conclusion for csr essay

Essay on Corporate Social Responsibility

This report provides information on whether the benefits of CSR outweigh the drawbacks. The report shows that the benefits of CSR are more than the drawbacks and managers should consider implementing the strategy. The research utilizes the use of secondary resources to conclude. Most of the authors used in this report show that CSR has more advantages such as consumer satisfaction, financial performance, productivity, and promotes relationships among the companies, the stakeholders, and society. This research informs the managers on the benefits of executing CSR in their companies. More so, it provides information on few drawbacks that the managers should be prepared to experience. The study adds new information concerning the comparison of advantages and disadvantages of CSR which makes it easier to determine if the strategy should be implemented in companies.

Corporate Social Responsibility

Introduction

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a self-controlling model of business that helps business organizations to be socially accountable to the public, stakeholders, and self. Through CSR, companies have conscious of how that affects society environmentally, socially, and economically as they do their businesses (Basuony et al., 2014). Engaging in CSR means that companies are operating in ways that improve society and its environment. As much as CSR influences companies to translate the principles into practical activities, some of the researchers show that CSR may harm companies, stakeholders, and consumers.

Research Questions

Do the positive impacts outweigh the negative effects of CSR among the companies?

Despite some of the researchers revealing the negative impacts of CSR, there are many positive influences that companies, stakeholders, and consumers experience. Companies should ensure that they are responsible for themselves, society, stakeholders, and consumers. This promotes the positive impact of business in society without other people suffering the implications of unethical business activities. However, it is linked to few drawbacks such as costs, conflicts in the profit motive, and “green washing” of customers.

Methodology

This report will utilize secondary sources for review to come up with conclusions. Articles that are less than 10 years old will be used to develop conclusions on whether CSR is effective among companies and if the benefits outweigh the drawbacks.

Literature Review

Based on a substantiation from Mena country, Basuony et al. (2014) state that CSR promotes the performance of business organizations. The stakeholder theory suggests that organizations have to manage relationships with other groups and stakeholders which influences the effectiveness of business decisions. Despite making entrepreneurship progress, businesses that pay attention to the needs of society are successful. For example, branding is effective when a business organization protects the environment and takes part in social activities such as the construction of schools. Most of the researches in this article show that CSR influences business performance through market orientation and consumer satisfaction and financial performance. In research done by Newman et al. (2018), shows that CSR has an independent positive influence on the level of firms efficacy- increased productivity influenced by high effective business engagement. Increased company involvement in community initiatives is a great influence for success in business due to customers’ and stakeholders’ trust.

The concept of the future of CSR presented by Archie Caroll shows that as companies continue to apply CSR, benefits such as stakeholders engagement, increased productivity due to employees being the driving force of business and the enhancement of power among ethically sensitive customers and the client will be experienced (Agudelo et al., 2019). The concept influences effective governance criteria, environmental responsibility, corporate citizenship, the establishment of shared business values, and social performance. However, CSR is linked to various negative impacts. Mahmood et al. (2020) suggest that CSR influences negativity through abusive supervision while valuing employees’ conducts. As much as CSR influences minimization of negative employees’ behavior, it also influences negative conduct when there is abusive supervision. More so, the implementation of CSR needs money. Especially for small businesses, CSR is not affordable to be allocated in the budget. The conflict of the profit motive is also established in CSR as the focus on societal benefits may influence losses to companies. Greenwashing of consumers is linked to CSR. For example, labeling products to be organic to attract consumers.

Implications

This exploration has implications for both bodies of knowledge and management. The research used in this report shows that as much as CSR may have various drawbacks, the benefits outweighs the disadvantages. It contributes to the existing body of knowledge by showing that CSR has more benefits and companies should consider its application in business. The limitations of the current study are the use of secondary sources and few articles to provide more evidence. More so, the articles used in this report do not include cultural factors such as religion which are significant in understanding CSR and the involved activities in the society. The discussion concerning the link between CSR and corporate governance is not provided. Therefore, further research should be done to evaluate this link and its impact on the performance of the company and the experiences of the stakeholders and customers. More so, the research provides a key takeaway for managers which is mainly the benefits of executing CSR in companies to influence performance. The managers should know that despite the presence of drawbacks linked to CSR, there are many advantages such as consumer satisfaction, effective branding, establishing trust, and financial performance.

Based on the previous research used in this report, it is evident that CSR has many advantages. These pros include consumer satisfaction, productivity, good relationships with society and stakeholders, financial performance, and effective branding. These advantages overpower the drawbacks which include costs, conflicts in the profit motive, and “green washing” of customers. However, the limitations of the research include the inclusion of fewer articles and a lack of cultural factors in the research. Therefore, this study concludes that the benefits of CSR outweigh the disadvantages. The implication of the literature is informing managers to execute CSR which promotes productivity and financial performance.

Agudelo, M. A. L., Jóhannsdóttir, L., & Davídsdóttir, B. (2019). A literature review of the history and evolution of corporate social responsibility.  International Journal of Corporate Social Responsibility ,  4 (1), 1-23.

Basuony, M. A., Elseidi, R. I., & Mohamed, E. K. (2014). The impact of corporate social responsibility on firm performance: Evidence from a MENA country.  Corporate Ownership & Control ,  12 (1-9), 761-774.

Mahmood, F., Qadeer, F., Abbas, Z., Hussain, I., Saleem, M., Hussain, A., & Aman, J. (2020). Corporate social responsibility and employees’ negative behaviors under abusive supervision: A multilevel insight.  Sustainability ,  12 (7), 2647.

Newman, C., Rand, J., Tarp, F., & Trifkovic, N. (2020). Corporate social responsibility in a competitive business environment.  The Journal of Development Studies ,  56 (8), 1455-1472.

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6 Examples of Corporate Social Responsibility That Were Successful

• 06 Jun 2019

Business is about more than just making a profit. Climate change, economic inequality, and other global challenges that impact communities worldwide have compelled companies to be purpose-driven and contribute to the greater good .

In a recent study by Deloitte , 93 percent of business leaders said they believe companies aren't just employers, but stewards of society. In addition, 95 percent reported they plan to take a stronger stance on large-scale issues in the coming years and devote significant resources to socially responsible initiatives. With more CEOs turning their focus to the long term, it’s important to consider what you can do in your career to make an impact .

Access your free e-book today.

What Is Corporate Social Responsibility?

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a business model in which for-profit companies seek ways to create social and environmental benefits while pursuing organizational goals, such as revenue growth and maximizing shareholder value.

Today’s organizations are implementing extensive corporate social responsibility programs, with many companies dedicating C-level executive roles and entire departments to social and environmental initiatives. These executives are commonly referred to as chief officers of corporate social responsibility or chief sustainability officers (CSO).

There are many types of corporate social responsibility , and CSR might look different for each organization, but the end goal is always the same: Do well by doing good . Companies that embrace corporate social responsibility aim to maintain profitability while supporting a larger purpose.

Rather than simply focusing on generating profit, or the bottom line, socially responsible companies are concerned with the triple bottom line , which considers the impact that business decisions have on profit, people, and the planet.

It’s no coincidence that some of today’s most profitable organizations are also socially responsible. Here are six successful examples of corporate social responsibility you can use to drive social change at your organization.

Check out our video on corporate social responsibility below, and subscribe to our YouTube channel for more explainer content!

6 Corporate Social Responsibility Examples

1. lego’s commitment to sustainability.

As one of the most reputable companies in the world, Lego aims to not only help children develop through creative play but also foster a healthy planet.

Lego is the first, and only, toy company to be named a World Wildlife Fund Climate Savers Partner , marking its pledge to reduce its carbon impact. And its commitment to sustainability extends beyond its partnerships.

By 2030, the toymaker plans to use environmentally friendly materials to produce all of its core products and packaging—and it’s already taken key steps to achieve that goal.

Over 2013 and 2014, Lego shrunk its box sizes by 14 percent , saving approximately 7,000 tons of cardboard. Then, in 2018, the company introduced 150 botanical pieces made from sustainably sourced sugarcane —a break from the petroleum-based plastic typically used to produce the company’s signature building blocks. The company has also recently committed to removing all single-use plastic packaging from its materials by 2025, among other initiatives .

Along with these changes, the toymaker has committed to investing $164 million into its Sustainable Materials Center , where researchers are experimenting with bio-based materials that can be implemented into the production process.

Through these initiatives, Lego is well on its way to tackling pressing environmental challenges and furthering its mission to help build a more sustainable future.

Related : What Does "Sustainability" Mean in Business?

2. Salesforce’s 1-1-1 Philanthropic Model

Beyond being a leader in the technology space, cloud-based software giant Salesforce is a trailblazer in corporate philanthropy.

Since its outset, the company has championed its 1-1-1 philanthropic model , which involves giving one percent of product, one percent of equity, and one percent of employees’ time to communities and the nonprofit sector.

To date, Salesforce employees have logged more than 5 million volunteer hours . Not only that, the company has awarded upwards of $406 million in grants and donated to more than 40,000 nonprofit organizations and educational institutions.

In addition, through its work with San Francisco Unified and Oakland Unified School Districts, Salesforce has helped reduce algebra repeat rates and contributed to a high percentage of students receiving A’s or B’s in computer science classes.

As the company’s revenue grows, Salesforce stands as a prime example of the idea that profit-making and social impact initiatives don’t have to be at odds with one another.

3. Ben & Jerry’s Social Mission

At Ben & Jerry’s, positively impacting society is just as important as producing premium ice cream.

In 2012, the company became a certified B Corporation —a business that balances purpose and profit by meeting the highest standards of social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability.

