Have we “lost” it?

Purpose – Examines how a company can formulate, embed and benefit from a corporate‐responsibility program. Design – Advances the view that, to many Victorian business people, corporate responsible behavior was implicit in how they undertook their business, but modern companies appear to have “lost” it, to such an extent that firms today are being encouraged to act in a corporately social manner. Highlights what has been lost and focuses on how to go about replacing it. Findings – Details the importance of: identifying the purpose and values of the business; helping employees to understand the company's policies and to “live” them at work; providing an effective means for employees to raise concerns that they have; and promulgating the values externally. Practical implications – Demonstrates that corporate social responsibility can enhance company reputation, which will usually feed through to the share price and lower costs of borrowing – all of which help the bottom line. Originality/value – Contends that employees in a company with high corporate social responsibility are able to feel proud of the organization, which in turn will lead to attracting quality staff and lower staff turnover. Suppliers and customers, too, will want to align themselves on the basis that success breeds success.