking prior permission of the publisher or the author. Articles published in the journal are distributed under a http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

History

Bibliography

Alberto, G. (2011) ‘Cuba: From State Socialism to a New Form of Market Socialism?’, Comparative Economic Studies 53: 647–85.
Baden, D. (10–13 September, 2013) ‘Carroll's Pyramid of CSR Is Upside down!’, in British Academy of Management Annual Conference’, Liverpool, UK.
Baden, D. and I.A. Harwood. (2013) ‘Terminology Matters: A Critical Exploration of Corporate Social Responsibility Terms’, Journal of Business Ethics 116: 615–27.
Baden, D., I.A. Harwood and D.G. Woodward. (2011) ‘The Effects of Procurement Policies on “downstream” Corporate Social Responsibility Activity: Content-Analytic Insights into the Views and Actions of SME Owner-Managers’, International Small Business Journal 29(3): 259–77.
Campbell, A. (2013) ‘Finding a New Road (Again) to a Socialist Economy and Socialist Well-Being in Cuba’, in A. Campbell (ed.) Cuban Economists on the Cuban Economy . Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida, pp. 1–22.
Campbell, J.L. (2006) ‘Institutional Analysis and the Paradox of Corporate Social Responsibility’, American Behavioral Scientist 49(7): 925–38.
Campbell, J.L. (2007) ‘Why Would Corporations Behave in Socially Responsible Ways? An Institutional Theory of Corporate Social Responsibility’, Academy of Management Review 32(3): 946–67.
Carroll, A.B. (1979) ‘A Three-Dimensional Conceptual Model of Corporate Social Performance’, Academy of Management Review 4(4): 497–505.
Castro, R. (2010) ‘Speech Delivered during the Closing Ceremony of the Sixth Session of the Seventh Legislature of the National People's Power Assembly, 18 December’. Available at http://www.cuba.cu/gobierno/rauldiscursos/2010/ing/r181210i.html.
Chapple, W. and J. Moon. (2005) ‘Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in Asia’, Business & Society 44(4): 415–41.
Choi, J. and H.L. Wang. (2009) ‘Stakeholder Relations and the Persistence of Corporate Financial Performance’, Strategic Management Journal 30(8): 895–907.
Corporate Watch (ed.) (2006) What's Wrong with Corporate Social Responsibility? (Corporate Watch Report 2006). London: Corporate Watch.
Farber, S. (2011) Cuba since the Revolution of 1959: A Critical Assessment . Chicago, IL: Haymarket Books.
Ferraro, F., J. Pfeffer and R.I. Sutton. (2005) ‘Economics Language and Assumptions: How Theories Can Become Self-Fulfilling’, Academy of Management Review 30(1): 8–24.
Friedman, M. (13 September, 1970) ‘The Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Its Profits’. The New York Times Magazine . Available at http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/dl/free/0073524697/910345/Appendices.pdf.
Gabriele, A. (2013) ‘Five Decades of State Socialism in Cuba’, in A. Gabriele (ed.) The Economy of Cuba after the VI Party Congress . New York: Nova, pp. 7–56.
Ghoshal, S. (2005) ‘Bad Management Theories Are Destroying Good Management Practices’, Academy of Management Learning & Education 4(1): 75–91.
Hails, C., J. Loh and S. Goldfinger. (2006) Living Planet Report 2006 . Gland: WWF International; London: Institute of Zoology; Oakland, CA: Global Footprint Network.
Harrison, J.S., D.A. Bosse and R.A. Phillips. (2010) ‘Managing for Stakeholders, Stakeholder Utility Functions, and Competitive Advantage’, Strategic Management Journal 31(1): 58–74.
Higgins, E.R.E. (2003) ‘Part 2: Global Business Means Global Responsibilities: Research: Global Strategies — Contradictions and Consequences’, Corporate Governance 3(3): 52–66.
Jackson, G. and A. Apostolakou. (2010) ‘Corporate Social Responsibility in Western Europe: An Institutional Mirror or Substitute?’, Journal of Business Ethics 94: 371–94.