As part of its overarching commitment to leading with progressive values, the ice cream maker established the Ben & Jerry’s Foundation in 1985, an organization dedicated to supporting grassroots movements that drive social change.

Each year, the foundation awards approximately $2.5 million in grants to organizations in Vermont and across the United States. Grant recipients have included the United Workers Association, a human rights group striving to end poverty, and the Clean Air Coalition, an environmental health and justice organization based in New York.

The foundation’s work earned it a National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy Award in 2014, and it continues to sponsor efforts to find solutions to systemic problems at both local and national levels.

Related : How to Create Social Change: 4 Business Strategies

4. Levi Strauss’s Social Impact

In addition to being one of the most successful fashion brands in history, Levi’s is also one of the first to push for a more ethical and sustainable supply chain.

In 1991, the brand created its Terms of Engagement , which established its global code of conduct regarding its supply chain and set standards for workers’ rights, a safe work environment, and an environmentally friendly production process.

To maintain its commitment in a changing world, Levi’s regularly updates its Terms of Engagement. In 2011, on the 20th anniversary of its code of conduct, Levi’s announced its Worker Well-being initiative to implement further programs focused on the health and well-being of supply chain workers.

Since 2011, the Worker Well-being initiative has been expanded to 12 countries, benefitting more than 100,000 workers. In 2016, the brand scaled up the initiative, vowing to expand the program to more than 300,000 workers and produce more than 80 percent of its product in Worker Well-being factories by 2025.

For its continued efforts to maintain the well-being of its people and the environment, Levi’s was named one of Engage for Good’s 2020 Golden Halo Award winners , the highest honor reserved for socially responsible companies.

5. Starbucks’s Commitment to Ethical Sourcing

Starbucks launched its first corporate social responsibility report in 2002 with the goal of becoming as well-known for its CSR initiatives as for its products. One of the ways the brand has fulfilled this goal is through ethical sourcing.

In 2015, Starbucks verified that 99 percent of its coffee supply chain is ethically sourced , and it seeks to boost that figure to 100 percent through continued efforts and partnerships with local coffee farmers and organizations.

The brand bases its approach on Coffee and Farmer Equity (CAFE) Practices , one of the coffee industry’s first set of ethical sourcing standards created in collaboration with Conservation International . CAFE assesses coffee farms against specific economic, social, and environmental standards, ensuring Starbucks can source its product while maintaining a positive social impact.

For its work, Starbucks was named one of the world’s most ethical companies in 2021 by Ethisphere.

6. New Belgium Brewing’s Sustainable Practices

New Belgium Brewing has always been a proponent of green initiatives . As early as 1999, it was one of the first breweries to use wind power to source 100 percent of its electricity, significantly reducing its operational carbon footprint.

In Harvard Business School Online’s Business and Climate Change course, Katie Wallace, New Belgium Brewing's chief environmental, social, and governance (ESG) officer, elaborates on the company’s sustainable practices.

"We have biogas here that we capture from our process water treatment plant," Wallace says in the course. "We make electricity with it. When we installed our solar panels on the Colorado packaging hall, it was the largest privately owned solar array at that time in Colorado. And today, we have many other sources of renewable electricity and have invested quite a bit in efficiencies."

New Belgium Brewing also turns outward in its sustainability practices by actively engaging with suppliers, customers, and competitors to promote broader environmental change. These efforts range from encouraging the use of renewable resources in supply chains to participating in policy-making discussions that foster industry-wide sustainability. For example, it co-founded the Glass Recycling Coalition to improve recycling nationwide after recognizing sustainability concerns in the bottling industry.

New Belgium's commitment to corporate social responsibility is an ongoing process, though. The brewery continues to set ambitious targets for reducing waste, conserving water, and supporting renewable energy projects to build a more sustainable future.

The Value of Being Socially Responsible

As these firms demonstrate , a deep and abiding commitment to corporate social responsibility can pay dividends. By learning from these initiatives and taking a values-driven approach to business, you can help your organization thrive and grow, even as it confronts global challenges.

Corporate social responsibility is critical for businesses today. It enables organizations to contribute to society while also achieving operational goals. By prioritizing social responsibility, you can build trust with your stakeholders and leave a positive impact.

Do you want to understand how to combine purpose and profit and more effectively tackle global challenges? Explore our online business in society courses , including Sustainable Business Strategy and Business and Climate Change , to learn more about how business can be a catalyst for system-level change.

This post was updated on May 30, 2024. It was originally published on June 6, 2019.

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Corporate Social Responsibility - Essay Samples And Topic Ideas For Free

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) represents a business model where companies integrate social and environmental concerns in their business operations and interactions with stakeholders. Essays on CSR could explore its evolution from philanthropic initiatives to a core strategic component of business operations, reflecting broader societal expectations of corporate ethics and sustainability. Discussions might delve into various CSR models and frameworks, and how they are implemented across different industries and cultural contexts. The discourse could extend to the examination of notable CSR initiatives, their impact on communities, and the balance between profit-making and social responsibility. Moreover, essays might explore the challenges and opportunities of CSR, such as greenwashing, stakeholder engagement, and the integration of sustainable practices. The implications of CSR on corporate governance, ethical leadership, and the broader societal shift towards sustainability and ethical consumerism could also be captivating areas of exploration. We have collected a large number of free essay examples about Corporate Social Responsibility you can find at Papersowl. You can use our samples for inspiration to write your own essay, research paper, or just to explore a new topic for yourself.

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What Is CSR?

• Understanding CSR

Types of CSR

Company examples, the bottom line.

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What Is CSR? Corporate Social Responsibility Explained

Katrina Ávila Munichiello is an experienced editor, writer, fact-checker, and proofreader with more than fourteen years of experience working with print and online publications.

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Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a self-regulating business model that helps a company be socially accountable to itself, its stakeholders, and the public. 

By practicing corporate social responsibility, also called corporate citizenship , companies are aware of how they impact aspects of society, including economic, social, and environmental. Engaging in CSR means a company operates in ways that enhance society and the environment instead of contributing negatively to them.

Key Takeaways

• Corporate social responsibility is a business model by which companies make a concerted effort to operate in ways that enhance rather than degrade society and the environment.
• CSR can help improve society and promote a positive brand image for companies.
• CSR includes four categories: environmental impacts, ethical responsibility, philanthropic endeavors, and financial responsibilities.

Understanding Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

Through corporate social responsibility programs , philanthropy, and volunteer efforts, businesses can benefit society while boosting their brands. A socially responsible company is accountable to itself and its shareholders. CSR is commonly a strategy employed by large corporations. The more visible and successful a corporation is, the more responsibility it has to set standards of ethical behavior for its peers, competition, and industry .

Small and midsize businesses also create social responsibility programs, although their initiatives are rarely as well-publicized as those of larger corporations.

• Environmental responsibility: Corporate social responsibility is rooted in preserving the environment. A company can pursue environmental stewardship by reducing pollution and emissions in manufacturing, recycling materials, replenishing natural resources like trees, or creating product lines consistent with CSR.
• Ethical responsibility: Corporate social responsibility includes acting fairly and ethically. Instances of ethical responsibility include fair treatment of all customers regardless of age, race, culture, or sexual orientation, favorable pay and benefits for employees, vendor use across demographics, full disclosures, and transparency for investors.
• Philanthropic responsibility: CSR requires a company to contribute to society, whether a company donates profit to charities, enters into transactions only with suppliers or vendors that align with the company philanthropically, supports employee philanthropic endeavors, or sponsors fundraising events.
• Financial responsibility: A company might make plans to be more environmentally, ethically, and philanthropically focused, however, it must back these plans through financial investments in programs, donations, or product research including research and development for products that encourage sustainability, creating a diverse workforce, or implementing DEI, social awareness, or environmental initiatives.

Volunteering

Some corporate social responsibility models replace financial responsibility with a sense of volunteerism. Otherwise, most models still include environmental, ethical, and philanthropic as types of CSR.

Benefits of CSR

According to a study published in the Journal of Consumer Psychology, consumers are more likely to act favorably toward a company that has acted to benefit its customers. As a company engages in CSR, it is more likely to receive favorable brand recognition . Additionally, workers are more likely to stay with a company they believe in. This reduces employee turnover, disgruntled workers, and the total cost of a new employee .

For companies looking to outperform the market, enacting CSR strategies may improve how investors view the company's value. The Boston Consulting Group found that companies considered leaders in environmental, social, or governance matters had an 11% valuation premium over their competitors.

CSR practices help companies mitigate risk by avoiding troubling situations. This includes preventing adverse activities such as discrimination against employee groups, disregard for natural resources, unethical use of company funds, and activity that leads to lawsuits, and litigation .

CSR programs can raise morale in the workplace.  

In its 2022 Environmental and Social Impact Report, Starbucks ( SBUX ) highlights taking care of its workforce and the planet among its CSR priorities through stock grants and additional medical, family, and educational benefits. The company's goals include achieving 50% reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, water consumption, and waste by 2030.

Home Depot ( HD ) has invested more than 1 million hours per year in training to help front-line employees advance in their careers, aims to produce or procure 100% renewable energy to operate its facilities by 2030, and has plans to spend $5 billion per year with diverse suppliers by 2025.

General Motors won the Sustainability Leadership Award from the Business Intelligence Group in 2022. The automaker provided $60 million in grants to more than 400 U.S. nonprofits focusing on social issues, and it has agreements in place to use 100% renewable electricity at its U.S. sites by 2025.

Why Should a Company Implement CSR Strategies?

Many companies view CSR as an integral part of their brand image, believing customers will be more likely to do business with brands they perceive to be more ethical. In this sense, CSR activities can be an important component of corporate public relations. At the same time, some company founders are also motivated to engage in CSR due to their convictions.

