Purpose This paper aims to critically examine how corporations strategically use corporate social responsibility (CSR) to protect legitimacy, influence public policy and optimize fiscal outcomes. Rather than treating CSR as a primarily ethical or reputational practice, the study adopts the Elite-Linked CSR Framework, which conceptualizes CSR as a three-dimensional mechanism shaping power relations among business, the state and society. The framework emphasizes how governance structures mediate CSR’s capacity to generate genuine social value. Design/methodology/approach The study uses a qualitative, critical–interpretive approach, analyzing a corpus of 30 publicly available CSR reports, government documents, investigative media studies and non government organization publications across five industries and four global regions. Guided by Braun and Clarke’s thematic analysis and supported by NVivo coding, the research identifies recurring discursive patterns, governance mechanisms and fiscal–political dynamics, ensuring methodological transparency and systematic triangulation. Findings Results show that CSR frequently operates as a performative façade that legitimizes corporate authority while shifting public responsibilities to the private sector. Across Global South and Global North contexts, CSR reinforces elite control through visibility-driven interventions, policy partnerships and tax-aligned philanthropy. However, positive deviant cases demonstrate that participatory, community-driven governance can moderate CSR’s instrumental tendencies. These findings substantiate the Elite-Linked CSR Framework by showing how CSR simultaneously serves reputational, regulatory and fiscal functions. Research limitations/implications Results show that CSR frequently operates as a performative façade that legitimizes corporate authority while shifting public responsibilities to the private sector. Across Global South and Global North contexts, CSR reinforces elite control through visibility-driven interventions, policy partnerships and tax-aligned philanthropy. However, positive deviant cases demonstrate that participatory, community-driven governance can moderate CSR’s instrumental tendencies. These findings substantiate the Elite-Linked CSR Framework by showing how CSR simultaneously serves reputational, regulatory and fiscal functions. Practical implications Policymakers should link CSR incentives to independently verified community outcomes, mandate transparency in corporate government agreements and apply the CSR Instrumentality Index to assess strategic behavior. Originality/value By integrating reputational, political and fiscal dimensions within a unified framework, the study reframes CSR as a contested arena of power and advances a participatory, justice-oriented approach centered on governance design rather than corporate rhetoric.
Raed Awashreh (Wed,) studied this question.