History and Etymology

“Accountability” stems from late Latin accomptare (to account), a prefixed form of computare (to calculate), which in turn derived fromputare (to reckon). While the word itself does not appear in English until its use in 13th century Norman England, the concept of account-giving has ancient roots in record keeping activities related to governance and money-lending systems that first developed in Ancient Israel, Babylon, Egypt, Greece, and later, Rome.

Though the roots of the concept that we know today as corporate social responsibility have a long and wide-ranging history, it is mostly a product of the twentieth century, especially from the early 1950s up to the present time. In spite of its recent growth and popularity, one can trace for centuries evidence of the business community’s concern for society. To help appreciate the context in which CSR grew and flourished, the late 1800s, or the Industrial Revolution, was considered to be beginning point. Earlier corporate social responsibility concepts and practices were referred to as just ‘social responsibility’ (SR) before the rise and dominance of the corporate form of business organization. Eventually, the concept and practice of SR or CSR has grown, manifested itself and flourished. Over the years the concept has changed and grown in terms of its meaning as well as practice. That is in practice it expanded its focus from few stakeholders close at hand to far reaching and inclusive, eventually becoming global in scope. In addition, organizational activities and changes have taken place to accommodate these new initiatives, to the point at which it has become fully institutionalized today. It will become apparent that today, well into the first decade of the 2000s, CSR in many firms is moving towards full integration with strategic management and corporate governance. This has included firms developing management and organizational mechanisms for reporting and control on business’s socially conscious policies and practices. It is also apparent that the range of stakeholders and issues defining CSR has broadened, especially in the past several decades.

Formal writings on social responsibility are largely a product of the twentieth century, especially the past 50 years or so. Though it is possible to see evidence of CSR throughout the world, mostly in the developed countries, most early writings have been most obvious in the United States where a sizable body of literature has accumulated. In the past decade, however, Europe has become captivated with CSR and there is considerable evidence that scholars and practitioners in Europe are taking seriously this social concern, often manifested in the form of formal writings, research, conferences, and consultancies. More recently, countries in Asia have begun increasing their attention to CSR policies and practices. At the same time, CSR and related notions have been developed in practice and thought in a number of other countries and at different times.