What Is ISO 26000?

In 2010, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) released ISO 26000, a set of voluntary standards to help companies implement corporate social responsibility. Unlike other ISO standards, ISO 26000 provides guidance rather than requirements because the nature of CSR is more qualitative than quantitative, and its standards cannot be certified. ISO 26000 clarifies social responsibility and helps organizations translate CSR principles into practical actions.

What Are the Benefits of CSR?

CRS initiatives strive to have a positive impact on the world through direct benefits to society, nature and the community in which a business operations. In addition, a company may experience internal benefits through the initiatives. Knowing their company is promoting good causes, employee satisfaction may increase and retention of staff may be strengthened. In addition, members of society may be more likely to choose to transact with companies that are attempting to make a more conscious positive impact beyond the scope of its business.

What Companies Have the Best CSR?

Since 1999, Corporate Responsibility Magazine has ranked the top 100 Best Corporate Citizens each year among the 1,000 largest U.S. public companies. Rankings are based on employee relations, environmental impact, human rights, governance, and financial decisions. In 2023, the top-ranked companies include Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Company, Accenture, and Hasbro.

Companies striving to measure success beyond bottom-line financial results may adopt CSR strategies that target environmental, ethical, philanthropic, and fiscal responsibility that extend beyond the products they sell.

Society for Consumer Psychology. " Good Guys Can Finish First: How Brand Reputation Affects Extension Evaluations ."

Boston Consulting Group. " Your Supply Chain Needs a Sustainability Strategy ."

Frontiers in Psychology. " Corporate Social Responsibility and Employee Engagement: Enabling Employees to Employ More of Their Whole Selves at Work ."

Starbucks. " 2022 Starbucks Global Environmental and Social Impact Report ," Pages 6 and 32.

Home Depot. " ESG Report (2022) ," Pages 9-10.

General Motors. " 2022 Sustainability Report ," Pages 6-7.

International Organization for Standardization. " ISO 26000, Social Responsibility ."

3BL Media. " 100 Best Corporate Citizens of 2023 ."

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28 Conclusion

Andrew Crane is the George R. Gardiner Professor of Business Ethics in the Schulich School of Business at York University. He has a Ph.D. in Management from the University of Nottingham, and was previously Chair in Business Ethics and Director of the UK's first MBA in CSR in the International Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility at Nottingham University Business School.

Abagail McWilliams, Associate Dean and Professor in the College of Business, University of Illinois at Chicago

Dirk Matten holds the Hewlett-Packard Chair in Corporate Social Responsibility at the Schulich School of Business, York University, Toronto. He holds a doctoral degree and the habilitation from Heinrich-Heine-University Dusseldorf, Germany. He is interested in CSR, business ethics and comparative management. He has published widely, including in Academy of Management Review, Journal of Management Studies, Organization Studies, and Business Ethics Quarterly.

Jeremy Moon is Professor of Corporate Social Responsibility and Director of the International Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility at Nottingham University Business School.

Donald S. Siegel, Foundation Professor of Public Policy and Management and Director, School of Public Affairs, Arizona State University

• Published: 02 September 2009
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As a field of inquiry, corporate social responsibility (CSR) is still in an embryonic stage. The study of CSR has been hampered by a lack of consensus on the definition of the phenomenon, unifying theory, measures, and unsophisticated empirical methods. Globalization has also added to the complexity of CSR issues to be addressed. Despite these concerns, there is still some excellent research on this topic, which has been gathered in this volume. Specifically, this volume contains findings from numerous experts in a wide variety of social science disciplines and fields in business administration, who have summarized the body of CSR literature and also outlined an agenda for additional research. It is important to note that CSR practices and product features are not always totally transparent and observable to the consumer and other stakeholders. This makes it difficult for consumers and other stakeholders to evaluate the firm's social performance.

Introduction

As a field of inquiry, corporate social responsibility (CSR) is still in an embryonic stage. The study of CSR has been hampered by a lack of consensus on the definition of the phenomenon, unifying theory, measures, and unsophisticated empirical methods. Globalization has also added to the complexity of CSR issues to be addressed.

Despite these concerns, there is still some excellent research on this topic, which we have gathered in this volume. Specifically, the volume contains findings from numerous experts in a wide variety of social science disciplines and fields in business administration, who have summarized the body of CSR literature and also outlined an agenda for additional research.

Given that we have included many perspectives on CSR, readers with a specific ideological or disciplinary orientation will encounter chapters that correspond with their view of CSR. At the same time, they will also be exposed to new perspectives on CSR.

We suspect that most business schools academics who teach courses in CSR or who conduct research on this topic will find the conclusion that firms can ‘do well by doing good’ quite appealing. Neoclassical economists will also accept this argument, especially if it can be framed in such a way as to justify the existence of a rational, economic justification for ‘doing good’ (McWilliams and Siegel, 2001) . Conversely, such academics will dislike the call for broader involvement in social responsibility, such as corporate citizenship implies.

On the other hand, those academics who advocate government intervention in the realm of CSR may ‘dislike’ the positive relationship between doing good and doing well, because it obviates the need for additional regulation vis‐à‐vis CSR. Conversely, they will support the notion, which was discussed in several chapters, for additional discretionary spending on CSR by business.

We hope this heterogeneity in perspectives and paradigms results in rich discussion and additional interdisciplinary research on this topic. From a practitioner standpoint, there may be very different reactions from US businesses (which emphasize stockholder rights) and non‐US businesses (which may emphasize a balance of stakeholder rights). Some mutual understanding may lead to more consistency of CSR actions globally.

The authors in this volume provide insights on many concepts and descriptions of the state of knowledge and practice of social responsibility over a wide range of countries and regions. With that in mind, we review some of the important contributions of this volume.

Defining Corporate Social Responsibility and Related Concepts

In addition to having no consensus definition of CSR, there are multiple related concepts and terms that are sometimes used interchangeably with CSR. CSR is typically used to consider and or evaluate the effects of business on society, beyond the traditional role of seeking to maximize profits. These may include such effects as support of charitable and educational organizations, hiring and training of hard‐core unemployed, non‐discrimination in employment, improved workplace safety, development of green technologies, use of non‐animal testing processes, increased consumer protection, and transparency in reporting. Definitions of CSR can be found in this volume in the chapters by Carroll; Dunfee; Frederick; Mackey, Mackey, and Barney; Orlitzky; and Salazar and Husted.

The definition of CSR often depends on motivation, that is, whether an effect such as the development of a green technology was motivated by a concern for the environment or simply as a means to reduce the cost of environment compliance (deceasing costs and increasing profits). Motivation is inherently unobservable, therefore a related concept, corporate social performance (CSP), which is defined in terms of observed CSR policies, processes, and outcomes, was developed. This concept has several weaknesses, not least of which is its reliance on the concept of the ill‐defined CSR. However, many researchers have used this concept, rooted in sociology, to test the relationship between firms doing good (CSP) and doing well (corporate financial performance or CFP). Definitions of CSP are found in chapters by Melé and Orlitzky, while definitions of CFP are found in chapters by Carroll and Orlitzky.

While also sometimes used interchangeably with CSR, corporate citizenship (CC), which has its roots in political science, is a broader concept than CSR. It considers the role of corporations as social institutions and their ability to respond to non‐market pressures, especially in a global context. In this volume, discussions of CC are found in the chapters by Frederick, Melé, Orlitzky, and Windsor.

Another related, but not synonymous concept, is that of socially responsible investing (SRI), which has roots in religion, ethics, economics, and political science. SRI differs from the other concepts addressed in this volume, because it is a way for stakeholders to control the socially responsible behavior of managers by determining the incentives for such behavior. A definition of SRI is found in the chapter by Kurtz.

Reviewing and Expanding Perspectives on Corporate Social Responsibility

A dominant perspective in CSR research and practice is the business case, which has its roots in economics, especially the theory of the firm. The business case is that firms ‘do well’ (financially) by ‘doing good’ (acting responsibly). The mechanism by which ‘doing good’ is translated into ‘doing well’ has been open to discussion, both from a theoretical perspective and based on a critique of the empirical evidence. Kurucz, Colbert, and Wheeler address the means by which firms benefit by ‘doing good’ and argue for ‘building a better case’, which ‘would extend beyond the economic’ in their chapter.

Another economic concept, agency theory, has been used to argue against managers engaging in CSR. This perspective, advanced by Friedman (1970) , asserts that managers who engage in CSR are acting in their own self‐interest, rather than in the interest of shareholders (the owners of the firm). Therefore, CSR is not good business practice. Salazar and Husted extend this analysis by outlining an agency theory model, where the pursuit of CSR can be an appropriate business practice.

An alternative theory is that of stakeholder management, which has its roots in ethics (rights and justice). Stakeholder theory posits that many stakeholders, not just shareholders, are affected by the actions of firms, and therefore also have rights. The chapters by Melé and Carroll constitute an in‐depth analysis of stakeholder theory.

A more extensive and inclusive theory of CSR (sometimes referred to as CC) has its roots in political science and argues that business firms are citizens, with both rights and responsibilities. The responsibilities of firms include both the economic and social welfare of other citizens. This concept extends the responsibilities of firms beyond those of stakeholders to all citizens. This conceptualization is especially important in developing countries where the governments might not offer protection of human rights and there may be insufficient regulation of environmental, employment, and consumer impacts. A discussion of these issues is found in the chapters by Frederick, Levy and Kaplan, Melé, Millington, Scherer and Palazzo, and Visser.

Levels of Analysis

One of the most challenging aspects of developing a unified theory of CSR is that studies of this phenomenon have been conducted at numerous levels of aggregation: individual actor (manager or employee), organization, industry, nation, region, and global. Each of these levels of analysis is represented in this volume.

