Our Working Papers offer a variety of perspectives on defining, categorizing, and evaluating corporate social responsibility.  The Working Paper series includes the work of CSRI faculty, senior fellows, and staff members, as well as affiliated scholars from other institutions.  Most Working Papers are subsequently published in trade or peer-reviewed journals or as book chapters.

Government Clubs: Theory and Evidence from Voluntary Environmental Programs
Cary Coglianese and Jennifer Nash | May 2008 | CSRI Working Paper No. 50

Environmental Leadership Programs: Toward an Initial Assessment
Jonathan Borck, Cary Coglianese, and Jennifer Nash | May 2008 | CSRI Working Paper No. 49

Evaluating the Social Effects of Performance-Based Environmental Programs
Jonathan Borck, Cary Coglianese, and Jennifer Nash | May 2008 | CSRI Working Paper No. 48

Evaluating the Impact of SA 8000 Certification
Michael J. Hiscox, Claire Schwartz, and Michael W. Toffel | May 2008 | CSRI Working Paper No. 47

Coming Clean and Cleaning Up: Is Voluntary Disclosure a Signal of Effective Self-policing?
Michael W. Toffel and Jodi L. Short | May 2008 | CSRI Working Paper No. 46

CSR and Public Policy: New Forms of Engagement between Business and Government
Jane Nelson | May 2008 | CSRI Working Paper No. 45

Corporations and Human Rights: A Survey of the Scope and Patterns of Alleged Corporate-Related Human Rights Abuse
Michael Wright | April 2008 | CSRI Working Paper No. 44

Corporate Social Responsibility through an Economic Lens
Forest L. Reinhardt, Robert N. Stavins, and Richard H.K. Vietor | April 2008 | CSRI Working Paper No. 43

Investment Agreements and Human Rights: The Effects of Stabilization Clauses
Andrea Shemberg | March 2008 | CSRI Working Paper No. 42

Rights-Compatible Grievance Mechanisms: A Guidance Tool for Companies and Their Stakeholders
January 2008 | CSRI Working Paper No. 41

Grievance Mechanisms for Business and Human Rights: Strengths, Weaknesses, and Gaps
Caroline Rees| January 2008 | CSRI Working Paper No. 40

Shamed and Able: How Firms Respond to Information Disclosure
Aaron K. Chatterji and Michael W. Toffel | September 2007 | CSRI Working Paper No. 39

Business and Human Rights: The Evolving International Agenda
John Ruggie | June 2007 | CSRI Working Paper No. 38

Overview of a Selection of Existing Accountability Mechanisms for Handling Complaints and Disputes
Caroline Rees | June 2007 | CSRI Working Paper No. 37

The Rise of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) as a Case of Institutional Entrepreneurship
Halina Szejnwald Brown, Martin de Jong, and Teodorina Lessidrenska | May 2007 | CSRI Working Paper No. 36

Encouraging CSI in Italy: The Enabling Role of Government in Mandating, Motivating, and Supporting Responsible Business Practices
Francesco Perrini | April 2007 | CSRI Working Paper No. 35

The Operation of Non- Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in a World of Corporate and Other Codes of Conduct
Jane Nelson | March 2007 | CSRI Working Paper No. 34

How Well Do Social Ratings Actually Measure Corporate Social Responsibility?
Aaron K. Chatterji, David I. Levine, and Michael W. Toffel | February 2007 | CSRI Working Paper No. 33

Building the Institutional Infrastructure for Corporate Social Responsibility
Sandra Waddock | December 2006 | CSRI Working Paper No. 32

Business Recognition of Human Rights: Global Patterns, Regional and Sectoral Variations
Michael Wright and Amy Lehr | December 2006 | CSRI Working Paper No. 31

Social Risk as Strategic Risk
Tamara Bekefi, Beth Jenkins, and Beth Kytle | December 2006 | CSRI Working Paper No. 30

Meaningful Change: Raising the Bar in Supply Chain Workplace Standards
Roseann Casey | November 2006 | CSRI Working Paper No. 29

Human Rights Policies and Management Practices of Fortune Global 500 Firms: Results of a Survey
John Ruggie | October 2006 | CSRI Working Paper No. 28

