Instrumental use of corporate social responsibility and capitalist activism

This study highlights how the concept of “social responsibility” has been transformed into “corporate social responsibility” (CSR) which is detached from its both etymology and epistemology, and investigates how and in what ways the concept of “corporate social responsibility” in which the concept of “social responsibility” has been transformed as an invention of instrumental reason, is implemented by organizations for their own purposes to ensure their sustainability within the capitalist system. The objectives found out and identified in this study are examined under four headings; CSR for brand image, CSR for reputation management, CSR for exchange value and CSR for symbiosis. Among these four objectives, the concepts of “exchange value” and “symbiosis” are associated with the concept of “corporate social responsibility” for the first time in this study. It also brings a critical perspective to the concept of corporate social responsibility within the framework of “capitalist activism”, a concept proposed in this study for the first time and constitutes the grounded theory of the study, which argues that society is also instrumentalized for corporate purposes. In this study, Critical Discourse Studies have been conducted through the texts and visuals of corporate social responsibility projects implemented in Turkey in digital media and in line with the news in digital media related to projects and the brands which realize the projects. In this context, this study is expected to contribute to the critical political economy perspective, the disciplines of public relations and business administration regarding to the concept of corporate social responsibility.