Establishing Common Ground in Corporate Digital Responsibility: Integrating Understandings, Definitions, and Expert Perspectives

While digitalization presents numerous opportunities for stakeholders such as better access to education, participation, and innovation, it also introduces risks and challenges, including data privacy and algorithmic bias. The concept of Corporate Digital Responsibility (CDR) emerged in this context, aiming at a responsible digitalization that benefits stakeholders while avoiding harm or negative impacts. The concept gains increasing attention in research and practice; however, we still lack one commonly accepted high-level definition. The goal of this publication is to consolidate expert perspectives from research, practice, civil society, and public institutions to create a joint definition of CDR. Through an iterative approach involving reviewing definitions in practice and research, discussions, and an expert workshop, we aim to establish a definition of CDR that is applicable across research, practice, and regulatory contexts. Ultimately, this unified definition seeks to facilitate the operationalization of CDR, thereby enhancing its practical applicability and scholarly discourse.