Who gets to decide in CSR projects? The micro-foundations of CSR and intra-organizational power dynamics

A micro-turn in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) research has been growing scholarly attention on what happens internally when CSR is developed and implemented in firms. However, the concept of power remains relatively neglected in micro-CSR studies. Therefore, in this study we ask, how individuals in CSR teams experience internal organizational power dynamics influenced by informal institutions in CSR implementation? Based on interviews with 56 team members in 16 CSR project teams from small-and medium-sized enterprises in Vietnam, we explore the power dynamics of CSR implementation within organizations. Our findings identify three dimensions of power (relational, discursive, and performative) influencing different mechanisms of internal power dynamics (refraining, accumulating and coercing) in CSR implementation, leading to different perceived outcomes (integrated, fragmented, and symbolic) across CSR teams.