Corporate Social Responsibility strategies in the utilities sector: A comparative study

This paper aims to study the institutional dynamics that characterize the development of a CSR strategy in a specific industry, the utilities industry, and analyses how these dynamics can result in heterogeneity and diversity in companies’ CSR strategies. The conceptual framework is provided by previous works in the field of CSR that identify the dimensions along which CSR is evolving and the institutional forces that influence companies’ choices with respect to CSR strategies. The empirical analysis is based on a multiple case study of three utilities operating in Italy with data collected through various sources, including analysis of documents and semi-structured interviews. The case analysis shows how the interplay of various institutional logics provides a relevant explanation for both similarities and differences in the strategies enacted by the companies. Some pressures are dominant at the industry level, leading to homogeneity in the strategies implemented (i.e., all of the case companies focus on local territories for CSR development), while other pressures are conflicting; institutional conflicts bring to the forefront the relevance of managerial choices, resulting in heterogeneous strategies (i.e., diversified ways of balancing CSR objectives and industrial ones).