CSR and SD, myths of substitution in enterprises which have a public service mission
This research address a parallel decline in the concept of public service and increase in importance of the notions of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainable development (SD) in France. It is based on neo-institutional theory as applied to the study of two organizations: La Poste and GDF Suez. It shows that in these enterprises, having both a public service mission, the concept of CSR-SD is a rationalized myth of substitution, which becomes institutionalized allowing to find a cognitive and normative legitimacy, a legitimacy reduced during their shift from the public service model to the market economy model.