Kostova, T. and K. Roth. (2002) ‘Adoption of an Organizational Practice by Subsidiaries of Multinational Corporations: Institutional and Relational Effects’, Academy of Management Journal 45: 215–33.
Lambie, G. (2012) ‘Editorial’, International Journal of Cuban Studies 4(2): 125–9.
Liberman, V., S. Samuels and L. Ross. (2004) ‘The Name of the Game: Predictive Power of Reputation vs. Situational Labels in Determining Prisoner's Dilemma Game Moves’, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 30: 1175–85.
Ludlam, S. (2012) ‘Legitimacy and Political Culture in Cuba's Reform Strategy’, International Journal of Cuban Studies 4(3/4): 242–59.
Maignan, I. and D.A. Ralston. (2002) ‘Corporate Social Responsibility in Europe and the US: Insights from Businesses Self-Presentations’, Journal of International Business Studies 33(3): 497–514.
Marquis, C., M.A. Glynn and G.F. Davis. (2007) ‘Community Isomorphism and Corporate Social Action’, Academy of Management Review (Archive) 32(3): 925–45.
Matten, D. and J. Moon. (2008) ‘“Implicit” and “Explicit” CSR: A Conceptual Framework for a Comparative Understanding of Corporate Social Responsibility’, Academy of Management Review 33(2): 404–24.
Miller, D.T. (1999) ‘The Norm of Self-Interest’, American Psychologist 54(12): 1053–60.
Muthuri, J.N. and V. Gilbert. (2011) ‘An Institutional Analysis of Corporate Social Responsibility in Kenya’, Journal of Business Ethics 98: 467–83.
O'Sullivan, M. (2012) ‘The Economic Reforms in Cuba: Strengthening the Country's Essential Socialist character or a Transition to Capitalism? The Impact on Educated Youth’, International Journal of Cuban Studies 4(3/4): 321–46.
Purdy, J.M., E.A. Alexander and S. Neill. (2010) ‘The Impact of National Institutional Context on Social Practices: Comparing Finnish and US Business Communities’, European Journal of International Management 4(3): 234–56.
Reid, M. (24 March, 2012) ‘Revolution in Retreat’. The Economist , available at http://www.economist.com/node/21550418 (accessed 21/05/14).
Ritter, A. (2011) ‘The Sixth Party Congress and “Lineamientos”: A Turning Point for Cuba?’. Available at http://espaciolaical.org/contens/esp/sd_132.pdf. (Accessed 20 August 2013.)
Sagebien, J. (2012) ‘Project: Local Development in Cuba and Socially Responsible Enterprise’. Available at http://www.soleconomics.com/SolEconomics/Cuba.html. (Accessed 22 May 2014.)
Scherer, A.G. and M. Smid. (2000) ‘The Downward Spiral and the US Model Business Principles: Why MNEs Should Take Responsibility for the Improvement of World-Wide Social and Environmental Conditions’, Management International Review 40(4): 351–71.
Scott, W.R. (1987) ‘The Adolescence of Institutional Theory’, Administrative Science Quarterly 32: 493–511.
Scully, G.W. (2002) ‘Economic Freedom, Government Policy and the Trade-Off between Equity and Economic Growth’, Public Choice 113(1–2): 77–96.
Smith, A. (1776/1976) An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations . Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Stiglitz, J. (2003) The Roaring Nineties: Why We're Paying the Price for the Greediest Decade in History . London/New York: Penguin Books.
Suchman, M.C. (1995) ‘Managing Legitimacy: Strategic and Institutional Approaches’, Academy of Management Review 20(3): 571–610.
Tan, J. and L. Wang. (2011) ‘MNC Strategic Responses to Ethical Pressure: An Institutional Logic Perspective’, Journal of Business Ethics 98: 373–90.
Wilkinson, S. (2008) ‘Cuba's Tourism ‘boom’: A Curse or a Blessing?’, Third World Quarterly 29(5): 979–93.
Wilkinson, S. (2012) ‘Neither Beijing nor Hanoi but a Cuban Market Socialism?’, International Journal of Cuban Studies 4(3/4): 260–8.
Wood, D.J. (2010) ‘Measuring Corporate Social Performance: A Review’, International Journal of Management Reviews 12(1): 50–84.

