Social audit as a control mechanism of the firms’ social responsibility: the methodology of Theodore J. Kreps

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to develop an analysis that shows the divergent perspectives arising from the differences between the treatment established under the concept of Social Responsibility and the concept of Social Audit in the measurement, recognition and disclosure of social and environmental elements in business practices.
Thus, the main differences that arise from the application of both approaches, noting the need for the firm should report on their social responsibility in such a way that is broader and more transparent to the society where they operateand interact in financial, social and environmental terms.
Hence, this article reviews the work of Kreps to be a comprehensive overview of the usefulness of their methodology asa control mechanism of social responsibility of companies.
For this purpose, this paper shows the study of Theodore J. Kreps that was the first academic research that applied the social audit methodology. Hence, this article develops a review of the Kreps’ research was developed to be a comprehen- sive overview of the usefulness of his approach as a mechanism for control of firm’s Social Responsibility.
The results show that the contribution of Kreps is to propose a methodology that represents a structured communica- tion process by independent agents that are outside the area of influence of business. This means a contribution to the literature because the model proposed by Kreps, unlike traditional Social Responsibility reports (made internal from the inner sphere of companies), is developing from the external environment, promoting collaboration with other firmsand economic agents sharing resources and thus providing social benefits for the entire community.