Corporate Governance and Corporate Social Responsibility in Profit- and in Non-Profit-Organizations

Corporate Governance governs corporations. To discuss the law and economics of corporations, their performance on the market and management control by legislation and government, is to discuss Corporate Governance. Now, Corporate Governance is being challenged by a new concept to conceive the role of corporations in the world and to control their managers: this is the concept of Corporate Social Responsibilty (CSR). This concept focuses on other than merely profit centered functions of corporations; rather, performance of corporations is measured by criteria of good corporate citizenship. In the Non-Profit sector, corporations also play a major role, although organizations in this sector typically differ from business corporations in several aspects. Yet, deficits of transparency and control of NPO are being discussed here as well. The tendency is to draw from the concept of corporate governance to develop appropriate remedies. Furthermore, the discussion of Corporate Social Responsibilty has also made its way to the NPO sector.