The aim of this research is to analyze how and why corporate social responsibility (CSR) policy has become structurally integrated in the institutions which comprise the electronics manufacturing sector, and to examine its role and effects upon globalization through its international supply chains. Firstly, through the analytical tools of cultural theory and against the background of risk society in late modernity, CSR is investigated and revealed as a defensive institutional response to reputational risk and legitimacy. Secondly, cultural theory allows us to analyze CSR in the sector as a socio-dynamic process resulting in the pressure on companies to broaden their organizational culture by increasing their affinity for egalitarian values. Several sectorial effects of this are analyzed: the role that CSR activity has in competitive practices through isomorphism, how ethical ranking systems enhance the homogeneity of CSR activity, and the impact of consumers’ CSR responsiveness. After considering the integration of CSR in a corporate institution, then its effects upon the sectorial environment, I consider the impact that CSR can have on globalization and development. Thus, the third dimension of this work is CSR’s initiation of impact along supply chains where most unethical abuses occur. This invites a re-evaluation of the processes of globalization and their effects upon development. Through the work of Amartya Sen, Jean Tirole and others, the impact of CSR in electronics supply chains is critically evaluated indicating how structural intervention in developing societies could be envisaged. The fieldwork for this empirical investigation consisted of visits to industrial plants in China and interviews with management and workers; interviews with executives of multinational corporations, CSR auditors and consultants, and activists of international trade union associations; participation in several sector-wide stakeholder meetings; and the analyses of industry documents, reports, diverse forms of media coverage, and documentaries.