Individual actors are at the center of the controversy surrounding CSR. While firms may be legal entities and may be thought of as having identities and citizenship rights, it is individual managers who make decisions about firms' actions, including allocating resources to CSR. Several motives for engaging in CSR have been recognized, including personal preference, career enhancement, stakeholder coercion, moral leadership, reputation building and profit enhancement. Mackey, Mackey, and Barney examine the correlation between managers' commitment to socially responsible causes and the activities of the firm, while Salazar and Husted propose a model for creating incentives for managers to engage in CSR. Windsor's chapter is devoted to examining how responsible management is taught.

Most CSR studies have been based on the firm as the unit of observation. This is entirely appropriate, since most CSR‐related decisions are made at the corporate level. Furthermore, while there is substantial turnover among senior managers, large firms continue to operate and affect our lives. It is also easier to identify actions with the firm rather than with individual decision‐makers. Carroll presents a comprehensive history of firm‐level CSR. In examining the business case for CSR, Kurucz, Colbert, and Wheeler analyze the creation of firm value through CSR. Kurtz examines the foundations of SRI and how shareholders can affect the behavior of the firms they own, that is, the role of shareholder activism in promoting CSR by the firm.

In recent years, differences in the provision of CSR across countries have been of interest to both researchers and managers. Donaldson examines differences in corporate governance between American firms (where shareholder interests dominate) and European firms (where other groups' interests are also considered). Moon and Vogel examine differences in the business and government interface between the United States and Western European countries and how these differences affect the provision of CSR in these countries. Visser offers an analysis of CSR in developing countries and draws several conclusions regarding how CSR provision differs in developed and developing countries.

The incidence and nature of CSR in a global context is also a fruitful area of research and discourse because technology improvements have opened up markets throughout the world to Western‐style business with its attendant benefits and costs. Because many countries do not provide sufficient government and legal protection for consumers, employees, and the environment, businesses or firms that operate globally are expected to recognize and respond to greater responsibilities than they may have to in their (developed) home country. Scherer and Palazzo explain these expectations. Millington explains how the recent phenomenon of the global supply chain has created pressure on large multinational firms to set the standards for CSR behavior by their suppliers that often operate in developing countries—what he terms ethical supply chain management (ESCM).

Drivers of CSR

One of the issues central to CSR, but often left unexamined, is what ‘drives’ CSR? That is, where does the idea of responsibility originate? Several of the chapters in this volume address this issue in some detail.

One relatively well‐recognized driver of CSR is the consumer. Smith examines how consumers can drive CSR behavior through both positive ethical consumerism (support for products that are produced by responsible firms) and negative ethical consumerism (boycotting firms that act irresponsibly). Steger is more reserved in his support for consumers as drivers, pointing out that consumers are still generally reluctant to support CSR and may punish laggards, but not reward pioneers in CSR. Williams and Aguilera compares consumer attitudes towards CSR across cultures, postulating that there are significant differences.

Another well‐recognized driver of CSR is the manager. The manager as agent for the stockholders (principals) of the firm has control over the resources and can determine how those resources are allocated. Therefore, managers, and especially CEOs, can strongly influence CSR behavior (Waldman et al. , 2006) . This is at the heart of most of the controversy surrounding CSR. Proponents of CSR assert that managers should exercise moral leadership, as proposed in Swanson's chapter. Opponents believe that there is an agency problem when managers engage in CSR or more generally, that ‘investment’ in CSR constitutes an inefficient use of corporate resources. Salazar and Husted examine this tension. Williams and Aguilera discuss differences in CSR attitudes and behaviors across different cultures. Pruzan discusses a spiritual‐based perspective of CSR which implies that managers are—and should be—the drivers of CSR.

The lack of government regulation and legal protections in much of the world is another recognized driver of CSR. In developing countries and regions, firms must take over many of the social functions of government so that there is a stable economy, a viable workforce, and a globally sustainable environment in which to conduct commerce. This driver is discussed in several chapters, but most explicitly analyzed in the Visser chapter. Hanlon argues that unmet social needs create a means for firms to develop relationships with stakeholders that benefit the firm (building reliance on firms rather than governments).

In developed countries, government may be a driver of CSR. Moon and Vogel discuss ways in which governments can actively encourage firms to engage in CSR, for example, through the establishment of non‐binding codes and standards. Alternatively, firms might choose CSR as a way to escape formal regulation. Whether through the stick or the carrot, governments may be effective in encouraging CSR.

Social Auditing and Reporting

One area where proponents of CSR have prevailed is in auditing and reporting. The premise behind the support for reporting is that managers will be encouraged to perform more responsibly if they must report on results, and shareholder activists can use the information in reports to invest responsibly. Owen and O'Dwyer discuss the growth and development of corporate social and environmental reporting. Kuhn and Deetz outline the critical theorists' critique of social audits and reports. Buchholtz, Brown, and Shabana discuss the role of legislation in establishing standards for auditing and reporting and the need for global guidelines.

Information Asymmetry and the Strategic Use of CSR

These chapters underscore the importance of information relating to CSR practices. More generally, we believe that the role of information asymmetry in CSR is a fruitful area of research ( see Baron, 2001 , and Fedderson and Gilligan, 2001 , for theoretical analyses and Siegel and Vitaliano, 2007 , for empirical evidence). It is important to note that CSR practices and product features are not always totally transparent and observable to the consumer and other stakeholders. This makes it difficult for consumers and other stakeholders to evaluate the firm's social performance.

As noted in Fedderson and Gilligan (2001) , the degree of asymmetric information regarding internal operations can be mitigated by the company or by ‘activists’ and/or/‘non‐governmental organizations’ (NGOs). It is interesting to note that McDonalds, Motorola, and Nike now publish ‘annual CSR reports’. One can view this activity as a form of advertising, especially for more general types of CSR. However, stakeholders may perceive this information as biased, since it is presented by incumbent managers and not an independent source. Therefore, NGOs may emerge to fill this gap. Additional evidence is needed on how consumers and other stakeholders respond to these efforts.

More generally, the field would greatly benefit from more research on precisely how firms matrix decisions regarding CSR into their business and corporate‐level strategies. There is now mounting empirical evidence ( Russo and Fouts, 1997 ; Reinhardt, 1998 ; Siegel and Vitaliano, 2007 ) that it is consistent with strategic theories of CSR and rational, profit‐seeking management decision‐making. However, others may view this evidence quite differently. They may perceive this stylized fact as indicative of the notion that CSR is a ‘fraud’ or a ‘smokescreen’, used to disguise other irresponsible behavior. In this regard, it is interesting to note that firms such as Enron and Philip Morris were actively involved in social responsibility.

An interesting recent paper by Strike, Gao, and Bansal (2006) examines this tension between responsibility and irresponsibility. The authors assert that firms can simultaneously be socially responsible and socially irresponsible (e.g. Philip Morris). Based on a strategic/resource‐based‐view framework, they examine whether international diversification influences the propensity of firms to be socially responsible and socially irresponsible. More specifically, the authors demonstrate that firms diversifying internationally create value by acting responsibly and destroy value by acting irresponsibly.

The field of CSR remains wide open and we hope that these authors have expanded your horizons. Hope springs eternal.

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McWilliams, A. , and Siegel, D.   2001 . ‘ Corporate Social Responsibility: A Theory of the Firm Perspective ’. Academy of Management Review , 26(1): 117–27. 10.2307/259398

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Russo, M. V. , and Fouts, P. A.   1997 . ‘ A Resource‐Based Perspective on Corporate Environmental Performance and Profitability ’. Academy of Management Journal , 40: 534–59. 10.2307/257052

Siegel, D. S. , and Vitaliano, D.   2007 . ‘ An Empirical Analysis of the Strategic Use of Corporate Social Responsibility ’. Journal of Economics and Management Strategy , 17(3): 773–92.

Strike, V. M. , Gao, J. , and Bansal, T.   2006 . ‘ Being Good while Being Bad: Social Responsibility and the International Diversification of U.S. Firms ’. Journal of International Business Studies , 37(6): 850–62. 10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8400226

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Three Essays on Corporate Social Responsibility

• Burbano, Vanessa Cuerel
• Advisor(s): Snyder, Jason ;
• Lieberman, Marvin

This dissertation explores the effect of corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices on the firm and contributes to an understanding of how CSR practices can contribute to companies’ competitive advantage. In Chapter 1, I use three randomized field experiments implemented in online labor marketplaces to provide causal evidence of the effect of CSR on employee outcomes that have been shown to be critical to firm performance: salary requirements and employee performance. Workers were recruited for short-term jobs and I manipulated whether or not they received information about the employer’s CSR program. I then observed the payment workers were willing to accept for the job and their performance on the job. Surveys administered at the end of the experiments gauging workers’ perceptions about the received CSR information also provide insight into the distinct mechanisms through which CSR affects the different employee outcomes. This paper contributes to an understanding of how CSR adds value to the firm and highlights the role of the employee in explaining this relationship. It also demonstrates how online labor markets can be used as settings for field experimental research in strategic management more broadly.

In Chapter 2, we examine pro bono work in the legal services industry. Using a screening model we show that law firms use pro bono engagements to gain information about associates’ expected productivity as an equity partner. Using a dataset of the top 200 US law firms in 2010 we demonstrate empirical support for our model’s predictions. Our findings thus suggest that the conventional wisdom that CSR practices are used to provide information about the quality of the firm to the employee is backwards; rather, we find that pro bono engagements are used to provide information about the quality of the employee to the firm.