Constructing the License to Operate: Internal Factors and their Influence on Corporate
Environmental Decisions
Jennifer Howard-Grenville, Jennifer Nash, and Cary Coglianese | August 2006 | CSRI Working Paper No. 27

Beyond Corporate Codes of Conduct: Work Organization and Labor Standards in Two
Mexican Garment Factories
Richard Locke and Monica Romis | August 2006 | CSRI Working Paper No. 26

Operating in Insecure Environments
Jane Nelson | August 2006 | CSRI Working Paper No. 25

Does Monitoring Improve Labor Standards?: Lessons from Nike
Richard Locke, Fei Quin, and Alberto Brause | July 2006 | CSRI Working Paper No. 24

Governing Collaborative Governance: Enhancing Development Outcomes by Improving Partnership Governance and Accountability
Simon Zadek and Sasha Radovich | April 2006 | CSRI Working Paper No. 23

Leveraging the Development Impact of Business in the Fight against Global Poverty
Jane Nelson | April 2006 | CSRI Working Paper No. 22

Uncommon Partners: The Power of Foundation and Corporation Collaboration
Mark Kramer, Marc Pfitzer and Karin Jestin | March 2006 | CSRI Working Paper No. 21

Investing in Social Innovation: Harnessing the Potential of Partnership between Corporations and Social Entrepreneurs
Jane Nelson and Beth Jenkins | March 2006 | CSRI Working Paper No. 20

Business Ethics: The Law of Rules
Michael L. Michael | March 2006 | CSRI Working Paper No. 19

Game Changing CSR
Mark Kramer and John Kania | February 2006 | CSRI Working Paper No. 18

The Logic of Collaborative Governance: Corporate Responsibility, Accountability, and the Social Contract
Simon Zadek | January 2006 | CSRI Working Paper No. 17

Doctrinal Unilateralism and its Limits:  America and Global Governance in the New Century
John Gerard Ruggie | January 2006 | CSRI Working Paper No. 16

The Strategic Use of Decentralized Institutions: Exploring Certification with the ISO 14001 Management Standard
Andrew A. King, Michael J. Lenox, and Ann Terlaak | December 2005 | CSRI Working Paper No. 15

Signaling Social Responsibility
Jason Scott Johnston | November 2005 | CSRI Working Paper No. 14

Corporate Citizenship in a Global Context
Jane Nelson | May 2005 | CSRI Working Paper No. 13

Public Sector Capacity, Corporate Responsibility, and Corporate Profitability in Africa
Malcolm F. McPherson | April 2005 | CSRI Working Paper No. 12

Legitimacy and Corporate Governance
Cary Coglianese | March 2005 | CSRI Working Paper No. 11

Corporate Social Responsibility as Risk Management
Beth Kytle and John Gerard Ruggie | March 2005 | CSRI Working Paper No. 10

The Role of the Private Sector in Global Governance
Jane Nelson | January 2005 | CSRI Working Paper No. 9

Building Public Sector Capacity to Address HIV/AIDS: The Role of the Private Sector
Jane Nelson | January 2005 | CSRI Working Paper No. 8

Values-Based Performance: Seven Strategies for Delivering Profits with Principles
Ira Jackson and Jane Nelson | December 2004 | CSRI Working Paper No. 7

Reconstituting the Global Public Domain: Issues, Actors and Practices
John Gerard Ruggie | December 2004 | CSRI Working Paper No. 6

American Exceptionalism and Global Governance: A Tale of Two Worlds?
John Gerard Ruggie | April 2004 | CSRI Working Paper No. 5

Turning Ethical Values into Business Value
Jane Nelson | March 2004 | CSRI Working Paper No. 4

On Creating Public Value: What Business Might Learn from Government about Strategic Management
Mark Moore and Sanjeev Khagram | March 2004 | CSRI Working Paper No. 3

On Collaborative Governance
John Donahue | March 2004 | CSRI Working Paper No. 2

The Public Role of Private Enterprise: Risks, Opportunities and New Models of Engagement
Jane Nelson | February 2004 | CSRI Working Paper No. 1