This paper explores how corporations, through their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities, can help to effect positive developmental change. We use research on institutional change, deinstitutionalization, and institutional work to develop our central theoretical framework. This framework allows us to suggest more explicitly how CSR can potentially be mobilized as a purposive form of institutional work aimed at disrupting existing institutions in favor of positive change. We take the gender institution in the Arab Middle East as a case in point. Our suggestion is that the current context of the Arab Spring, which combined with increasingly obvious endogenous institutional contradictions, has created a fertile ground for shaping change processes within the gender institution. Finally, we provide concrete examples of CSR initiatives that regional corporate actors can engage in for positive developmental change supporting women.
| First name | Last name | Gender | Rank | Affiliated Institution | Country |
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| Charlotte | Karam | Female | American University of Beirut | Lebanon | |
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Bio: Charlotte Karam, PhD is an associate professor at the Olayan School of Business, where she served as the Associate Dean of Programs and Chair of the Management, Marketing and Entrepreneurship Track. Awarded an Arab Fund Fellowship Distinguished Scholar award, Charlotte is currently on her research sabbatical at the Isenberg School of Business (UMass, Amherst) and the Five College Women's Studies Research Center (Massachusetts). Charlotte is an AUB representative of the World Economic Forum’s 2018-19 Global Future Councils, a board member of the PRME working group on Business for Peace, and is the Director of the Knowledge is Power (KIP) Project. In 2018, The KIP Project was recognized as one of AACSB 2018 Innovations that Inspire for the work focusing on combating sexual harassment. Dr. Karam was also recognized as a 2018 Global Gender Champion by the US. Department of State for this work. As lead investigator, Charlotte and the OSB-AUB team secured a $1.5 million grant for the development of the KIP Economic Indicator to measure women’s economic contributions in the Arab MENA. |
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| Dima | Jamali | Female | American University of Beirut | Lebanon | |
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Bio: N/A |
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Website |
Scientific field
Business & Public administration
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Start Year2012
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End Year 2013
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