In Chapter 3, we explore what drives firms to combine poor environmental performance with communication about positive environmental performance, resulting in “greenwashing”. Although some explanation of firm greenwashing has been put forth, a comprehensive analysis of the determinants of firm greenwashing is lacking. Drawing from existing work in management, strategy, sociology and psychology, we propose a comprehensive framework that examines the external (both institutional and market), organizational and individual drivers of greenwashing and then use this framework to develop recommendations for managers, policymakers, and NGOs to decrease greenwashing.

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• Original article
• Open access
• Published: 05 July 2016

Corporate social responsibility research: the importance of context

• Carol A. Tilt 1  

International Journal of Corporate Social Responsibility volume  1 , Article number:  2 ( 2016 ) Cite this article

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There has, in recent times, been an increasing interest in understanding corporate social (and environmental) responsibility (CSR) and, in particular, CSR reporting in developing countries. However, many of these studies fail to investigate fully the contextual factors that influence CSR and reporting in those countries, preferring to rely on theories and hypotheses developed from studies undertaken in the West, particularly the US, UK and Australasia.

It may be argued that this is appropriate as many emerging economies are experiencing growth and moving towards having a more market-based orientation. Notwithstanding this, a large number of these countries have an entirely different socio-political environment, with different political regimes, legal systems and cultural influences. These factors have a significant effect on the applicability of theories such as stakeholder theory, legitimacy theory and accountability theory, which are commonly used to explain the phenomenon of reporting.

In State Capitalist countries, such as China, an important influence on companies is the political ideology that underpins the nation’s government. The nature and impact of ideology and hegemony in China has been under-studied and, therefore, investigating how the ideology, and competing forces that may mitigate its influence, manifest themselves in Chinese reporting are essential. In the Middle East, countries such as Saudi Arabia have no free press, are ruled by a royal family, have a market dominated by the oil industry, and potential religious influences. Such socio-cultural differences mean societies develop different understandings of concepts such as sustainability and social responsibility. Finally, countries such as Sri Lanka have some similarities to other developing countries, but their economy is set against a background of a recent civil war – operating in a post-conflict economy is a factor rarely considered in social and environmental disclosure, yet has important influence on policy in these areas.

This paper discusses three contextual issues that warrant more and improved consideration in CSR research, with particular emphasis on CSR reporting research.

More and more corporations worldwide are involved in corporate social responsibility activities, and as a result are providing more social and environmental information to the public. Following from this, CSR disclosure, or reporting, has become one of the major fields of investigation by accounting scholars (Deegan 2009 ; Mathews 1997 ; Tilt 2001 ). Research that considers both CSR activity and CSR reporting has traditionally focused on companies in more developed economies, predominantly the US, UK, Australia and New Zealand (Burritt and Schaltegger 2010 ; Frost et al. 2005 ; Gray 2006 ; Gurvitsh and Sidorova 2012 ; Othman and Ameer 2009 ; Patten 2002 ; Sahay 2004 ), but recently there has been increasing interest in understanding the phenomenon in developing countries particularly as they experience growth and move towards a more capitalist orientation (Sumiani et al. 2007 ). Of the research that does exist, a number of papers suggest that ‘country’ is a determinant for CSR involvement and for the level of disclosure, but do not go much further.

Many of the studies of developing countries however, choose a framework for their investigation based on those shown to be meaningful for explaining disclosure in developed, capitalist economies. That is, they fail to investigate fully the contextual factors that influence firms and their reporting in those countries that have a different social, political, legal and/or cultural context.

It may be argued that this is appropriate as many emerging economies are experiencing growth and moving towards having a more market-based orientation. However, this is rarely acknowledged or questioned in these papers. Yet, it is reasonable to suggest that these factors have a significant effect on the applicability of theories such as stakeholder theory, legitimacy theory and accountability theory, which are commonly used to explain the phenomenon of reporting.

The majority of the world’s population lives in developing countries and each country experiences its own unique social, political and environmental issues (United Nations 2013 ). These countries are in the process of industrialisation and are often characterised by unstable governments, higher levels of unemployment, limited technological capacity, unequal distribution of income, unreliable water supplies and underutilised factors of production. As a result of rapid industrial development, policies are pursued that aim to attract greater foreign investment, and the investors are often keen to start benefitting from fiscal incentives and cheap labour. While these strategies make economic sense, they have adverse social and environmental effects, including the use of child labour, low or unpaid wages, unequal career opportunities, occupational health and safety concerns, and increased pollution.

In a review of the literature on determinants of CSR reporting (Morhardt 2010 ), reports that research on the impact of different variables in different regions is inconclusive due to the lack of enough studies. Factors that may influence CSR disclosure practices fall broadly into internal and external (Fifka 2013 ; Morhardt 2010 ), but are commonly classified further as (Adams 2002 : p224):

Corporate characteristics, such as size, industry group, financial/economic performance and share trading volume, price and risk;

General contextual factors, such as country of origin, time, specific events, media pressure, stakeholders and social, political, cultural and economic context; and

Internal contextual factors, including different aspects of corporate governance.

While CSR reporting has been studied by a large number of scholars, only a few fall into the second of the categories above, and consider context in detail. This is particularly relevant when considering developing countries. A few papers have specifically reviewed studies on developing countries. For example, (Belal and Momin 2009 ) categorise the work on developing countries into three groups: studies of the volume or extent of reporting; studies of the perceptions of CSR reporting by managers; and studies of the perception of CSR reporting by stakeholders. In all the studies reviewed there is little discussion of the context, other than a description of the country, and no real thought about the theoretical assumptions being made.

This paper presents a discussion of the different contextual issues or factors that show some evidence or potential to influence CSR and reporting in developing countries. It focusses on three specific issues and provides a research agenda for future consideration of the influence of context in CSR reporting research. The paper is structured as follows. The next section introduces some broad contextual factors that warrant consideration in the literature on CSR reporting. Next, three specific contextual issues are examined: the role of political ideology and hegemony; the influence of cultural understandings; and the impact of historical economic context. Finally, by way of conclusion, some recommended areas for further research are suggested.

Contextual considerations

Adams ( 2002 ) talks about the social, political, cultural and economic context, so some consideration of what this might mean is needed as each of these concepts themselves cover a variety of aspects, and indeed overlap. While papers may talk about the ‘social context’ in which the companies being examined operate, this is not well defined and little consideration is given to what this means. Some things that could be more explicitly considered include, inter alia : the role of the press; the status of women; the legal/justice system; the level of corruption; the level of government control, cultural understandings; and so on. This paper chooses to highlight three of these areas, and these are discussed briefly below in broad terms, followed by a discussion of some specific aspects of each identified as providing fertile grounds for future research.

Political system

Assumptions are often made about capitalist systems, whether explicit or implicit, as the vast majority of work on CSR reporting has been done in the Western context. However, there is little research looking at CSR reporting in socialist or communist countries. Some work has been undertaken on China (Dong et al. 2014 ; Gao 2011 ; Situ and Tilt 2012 ), but this work often applies the same conceptual frameworks as Western studies. What about the influence of ideology, and hegemony?

Sociocultural environment

Human beings have “distinctive cultural (learned) characteristics, histories and responses to their environment” and the term ‘sociocultural’ is commonly used in anthropological research to describe these and the “interactions and processes” that this involves (Garbarino 1983 : p1). Some general studies of culture and CSR using Hofstede exist (Silvia and Belen 2013 ), but an in-depth analysis of different understandings and conceptions of terms such as CSR as a result of sociocultural influences is lacking. The work that does examine specific factors often suggests that the Western concept of CSR does not fit these contexts (Wang and Juslin 2009 ).

The majority of work that considers sociocultural factors has looked mainly at religious aspects of CSR, most commonly by reviewing reporting by Islamic organisation, such as Islamic banks (Maali et al. 2006 ; Siwar and Hossain 2009 ; Sudarma et al. 2010 ). The teachings of many religions focus on social responsibility, the relationship with the natural environment, treatment of others, fairness, justice, etc., so there is a natural expectation that religion-based organisations may be more likely to engage in CSR and CSR reporting. A more nuanced consideration of how this manifests itself in different societies would improve understanding of the drivers and motivations of these activities. Similarly, other sociocultural factors, such as national identity, values, social organisation and language, could be incorporated.

Stage of development

The emerging literature on CSR reporting outside the Western world examines countries that are ‘developing’ (Belal and Momin 2009 ; Momin and Parker 2013 ), but little depth is included about where they are in their development journey and how the potential conflict between economic and social goals impacts CSR or CSR reporting. Rostow’s ( 1962 ) Stages of Economic Growth model suggests there are five stages (traditional society, preconditions for take-off, take-off, drive to maturity, and age of high or mass consumption), yet most literature on CSR classifies countries only into developed or developing. The ‘developing’ classification potentially includes countries that are in Rostow’s first, second or third stage which may have an impact on their response to CSR issues. In addition to economic variables however, the United Nations also produces a Human Development Index (HDI) which considers life expectancy, education and income to measure how social, as well as economic, development (UNDP 2015 ). Both these concepts are important for consideration of CSR.

Importantly, consideration of just one or two aspects of these three broader contextual issues may result in misinterpretation of the results. Often these things interact, for example, social issues often cross over with cultural and religious impacts, or even with political influence where the regime is more hegemonic. It is thus important to consider, or at least acknowledge, the holistic nature of the context of the phenomenon being examined.

It is beyond the scope of this paper to discuss all of the issues raised here although this would be an important part of a larger research program. Therefore, three particular contextual issues, and three specific contexts, are the focus of this paper: the role of political ideology and hegemony (China); the influence of cultural understandings (Middle East); and the impact of historical economic context (Sri Lanka).

