ABSTRACT
Some business enterprises have always been prepared to adopt the mantle of corporate social responsibility by assuming certain non-economic activities, supporting charities, founding educational trusts and so on. This chapter suggests that certain kinds of businesses have recently begun to be propelled much further in this direction, whether by choice, necessity or both. Indeed, the evidence from the empirical study suggests that some businesses are in the process of becoming key agents of cultural and political change in their own right and so are contributing, often unwittingly, to the formulation and dissemination of certain Utopian ideas that may prove ever more relevant in the coming years. There is every likelihood that enterprises will become exposed to increasing amounts of detailed examination and political pressure from a wide range of nongovernmental organisations (NGOs,) local voluntary groups, colleges and schools, the media and consumer research organizations such as the Ethical Investment Research Service (EIRIS) and many others concerned with these issues.
