An exploratory study of the historical landscape of corporate social responsibility in the UK

Purpose - This paper aims to piece together chronologically the events and revolutionary acts that have been taken by groups of individuals, entrepreneurs/industrialists and corporate entities in the UK which fall under the ambit of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in order to derive the history of CSR in the country. Design/methodology/approach - Data from literature and prior studies were used to gather the required information in order to contribute to knowledge about the history of CSR, at least from the perspective of the UK. Findings - The results suggest that individuals in groups, industrialists/entrepreneurs acting individually, and even corporate entities have been indirectly engaged in CSR activities in the UK for well over 200 years. Altruistic CSR in the UK has a long history. Originality/value - Information on how CSR evolved in the UK and elsewhere is considered to be valuable by both academic researchers and business managers, as it provides a framework on which future studies can be based. In addition, it improves the understanding of how the field originally started before it reached its current state.