Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) actors

Although there is growing recognition that NGOs play a crucial role in driving the CSR agenda of business and in implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, academic literature on how NGOs impact the formulation and implementation of CSR or corporate codes remains limited. As Switzerland is home to a high number of both national and international NGOs, the Swiss NGO landscape is particularly interesting for researching the role of the not-for-profit sector in furthering sustainable development. More precisely, the research examines how Swiss NGOs perceive their roles in influencing the CSR or sustainability agendas of corporations and what kinds of influence strategies they apply within this attempt. Furthermore, possible challenges that can pose threats to the legitimacy of NGOs or that can occur during the process of impacting the CSR of firms are depicted. Assuming that NGOs can influence corporate decision-making regarding CSR via various influence strategies, and that the definition of NGOs as secondary stakeholders is no longer adequate, this study applies a qualitative approach through conducting fourteen in-depth expert interviews with fourteen professionals from NGOs, representing Swiss-based NGOs with both social and environmental sustainability missions. The research contributes to a growing body of scholarship that underlines the importance of NGOs as crucial actors in influencing managerial decision making (Frooman & Murrell, 2005; Yaziji & Doh, 2009; Zietsma & Winn, 2008) by demonstrating, firstly, the wide set of strategies that NGOs employ to influence the CSR agenda of firms. Moreover, it can be said that attitudes toward CSR do affect how NGOs perceive their roles in influencing the CSR agenda of corporations, as they can predict the selection of certain influence strategies. More specifically, coercive strategies such as the implementation of manifestations or the execution of a social media campaign against irresponsible corporations are mainly used by NGOs who possess a critical attitude towards CSR, while collaborative strategies such as cross-sector partnerships or discussion round tables are mainly applied by NGOs who are less critical of CSR. Furthermore, differences between the two different camps of NGOs (critical vs. in favor of CSR) can be detected in the usage of pathway strategies or, in other words, the inclusion of allies such as the government or ordinary citizens. Overall, the results show that both forms of strategies can impact the sustainability agendas of businesses. Although Swiss NGOs prove to be vital actors in driving sustainability agendas, it has to be noted that contextual constraints as well as factors referring to the organizational structure of a firm can impede the ability of NGOs to effectively impact CSR. In addition to these challenges, NGOs who apply collaborative strategies face the risks of being co-opted by the business sector. Being aware of such challenges and knowing how to manage potential risks, allows NGOs to maintain legitimacy. Last but not least, limitations of the study and implications for future research are highlighted.