Politics, ideology and state control

Ideology is a set of common beliefs that are shared by a group of people, and is “the fundamental social beliefs that organize and control the social representations of groups and their members” (Van Dijk 2009 : p78). Countries such as China provide a fertile research setting to examine the influence of ideology, and hegemonic approaches of influencing CSR, which have been missing from most CSR research in the region.

The Chinese political model has some unique characteristics. Among these is the dominance of ‘the party state’, which exercises control in different forms over most aspects of the economy that is unmatched when compared to other state capitalist economies. Political leaders use a variety of tools (Bremmer 2010 ) and it is the combination of three particular tools that sets apart the Chinese system: the exercise of control as a dominant shareholder, the ability to appoint key positions in major firms, and the means to influence decision-making via ideology. First, the party exerts shareholder power over state-owned enterprises (SOEs). Chinese SOEs play an instrumental role in society (Du and Wang 2013 ) and make up around 80 % of the stock market (Economist T 2012 ). As protecting the environment is a major part of the guiding ideology and the nation’s policy, SOEs are likely to be keen to provide CER. Second, the party exercises power over the appointment of the senior leadership in SOEs (Landry 2008 ). This has resulted in control as they are “cadres first and company men second. They care more about pleasing their party bosses than about the global market” (Economist T 2012 : p6). Third, party control is exercised through ideology. The party has cells in most larger firms, whether private or state-owned, which influence business decisions made at board meetings. Given that China considers the Marxist-Leninist-Maoist ideology as crucial this distinguishes it most significantly from other varieties of state capitalism that have a more liberal-democratic flavour.

There is some evidence that the first form of party control has been declining in recent times with the number of SOEs under the SASAC’s control halving over the last decade (Mattlin 2009 ). Similarly, since 1999, the share of SOEs in the economy has declined from 37 % to less than 5 %. This results in greater use of regulation and ideological hegemony to achieve its aims, yet most CSR research still uses state-ownership as a proxy for all types of state control.

Even after economic reform, ideology in China was still pervasive (Lieber 2013 ). Lieber ( 2013 ) argues that ideology is widely used to signal loyalty and the government is good at using ideology to “control and direct key vocabularies… (and) vague ideological language can create a climate of uncertainty thus increasing the range of a control regime” (Lieber 2013 : p346). However, the prevailing ideological themes in China are dynamic. In particular, most recently, new ideological themes have developed to respond to the changes in society. When economic reform began, “building up a socialist market economy with specific Chinese characteristics” was the guiding ideology (Zhang 2012 : p25). As such, economic growth was the country’s priority, but in 2005, “building up a harmonious society became the prevailing ideology” (and CSR is a key element of this resolution).

Ideology is used by the Chinese government to exert control over businesses. Traditionally, the government has “been considered a source of moral authority, official legitimacy and political stability…and …political language has been vested with an intrinsic instrumental value: its control represents the most suitable and effective way first to codify, and then widely convey, the orthodox state ideology” (Marinellin 2012 : p26). The language “developed and used by party officials … consists of ‘correct’ formulation, aims to teach the ‘enlarged masses’ how to speak and, how to think” (Marinellin 2012 : p26). The idea of the importance of a ‘Harmonious Society’ is the “re-contextualized discourse in response to the emergent issues in the changing social stratification order” (Zhang 2012 : p33). As a result, Chinese companies have been noticeably adopting the language of social concern and environmental protection.

It may therefore be suggested that CSR reporting in China is directly a response to the government’s ideological hegemony. However, the story is not as straightforward as it may first appear, for two reasons. First, despite a great deal of commitment to social and environmental regulation in China, implementation of these regulations has been limited. Second, as China enters a phase of continued economic development, Western influences may begin to have a moderating effect on the strength of the ideology.

The Chinese economy has grown rapidly in terms of gross domestic product (GDP) (World Bank 2016 ). The economic reforms that took place over the past decades were motivated substantially by the Chinese central government, and recent scholars have noted the positive role that ideology played in driving those reforms, notwithstanding that economists historically view ideology as “distorting… knowledge, judgment and decision making” (Lieber 2013 : p344).

With economic reform however, has come substantial environmental degradation which in turn has led to poor health outcomes for much of society generally. This led to a high level of commitment to environmental regulation in particular from as early as the 1990, followed by the release of even more rigorous regulations on environmental protection in the 2000s. However, despite the high commitment made by the Chinese central government, implementation of these policies is quite poor (Bina 2010 ). In terms of environmental regulation, for example, the implementation problems stem from a number of areas, including: the position of environmental protection agencies in the political framework; conflict between central and local governments; and supervision issues. The system of supervision of local environmental departments is a key problem (Bina 2010 ). When an environmental department is set up in the central government, corresponding environmental departments are set up in local governments. Ideally, these local departments should be agencies of the central department, deliver the central environmental department’s strategies, and supervise local environmental protection implementation. In reality, the local environmental departments are subservient to the local rather than central governments. All their financial support and staff appointments come from local governments. Therefore, rather than supervising local environmental protection implementation, the local environmental departments become “rubber stamps” for local governments (Zheng 2010 ). Therefore, it is unlikely that there will be efficient enforcement of environmental laws, regulations and policies at the local level (Bina 2010 ; Zheng 2010 ).

Finally, as China heads towards a market economy, government intervention becomes a policy choice, and markets function as a tool of national interest (Zhao 2011 ). However, as Chinese firms become more involved with foreign trading partners and markets, their reporting activity is also influenced by foreign and global organisations, leading to potential tension between demonstrating commitment to state ideological goals and meeting the requirements of global stakeholders.

Given the complexity of the context, research into CSR reporting in China needs to take into account the specific aspects of Chinese politics and culture in order to provide a nuanced understanding, and ultimately an improvement, of CSR reporting activities. However, a review done of the literature on CSR in by Chinese showed that it is very descriptive with little depth and much of the CSR literature is conceptual, descriptive, or argumentative in nature (Guan and Noronha 2013 ). The authors noted proper research methodologies are not systematically applied in some studies, and supporting theories are lacking. In the non-Chinese studies on China, there is also a predominance of papers on determinants and volume of reporting (Situ and Tilt 2012 ), with very few considering broader contextual factors, other than a few that look at specific cultural attributes (e.g., Rowe & Guthrie 2009 ).

Sociocultural understandings

Notwithstanding a move towards a market orientation of many developing countries, such as in China as outlined above, conceptions of CSR by management of companies in these countries may be quite different to those in the West (Wang and Juslin 2009 ). These differing conceptions may be a result of differing values and attitudes, language, religion or identity. Even specific elements of CSR are conceived of differently, for example in China, the main understanding of sustainability is in terms of environmental protection (Situ et al. 2013 , 2015 ). These socioculturally derived understandings are inevitably reflected in their reporting.

In another example, in the Middle East, the predominant perception of CSR is that it simply means philanthropic donations. In this region, the issue of social responsibility is relatively new, and as such the number of studies of CSR and CSR reporting in the Gulf region is growing (Al-Khatar and Naser 2003 ; AlNaimi et al. 2012 ; Emtairah et al. 2009 ; Mandurah et al. 2012 ; Marios and Tor 2007 ; Minnee et al. 2013 ; Nalband and Al-Amri 2013 ; Naser et al. 2006 ; Naser and Hassan 2013 ; Qasim et al. 2011 ; Sangeetha and Pria 2012 ). Many of these studies do not consider the cultural context to a very great extent as the research is emerging and focusses on perceptions. For example, Mandurah et al. ( 2012 ) and Emtairah et al. ( 2009 ) explored managerial perceptions of the concept of CSR in Saudi Arabia and found that managers are aware of the concept, but there is little connection between the managerial level perceptions and firms’ workforce. The authors describe CSR as being in its infancy phase, which limits the understanding of the concept to the view that CSR simply means being philanthropic. This indicates a different, and perhaps less developed, understanding of the concept in the region compared with the West, but the reasons for this, and the consequences for CSR reporting, are under-explored. Some authors suggest the narrow use of the term is because of the religious obligations towards society, (Visser 2008 ). There is only minimal evidence of any CSR practices other than philanthropy-based or any strategic approaches to CSR for long-term benefits (Visser 2008 ), but the trend is increasing and the forms that philanthropy takes is expanding.

It has also been argued that politics plays a significant role in increasing the awareness of CSR in the Arab world. Avina ( 2013 ) suggests that the perception of CSR in the Middle East changed after the Arab spring event, for both local and international firms. The term CSR more than a decade ago had little meaning to the public (Visser 2008 ) but since the Arab spring, the sense of social responsibility among civil society and the corporate sector has increased Avina 2013 ). Firms realised that they play a role in social responsibility, not just governments, and recognised that CSR should go beyond just donations to charitable causes (Avina 2013 ). Ronnegard ( 2013 ), however, predicts that CSR in the Middle East will not mimic the Western concept because of the strong influence of culture and religion in the region. Moreover, the influence of stakeholders in the Middle East is considered to be limited due to there being a lack of free press, few lobby groups and the different cultural attributes of employees and consumers. Some studies in Gulf countries have however, suggested that stakeholders, such as government and charitable organisations, may have an impact on firms’ behaviour (Emtairah et al. 2009 ; Naser et al. 2006 ). Others suggest that CSR may have developed as a concept due to the increase of foreign direct investment into Arab countries, the trend of shifting family and government owned firms into the public domain, and the globalisation of the region’s large national firms.

