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The aim of this article is to develop a better understanding of the institutional and organizational roots of Corporate Social Responsibility. In the first step, we seek to understand the origins of the widespread call for Corporate Social Responsibility. We distinguish an institutional call which came from a lack of regulation of the old Fordist system and, more broadly, a societal call, caused by the fast growing issue of negative external effect. In the second step, we try to understand why firms embrace the logic of a broader social responsibility and we describe the conditions for an effective management of negative external effect. Finally, we focus on the limits of Corporate Social Responsibility and negative external effect management.