Rediscovering Howard R. Bowen’s Legacy

Abstract

Many business and society scholars hail Howard R. Bowen as the founding father of the academic conception and study of corporate social responsibility (CSR). Yet little is known widely about his life and the true agenda of Social Responsibilities of the Businessman (Bowen), his landmark book. This article explores the historical and current significance of Bowen’s seminal work. The authors contend that the analytical perspective Bowen proposed nearly 60 years ago, although regrettably underappreciated in past decades, is more relevant than ever to stimulating future research on CSR and to revitalizing business and society scholarship.