From the limited studies that have been undertaken, there is evidence of CSR reporting by Gulf country companies, with human resources and community involvement being the dominant themes in may reports Abu-Baker and Naser 2000 ). Thus, understanding of motivations for CSR reporting is not yet well developed and few existing studies consider the different level of stakeholder pressure in the region. This suggests that more research is needed on the formation of notions of CSR within specific contexts. This region is of particular interest because, according to the Human Development Report (HDI 2013 ), countries in the region are classified as high, or very high, in human development. That is, they are not only trying to develop and improve their economy, but are also trying to improve the quality of life of their citizens (Ramady 2010 ). The overall outlook of these countries indicates that they are performing well, however, Fadaak ( 2010 ) notes that identifying poverty lines is a challenge because of a lack of a clear definition of poverty in the region. There are no official reports considering poverty or other social problems and no GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries were found in the list of the World Bank Database in relation to the poverty rate.

Similarly, in other developing countries the importance of local economic, cultural, and religious factors that shape the business environment, and understandings of charity and philanthropy, need to be taken into account. Empirical work in this area is lacking (Lund-Thomsen et al. 2016 ). In Sri Lanka, for example, “the most common arguments used to ‘sell’ the business case for CSR and CP [Corporate Philanthropy], for example an improved brand image, increased market or customer share, employee retention, mitigated regulatory risks, and reduced tax burden, are considered mostly irrelevant” (Global Insights 2013 : p1). Business leaders engage in CSR for a range of business, humanitarian, social, religious, and political reasons. Key amongst them is a belief that ‘giving back’ to society discharges religious obligations to the poor, and an awareness that being seen to contribute to national development goals is important (Global Insights 2013 ). Hence, the conception of CSR in this region is culturally determined, but also shaped by the economic environment.

• Economic development

As well as government control, culture and political factors, the stage of economic development a country is in is also an important contextual factor that may impact CSR reporting. In China, as discussed above, the drive for economic reform led directly to environmental impacts which needed to be addressed. A number of other developing countries have been examined for their reporting on CSR issues, particularly from the Asian region (Andrew et al. 1989 ; Elijido-Ten et al. 2010 ), India (Mishra and Suar 2010 ; Raman 2006 ; Sahay 2004 ), and Bangladesh (Belal and Owen 2007 ; Belal and Roberts 2010 ; Khan 2010 ; Muttakin et al. 2015 ).

While these countries are classified as developing (IMF 2015 ), Bangladesh and India score only medium for human development. Another country in the region, Sri Lanka, has a high rating on the HDI, and has been exhibiting extensive growth since the end of a 30-year war (WPR 2015 ). Thus, exhibiting both economic and social growth aspects makes it an interesting case for studying CSR.

Sri Lanka has a population of over 20 million and foreign companies have increased their investments with one billion US dollars in direct foreign investments in 2013 alone ( BOI ). Classified as a middle income developing country, the challenge for Sri Lanka is to achieve high economic growth without causing irreversible damage to the environment and while continuing to eliminating social issues such as poverty, malnutrition and poor workplace ethics (Goger 2013 ). In addition, Sri Lanka also has a long history of corporate philanthropy, largely led by individuals whose values and actions stem from religious and cultural views (Beddewela and Herzig 2013 ) but has recently seen an increase in private firms offering development-related initiatives. Public infrastructure projects have been the main element of post-war economic planning, but there still remains rural poverty in the country. Thus, the primary motivation for CSR and philanthropy in Sri Lanka is poverty reduction, particularly for children and youth, social welfare organisations like orphanages and elderly homes, hospitals and health services, and veterans’ charities (Global Insights 2013 ). Thus, the economic, cultural, and political context means that these poverty rates have fallen (data indicates that the rate went from approximately 20 % in 2000 to under 9 % in 2013) and that inflation has slowed (Wijesinha 2014 ), so opportunities for private businesses to contribute to infrastructure abound. However, these private, development-orientated, CSR initiatives have often failed to deliver their aims and there is considered to be a danger that they may in fact perpetuate the causes of poverty and ethnic and religious conflict given their ties to particular ethnic groups (Global Insights 2013 ).

Notwithstanding this environment, the topic of CSR reporting in Sri Lanka has received relatively little research attention compared to other parts of the world (see Belal and Momin 2009 , for a review). In terms of motivations for CSR, there is some evidence that firms in which senior management have a positive outlook towards social and environmental practices tend to disclose more on these aspects, as compared to other firms (Fernando and Pandey 2012 ). However, reporting on CSR initiatives is not mandatory thus it is likely that any voluntary reporting by Sri Lankan firms will vary significantly. One study of reporting was conducted by Senaratne and Liyanagedara ( 2012 ) who examined the level of compliance with Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines in the disclosures of publicly listed companies, selected from seven business sectors. The authors conclude that the level of compliance with the GRI is low and that disclosures vary significantly amongst the companies, potentially reflecting varying commitment to CSR. Similarly, a longitudinal study across five years (2005–2010) was carried out by Wijesinghe ( 2012 ) to identify trends in CSR reporting in Sri Lanka and the study identified an increasingly positive trend, predicting similar levels of disclosures provided by companies in developed countries. The few studies that have been conducted examining the predominance of reporting in Sri Lanka, mostly examining multinational companies, conclude that CSR reporting is gaining momentum in Sri Lanka but is still emerging as the concept of CSR itself emerges (Beddewela and Herzig 2012 ; Hunter and Van Wassenhove 2011 ).

Conclusion and a future research agenda

As more and more research on CSR in developing countries emerges in the academic literature, it is important to ensure that appropriate consideration is given to the context in which the research takes place. Examination of CSR and CSR reporting practices without contextualisation could perpetuate flawed understandings that are based on evidence from research in the developed world. Different political, social, cultural and economic environments impact on the both the development of, and reporting of, CSR activities and consequently impact on the value of these activities to benefit society and the natural environment.

A suggested agenda for future research, that considers context in more depth, includes:

Consideration of ideological and hegemonic regimes and their attitude towards CSR. This research would consider potential positive and negative impacts of the political and governance system. In China, for example, the potential for Communist Party ideology to increase environmental protection and improve social conditions is vast, and is starting to be seen to have a strong impact on firm behaviour. Examination of this over time will provide an important contribution to understanding the role of government beyond the more common analysis of environmental protection regulation.

Greater examination of sociocultural variables in different countries, beyond analysis of religious influence, and beyond the use of Hofstede. Understandings of concepts such as CSR in countries in Asia, the Middle East and the Asian sub-continent, are known to differ from those in the West, so understanding their potential to lead to better (worse) CSR outcomes is important. The variety of variables that could be included is vast, but some clearly important issues include: language, secularism, freedom of the press, access to information, homogeneity of values and attitudes, and the existence of a national figurehead or identity.

Longitudinal examination of the process of economic development. Countries where the economy is developing rapidly, such as China and the Middle East; and countries where the historical economic context differs dramatically, such as in Sri Lanka where the need for development is borne out of conflict, provide rich backgrounds to consider how CSR is developing alongside economic developments.

A comprehensive framework for examining these, and other, potential factors that influence CSR and CSR reporting in developing countries does not exist, but Table  1 attempts to provide a preliminary outline of some factors that could comprise such a framework, and be used to guide future research. As mentioned earlier, it is important to note, however, that these variables are not discreet and are likely to interact with each other. This is noted in the table as a reminder that the classifications are somewhat artificial and that acknowledgement of a more holistic consideration is important.

These are clearly only a selection of opportunities for CSR research on developing nations and emerging economies. Calls for more work on these factors have continued since Adams’ ( 2002 ) original call, but there is still vast scope to improve our understanding of CSR practice throughout the world (Fifka 2013 ), where much of the social and environmental damage is taking place.

Importantly, research of this kind must be transdisciplinary as perspectives from areas such as political science, philosophy and economics are essential. Only with in-depth, contextualised understandings can improvements to the nature of CSR activity be implemented.

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Acknowledgements

It is important to acknowledge that this paper provides an overview of a larger research program currently being undertaken by a team of doctoral students at Flinders University and the University of South Australia. Credit must be given to Ms Hui Situ (Flinders University) who is researching environmental reporting in China, Mr Abdullah Silawi (Flinders University) who is researching social responsibility reporting in the Gulf region, and Ms Dinithi Dissanayake (University of SA), who is researching environmental disclosure in Sri Lanka.

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Tilt, C.A. Corporate social responsibility research: the importance of context. Int J Corporate Soc Responsibility 1 , 2 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40991-016-0003-7

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The Truth About CSR

• V. Kasturi Rangan,
• Lisa Chase,
• Sohel Karim

Despite the widely accepted ideal of “shared value,” research led by Harvard Business School’s Kasturi Rangan suggests that this is not the norm—and that’s OK. Most companies practice a multifaceted version of CSR that spans theaters ranging from pure philanthropy to environmental sustainability to the explicitly strategic. To maximize their impact, companies must ensure that initiatives in the various theaters form a unified platform. Four steps can help them do so:

Pruning and aligning programs within theaters. Companies must examine their existing programs in each theater, reducing or eliminating those that do not address an important social or environmental problem in keeping with the firm’s business purpose and values.

Developing metrics to gauge performance. Just as the goals of programs vary from theater to theater, so do the definitions of success.

Coordinating programs across theaters. This does not mean that all initiatives necessarily address the same problem; it means that they are mutually reinforcing and form a cogent whole.

Developing an interdisciplinary CSR strategy. The range of purposes underlying initiatives in different theaters and the variation in how those initiatives are managed pose major barriers for many firms. Strategy development can be top-down or bottom-up, but ongoing communication is key.

These practices have helped companies including PNC Bank, IKEA, and Ambuja Cements bring discipline and coherence to their CSR portfolios.

Most of these programs aren’t strategic—and that’s OK.

Idea in Brief

The problem.

Many companies’ CSR initiatives are disparate and uncoordinated, run by a variety of managers without the active engagement of the CEO. Such firms cannot maximize their positive impact on the social and environmental systems in which they operate.

