Abstract

The article focuses on the adaptation of corporate structure for social responsibility. In recent years, powerful changes in the environment in which business must operate have made it extremely difficult for far-sighted businessmen to avoid taking a broader view of business responsibility. The selection of organizational arrangement also appears to be strongly related to characteristics of the industry; and industry characteristics, in turn, have been shown to be influential in the selection of areas of social involvement. The selection of structural means for making social decisions is related to a number of interdependent factors, including industry characteristics (such as the nature of technology and interface with the public), size of the firm, and areas of social involvement. Firms that are especially large in terms of either assets or number of employees tend to prefer permanent arrangements, and smaller firms are more likely to prefer more temporary arrangements.