“Check your cognitive dissonance at the door”: corporate social responsibility driving Anti-Ism policies for inclusive growth

Organizations that align corporate social responsibility (CSR) with their corporate philosophy and governance achieve business and social growth and development by maintaining a successful stakeholder relationship. However, too many demonstrate cognitive dissonance in relation to their CSR engagement; that is, they state to be socially responsible yet participate in unethical and questionable practices. Isms are the clearest form of firms’ cognitive dissonance; the question is how can firms achieve inclusive growth while tolerating and/or enabling isms? The objective of this conceptual study is to understand the effects of cognitive dissonance related to CSR engagement on the lack of social and business growth and development. The study contributes to existing literature related to corporate social responsibility and business ethics and understanding of how firms can achieve inclusive growth by tackling CSR-related cognitive dissonance. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.