Comments

Comment on this article

[1] Alberto, G. (2011) ‘Cuba: From State Socialism to a New Form of Market Socialism?’, Comparative Economic Studies 53: 647–85.

[2] Baden, D. (10–13 September, 2013) ‘Carroll's Pyramid of CSR Is Upside down!’, in British Academy of Management Annual Conference’, Liverpool, UK.

[3] Baden, D. and I.A. Harwood. (2013) ‘Terminology Matters: A Critical Exploration of Corporate Social Responsibility Terms’, Journal of Business Ethics 116: 615–27.

[4] Baden, D., I.A. Harwood and D.G. Woodward. (2011) ‘The Effects of Procurement Policies on “downstream” Corporate Social Responsibility Activity: Content-Analytic Insights into the Views and Actions of SME Owner-Managers’, International Small Business Journal 29(3): 259–77.

[5] Campbell, A. (2013) ‘Finding a New Road (Again) to a Socialist Economy and Socialist Well-Being in Cuba’, in A. Campbell (ed.) Cuban Economists on the Cuban Economy . Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida, pp. 1–22.

[6] Campbell, J.L. (2006) ‘Institutional Analysis and the Paradox of Corporate Social Responsibility’, American Behavioral Scientist 49(7): 925–38.

[7] Campbell, J.L. (2007) ‘Why Would Corporations Behave in Socially Responsible Ways? An Institutional Theory of Corporate Social Responsibility’, Academy of Management Review 32(3): 946–67.

[8] Carroll, A.B. (1979) ‘A Three-Dimensional Conceptual Model of Corporate Social Performance’, Academy of Management Review 4(4): 497–505.

[9] Castro, R. (2010) ‘Speech Delivered during the Closing Ceremony of the Sixth Session of the Seventh Legislature of the National People's Power Assembly, 18 December’. Available at http://www.cuba.cu/gobierno/rauldiscursos/2010/ing/r181210i.html.

[10] Chapple, W. and J. Moon. (2005) ‘Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in Asia’, Business & Society 44(4): 415–41.

[11] Choi, J. and H.L. Wang. (2009) ‘Stakeholder Relations and the Persistence of Corporate Financial Performance’, Strategic Management Journal 30(8): 895–907.

[12] Corporate Watch (ed.) (2006) What's Wrong with Corporate Social Responsibility? (Corporate Watch Report 2006). London: Corporate Watch.

[13] Farber, S. (2011) Cuba since the Revolution of 1959: A Critical Assessment . Chicago, IL: Haymarket Books.

[14] Ferraro, F., J. Pfeffer and R.I. Sutton. (2005) ‘Economics Language and Assumptions: How Theories Can Become Self-Fulfilling’, Academy of Management Review 30(1): 8–24.

[15] Friedman, M. (13 September, 1970) ‘The Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Its Profits’. The New York Times Magazine . Available at http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/dl/free/0073524697/910345/Appendices.pdf.

[16] Gabriele, A. (2013) ‘Five Decades of State Socialism in Cuba’, in A. Gabriele (ed.) The Economy of Cuba after the VI Party Congress . New York: Nova, pp. 7–56.

[17] Ghoshal, S. (2005) ‘Bad Management Theories Are Destroying Good Management Practices’, Academy of Management Learning & Education 4(1): 75–91.

[18] Hails, C., J. Loh and S. Goldfinger. (2006) Living Planet Report 2006 . Gland: WWF International; London: Institute of Zoology; Oakland, CA: Global Footprint Network.

[19] Harrison, J.S., D.A. Bosse and R.A. Phillips. (2010) ‘Managing for Stakeholders, Stakeholder Utility Functions, and Competitive Advantage’, Strategic Management Journal 31(1): 58–74.

[20] Higgins, E.R.E. (2003) ‘Part 2: Global Business Means Global Responsibilities: Research: Global Strategies — Contradictions and Consequences’, Corporate Governance 3(3): 52–66.

[21] Jackson, G. and A. Apostolakou. (2010) ‘Corporate Social Responsibility in Western Europe: An Institutional Mirror or Substitute?’, Journal of Business Ethics 94: 371–94.

[22] Kostova, T. and K. Roth. (2002) ‘Adoption of an Organizational Practice by Subsidiaries of Multinational Corporations: Institutional and Relational Effects’, Academy of Management Journal 45: 215–33.

[23] Lambie, G. (2012) ‘Editorial’, International Journal of Cuban Studies 4(2): 125–9.

