IGOR FILATOTCHEV | Professor of Corporate Governance and Strategy, King’s College London
CHIZU NAKAJIMA | Professor of Law, Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, University of London and ESG Integration
Research and Education Center, University of Osaka
GÜNTER K. STAHL | Professor of International Management, and Director, Centre for Sustainability Transformation
and Responsibility (STaR), Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU Vienna)

Building on research on corporate social responsibility (CSR) and institutional theory, this paper explores firms’ perspectives on and approaches to the “S” (the social responsibility dimension) of the ESG framework in different institutional and organizational contexts. Building on studies grounded in institutional and organizational theories we argue that the scope and effectiveness of S strategies may differ depending on the legal system and institutional characteristics in a specific country. Our discussion suggests that researchers need to develop more holistic, institutionally embedded research frameworks to analyze organizational approaches to ESG.