Examining the South Korean Government’s partial adoption of ISO 26000: a neo-Gramscian analysis of state involvement in political CSR

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine why the South Korean Government chose to partially adopt ISO 26000 labor-related provisions. It explores how the state selectively incorporated certain elements of this international standard while marginalizing others and analyzes the political and economic interests that shaped this process. Design/methodology/approach A neo-Gramscian theoretical perspective guides the analysis. The data comprise 21 semistructured interviews with government officials, NGO and business association representatives, corporate social responsibility (CSR) managers and academics in South Korea, supplemented by policy documents, corporate CSR reports and labor union working papers related to ISO 26000. Thematic analysis was used to identify recurring patterns in state strategy, stakeholder responses and the selective deployment of ISO 26000 labor-related provisions. Findings The analysis reveals that the South Korean Government’s partial adoption of ISO 26000 reflects a spectrum of administrative constraints, political calculation and ideological commitment that together produced a hegemonic outcome: labor-related provisions compatible with neoliberal competitiveness and corporate reputational management were endorsed, while provisions supporting genuine worker empowerment and binding accountability were marginalized. Rather than fostering substantive labor reform, this selective adoption functioned as a passive revolution, absorbing labor activism through institutional accommodation while preserving the state-conglomerate alliance. Originality/value This study makes three contributions to the political CSR literature. Conceptually, its recenters the state as an active strategic agent in global CSR governance, directly challenging the firm-centric bias of early political CSR scholarship. Theoretically, it extends Levy et al.’s (2016) value regime framework to state-led CSR governance, showing how governments deploy international labor standards to sustain state-business coalitions. Empirically, it provides a non-Western developmental state case showing how passive revolution operates through voluntary international standards.