De-densifying the black hole – what if professional discretion strongly influences corporate social responsibility?

Purpose This study aims to explore the role of discretion anatomy and multiplicity to show how discretion components, range, levels and goals can direct corporate social responsibility (CSR) and prevent corporate social irresponsibility (CSiR). This paper shifts the discretion perspective towards composition to enable a full assessment of the impact of discretion on CSR and CSiR. Design/methodology/approach This study overlays discretion and CSR theory onto the South African engineering context using professional competency standards set by the national accrediting body to develop a set of principles. Findings A model with 16 principles is proposed to establish relationships between the decision dynamics of technical professionals, social principles, social responsiveness and social outcomes. Practical implications The principles can be used by professionals to determine how their technical decisions can drive socially responsible acts and prevent socially irresponsible acts. Originality/value This paper integrates Wood’s (1991) and Frederick’s (2018) CSR perspectives with recent discretion theory developments. This paper centres high-discretion managers who typically occupy key positions in organisational structures where daily technical decisions can have generational social impact.