[24] Liberman, V., S. Samuels and L. Ross. (2004) ‘The Name of the Game: Predictive Power of Reputation vs. Situational Labels in Determining Prisoner's Dilemma Game Moves’, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 30: 1175–85.

[25] Ludlam, S. (2012) ‘Legitimacy and Political Culture in Cuba's Reform Strategy’, International Journal of Cuban Studies 4(3/4): 242–59.

[26] Maignan, I. and D.A. Ralston. (2002) ‘Corporate Social Responsibility in Europe and the US: Insights from Businesses Self-Presentations’, Journal of International Business Studies 33(3): 497–514.

[27] Marquis, C., M.A. Glynn and G.F. Davis. (2007) ‘Community Isomorphism and Corporate Social Action’, Academy of Management Review (Archive) 32(3): 925–45.

[28] Matten, D. and J. Moon. (2008) ‘“Implicit” and “Explicit” CSR: A Conceptual Framework for a Comparative Understanding of Corporate Social Responsibility’, Academy of Management Review 33(2): 404–24.

[29] Miller, D.T. (1999) ‘The Norm of Self-Interest’, American Psychologist 54(12): 1053–60.

[30] Muthuri, J.N. and V. Gilbert. (2011) ‘An Institutional Analysis of Corporate Social Responsibility in Kenya’, Journal of Business Ethics 98: 467–83.

[31] O'Sullivan, M. (2012) ‘The Economic Reforms in Cuba: Strengthening the Country's Essential Socialist character or a Transition to Capitalism? The Impact on Educated Youth’, International Journal of Cuban Studies 4(3/4): 321–46.

[32] Purdy, J.M., E.A. Alexander and S. Neill. (2010) ‘The Impact of National Institutional Context on Social Practices: Comparing Finnish and US Business Communities’, European Journal of International Management 4(3): 234–56.

[33] Reid, M. (24 March, 2012) ‘Revolution in Retreat’. The Economist , available at http://www.economist.com/node/21550418 (accessed 21/05/14).

[34] Ritter, A. (2011) ‘The Sixth Party Congress and “Lineamientos”: A Turning Point for Cuba?’. Available at http://espaciolaical.org/contens/esp/sd_132.pdf. (Accessed 20 August 2013.)

[35] Sagebien, J. (2012) ‘Project: Local Development in Cuba and Socially Responsible Enterprise’. Available at http://www.soleconomics.com/SolEconomics/Cuba.html. (Accessed 22 May 2014.)

[36] Scherer, A.G. and M. Smid. (2000) ‘The Downward Spiral and the US Model Business Principles: Why MNEs Should Take Responsibility for the Improvement of World-Wide Social and Environmental Conditions’, Management International Review 40(4): 351–71.

[37] Scott, W.R. (1987) ‘The Adolescence of Institutional Theory’, Administrative Science Quarterly 32: 493–511.

[38] Scully, G.W. (2002) ‘Economic Freedom, Government Policy and the Trade-Off between Equity and Economic Growth’, Public Choice 113(1–2): 77–96.

[39] Smith, A. (1776/1976) An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations . Oxford: Clarendon Press.

[40] Stiglitz, J. (2003) The Roaring Nineties: Why We're Paying the Price for the Greediest Decade in History . London/New York: Penguin Books.

[41] Suchman, M.C. (1995) ‘Managing Legitimacy: Strategic and Institutional Approaches’, Academy of Management Review 20(3): 571–610.

[42] Tan, J. and L. Wang. (2011) ‘MNC Strategic Responses to Ethical Pressure: An Institutional Logic Perspective’, Journal of Business Ethics 98: 373–90.

[43] Wilkinson, S. (2008) ‘Cuba's Tourism ‘boom’: A Curse or a Blessing?’, Third World Quarterly 29(5): 979–93.

[44] Wilkinson, S. (2012) ‘Neither Beijing nor Hanoi but a Cuban Market Socialism?’, International Journal of Cuban Studies 4(3/4): 260–8.

[45] Wood, D.J. (2010) ‘Measuring Corporate Social Performance: A Review’, International Journal of Management Reviews 12(1): 50–84.

International Journal of Cuban Studies

Socially Responsible Enterprise in Cuba: A Positive Role Model for Corporate Social Responsibility?

Contributors

Journal

Affiliations

Article

History

Categories

Comment on this article