International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Vol. 10 • No. 5 • May 2020 doi:10.30845/ijhss.v10n5p3 20 Church Social Doctrine contribution to Corporate Social Responsibility: a critical analysis Maria Rosaria Sessa Vincenzo Serpe Daniela Sica Ornella Malandrino Department of Management & Innovation Systems University of Salerno Via Giovanni Paolo II 132 – 84084 Fisciano (SA) – Italy Abstract The present work aims to analyse the contribution of the Social Doctrine of the Church (SDC) to the progressive and rapid evolution of the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) concept. The proposal to recognise the Social Doctrine of the Church, as a valid instrument to extend the logic of corporate governance not only to the protection and respect the environment but also to the protection and respect of social welfare, is based on the idea that it is possible to do business also through the implementation of SDC principles such as solidarity, subsidiary, the universal destination of goods and the common good. Keywords: Social Doctrine; Social Responsibility; Sustainability; Church; Enterprise Introduction The problematic link between ethics and business has, for years, been at the centre of wide and controversial debates both in the academic field and in business management. The relationship between ethical values and the business world is difficult to understand because there are different theories, approaches and considerations on the subject, by authoritative scholars belonging to different disciplines. The succession of conflicting reactions is probably due to at least two reasons: the substantial incompatibility between ethical values and economic fundamentals and the fact that ethical values belong to the sphere of subjective values, i.e. individual conscience. This implies two different consequences: individual relativism, for which there is the impossibility of arriving at a universally accepted truth, i.e. the definition of objective ethical principles recognized by all, and cultural relativism, for which a commonality of values and the affirmation of rational ethics is possible, since ethics is also conditioned by the principles that unite individuals in relation to the context and social role (Testa, 2007). These currents of thought have led, over time, to the affirmation of two opposing theses: the first is based on the separation between ethical values and the economic world, while the second on the integration of these aspects. The first concept, supported among others by authors such as Freeman (1984), is based on the assumption of the incompatibility between ethical aspects and business management, since they constitute opposing categories. It is an amoral vision of the entrepreneurial reality, arising from the conviction that the economic dimension dominates the decision-making logic and behaviour of businessmen, according to the principle of economic rationality. Instead, the second thesis is based on the conviction that ethical values and economic performance can be integrated. In particular, some scholars (Collins and Porras, 1994) argue that those organizations capable of incorporating ethical-social objectives into their mission and translating the principles of ethics into shared values that permeate the organizational culture, will be more likely to survive in the long term (Testa, 2007). Beyond this binomial that survived until a few decades ago, today, the opinion that gives the company an ethical dimension is widely accepted, even if it is a thesis that can still arouse scepticism and bitter criticism (Manetti, 2006). In a context such as the current one, characterized by: the important economic growth in the USA, Europe and Japan, the fragmentation of ownership, the increase in power of multinationals, the weight of the external costs of organizations, the globalization of markets and the increase in the degree of complexity of management issues, the centrality of the debate on the existence or not of a sort of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is favoured. It is in this scenario that the principles of the Social Doctrine of the Church are placed, as a possible contribution to the effective realization of Corporate Social Responsibility. Therefore, the aim of the work is to investigate the role of the Social Doctrine of the Church in the field of Corporate Social Responsibility, in particular through the analysis of the project "Economy of Communion" which is based on the promotion of an economic practice and culture