["Business Ethics, the Environment &Responsibility, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nGiven the growing importance of corporate social responsibility (CSR) to business, firms are increasingly taking a strategic approach to their CSR efforts. This study aims to explore how elements of managerial cognition interact to underpin firms' choices for specific CSR strategies. Following an abductive approach, we conduct qualitative research among six small and medium‐sized enterprises in China to develop a cognition‐based framework for CSR strategy. We discover that integrative complexity and temporal orientation work together to shape managers' strategic goals with respect to CSR, thereby leading to distinct CSR strategies. Based on our analysis, we develop a set of testable propositions that improve our understanding of CSR strategies and their cognitive foundations. Our findings contribute to the CSR literature by advancing knowledge of how different patterns of managerial cognition shape specific CSR strategies, with important implications for managers and policymakers aiming to foster CSR strategies that create shared value for business and society.\n"]