Untangling Corporate Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility: An Evolutionary Analysis

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate sustainability (CS) are constructs that have gained traction both in academic and practitioner literature. Still, they often need clarification and are used interchangeably. This situation is problematic because it prevents knowledge creation and hampers the ability to compare and integrate findings across research streams. To address this problem, this paper traces the historical evolution of each construct through the action-network theory lens. In doing so, we pursue two goals: first, to understand the roots of constructs’ evolution, and second, to shed light on the commonalities and differences between CSR and CS. Our research provides an evolutionary concept analysis that identifies CS as the dominant construct in the near future and uncovers eight dimensions that have characterized research across the two fields: legitimacy, voluntarism, driving forces, purpose, origin, stakeholders, time frame, and impact. Our analysis will help scholars identify opportunities for future research and practitioners to acknowledge the role of businesses in making our world a more sustainable place.