The Solution

Firms must develop coherent CSR strategies, with activities typically divided among three theaters of practice. Theater one focuses on philanthropy, theater two on improving operational effectiveness, and theater three on transforming the business model to create shared value.

Companies must prune existing programs in each theater to align them with the firm’s purpose and values; develop ways of measuring initiatives’ success; coordinate programs across theaters; and create an interdisciplinary management team to drive CSR strategy.

Most companies have long practiced some form of corporate social and environmental responsibility with the broad goal, simply, of contributing to the well-being of the communities and society they affect and on which they depend. But there is increasing pressure to dress up CSR as a business discipline and demand that every initiative deliver business results. That is asking too much of CSR and distracts from what must be its main goal: to align a company’s social and environmental activities with its business purpose and values. If in doing so CSR activities mitigate risks, enhance reputation, and contribute to business results, that is all to the good. But for many CSR programs, those outcomes should be a spillover, not their reason for being. This article explains why firms must refocus their CSR activities on this fundamental goal and provides a systematic process for bringing coherence and discipline to CSR strategies.

• VR V. Kasturi Rangan is a Baker Foundation Professor at Harvard Business School and a cofounder and cochair of the HBS Social Enterprise Initiative.
• Lisa Chase is a research associate at Harvard Business School and a freelance consultant.
• SK Sohel Karim is a cofounder and the managing director of Socient Associates, a social enterprise consulting firm.

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What will the next 10 years of CSR look like?

Based on insights from leading csr spenders in india, a recent report from give grants outlines the levers that will drive csr over the next decade..

It’s been a long, winding road since then. What was initially labelled a bold move towards funnelling private funds into the public impact space is now recognised as a reliable source of sustainable funding for long-term social initiatives.

The CSR mandate has been key to unlocking a cumulative giving capital of INR 2,17,000 crore over the last decade. And the learnings that have emerged over this period will shape the what, why, and how of corporate giving towards social impact for the next decade.

Give Grants, with research support from The Bridgespan Group , recently released a report on CSR trends. Titled Dus spoke India Inc , it offers valuable insights from 40 of India’s top 100 companies. The CSR spending of these companies exceeded INR 4,300 crores in FY 2021–22, accounting for 16 percent of the nation’s total CSR expenditure.

Here are some of the report’s key findings:

CSR of and for tomorrow

The CSR mandate has been instrumental in transforming corporate giving from ad hoc allocation of funds to strategic long-term support to projects designed with both community and stakeholder needs in mind.

The mandate elevated the importance of CSR to the forefront of decision-making, engaging board members and CxOs at the highest levels. It actively involved them in shaping CSR strategy and overseeing its implementation; this level of involvement was previously unlikely.

This shift has led to investments in the creation of dedicated CSR teams in 95 percent of the 100 corporates surveyed; 85 percent of these companies have committed CSR heads leading the charge.

Sourav Roy, CEO at Tata Steel Foundation, observes, “The mandate, to my mind, has shifted the conversation around social impact and taken it to the board level, which is not just good in the larger sense of the term but has also been empowering for teams within companies.”

In terms of financial outlay, annual CSR spending grew by approximately 3x between FY2014–15 and FY 2023–24. During this time, corporates focused on ensuring compliance and prioritising communities that were most closely connected to their core business. In the coming decade, however, energies in boardrooms will shift towards a more powerful metric: impact. In fact, many aim to go a step further and focus on ‘catalytic impact’.

Harish Krishnan, managing director and chief policy officer at Cisco India and SAARC, states, “Some portion of CSR funds should also be viewed as risk capital and catalytic capital. It can be used to track innovative projects that have transformative potential. Successful projects can be used as proof of concept and leveraged by the government and other agencies to scale the solution for population-level impact. This experimentation is vital to catalysing new solutions and bridging gaps where conventional methods are insufficient.”

According to the report, 79 percent of the CSR leaders surveyed felt that their definitions of impact goals and outcomes require sharpening and refining. Clarity of outcomes will pave the way for their 2024–34 agenda of making CSR a powerful tool that catalyses meaningful impact. This sentiment is echoed by Sakina Baker, head of CSR at Bosch Limited and Bosch India Foundation. Sakina notes, “Discussions on how much money is spent are long gone; now the discussion is on impact.”

A significant capital of INR 7,24,000 crore is estimated to be unlocked for development over the next 10 years. As a result, annual spending will more than triple to approximately INR 1,20,000 crores by FY 2034. This number has been arrived at by analysing the earnings growth of the top 100 listed companies over the past three years as a proxy for estimating CSR allocation growth. A compounded annual growth rate of 13.48 percent was observed.

Three levers will shape catalytic CSR

The playbook for this ambitious vision is already in place, and it hinges on three levers—collaboration, investments in innovation, and investments in ecosystem and capability development.

1. Multi-stakeholder collaborations to multiply scale

Going forward, collaboration with external stakeholders will be vital to get CSR to focus on sustained positive impact.

At present, there aren’t a lot of multi-stakeholder partnerships, with only 33 percent of companies participating in such endeavours. The reasons for this vary from limited awareness of collaborative platforms to concerns about goal alignment and transparency of results.

However, there is a strong intent for greater collaboration. Approximately 87 percent of CSR leaders reported an interest in multi-stakeholder engagements with the government, philanthropic foundations, and other members of the social impact ecosystem.

“Co-creation is the coming together of partners with aligned focus. It’s about acknowledging interdependence to accomplish more as partners than as individual entities,” explains Anupam Nidhi, head of CSR at Hindustan Zinc Limited.

2. Systemic initiatives to drive innovation

A focus on programme funding with clear outcomes is the preferred approach for CSR. That by itself is not in conflict with funding innovation. In fact, 59 percent of CSR leaders are looking to transition towards supporting innovative solutions. These include:

• Funding ideas and technologies and establishing their effectiveness so that they can be scaled further by the government.
• Funding innovation via nonprofits, social start-ups, incubators, and accelerators. This will also require high flexibility in funding models (grants, work contracts, blended finance, etc.).

3. Ecosystem and capability building

There is a need for building and nurturing capacity in the sector to turn the ten-year vision into reality. This capacity building relies on the people and functions within the companies themselves as well as their nonprofit partners. Supporting capacity building is an area of interest for 33 percent of CSR leaders interviewed. Moreover, 49 percent of CSR leaders want to allocate funds towards knowledge sharing, ecosystem building, and research.

Animesh Kumar, president of HR and transformation at Zee Entertainment, notes, “We need to allow for greater flexibility and allow companies to fund capacity enhancement and capability building for the various nonprofits/implementing agencies.”

Existing barriers to impact multiplier funding

Although CSR spending is sizeable, it constitutes just 1.3 percent of government expenditure on social impact. And while the shift from funding-focused criteria to impact-oriented metrics is a step in the right direction, the path is marked with barriers. What’s interesting is that most of these barriers are not regulation-based; rather, they are rooted in perception. Some of them are listed below.

Low risk appetite: While CSR might be keen to explore innovation-based funding in the future,  it still shies away from funding new concepts and bringing in new partners due to reputational and brand risk. This can be attributed to a ‘minimal risk, compliance first’ mindset, which can and should change. Calculated risk-taking in CSR should be as welcome as risk-taking in business.

Information gap: There is an information gap regarding new impact partners, whether they are nonprofits or social enterprises. There is a high barrier to discovery that can only be addressed by building and supporting platforms that house and disseminate knowledge about ecosystem partners—both new and existing—across CSR players. Legal interpretation : Provisions of the CSR law, including Schedule VII , are expansive and leave room for liberal interpretation—a double-edged sword. The intent was to enable flexibility for corporates to do what is needed the most, and this intent has been further emphasised in the FAQs released periodically by the government. However, this flexibility has often led to conflicting points of view and myths. For example, the law does not mandate that corporates can only work with nonprofits; CSR programmes can partner with social enterprises or, for that matter, commercial enterprises—either directly or through other corporate foundations. While the law provides that administrative overheads cannot exceed 5 percent of the total CSR expenditure of a company, it does not cap nonprofit overheads. Corporates are thus free to fund capacity building if they want to.

“CSR funds are a sacred responsibility,” says Gayatri Divecha, head of sustainability and CSR at Godrej Group. “It’s not just about fulfilling regulatory requirements; it’s also about leveraging resources and reach to drive meaningful change in communities and society at large.”

Where investments ought to be

The CSR law has been valuable in unlocking dependable, long-term funding for social initiatives—a fact echoed by 87 percent of CSR leaders. However, there is still much to do.

Focus on underserved areas

Taking a more intentional approach towards equity in CSR initiatives and funding is critical, as there currently exists a funding disproportionality.

More than 70 percent of CSR expenditure has consistently been channelled towards six broad categories: education and skilling, healthcare, rural and slum development, environment, poverty eradication, and livelihoods. Gender equality, animal welfare, senior citizen welfare, agroforestry, and technology incubators remain the least-funded thematic areas. The good news is that more and more leaders are applying an equity lens to their programme design and funding decisions, with the top three focus demographics being women and girls, persons with disabilities, and Dalits, Bahujans, and Adivasis.

Moreover, to stay business-aligned, corporate investments are concentrated in regions and communities with higher economic activity. In the absence of external nudges, this is unlikely to change.

To address such issues, CSRs must chart strategies and deploy funds towards underserved areas and least-prioritised populations. A conscious effort must be taken to find the balance between business alignment and driving essential impact.

As Narayan P S, global head of sustainability and social initiatives at Wipro Limited, explains, “The whole surpasses the sum of its parts. In any sector, a comprehensive, time-spanning, and geographically diverse approach reveals leverage points and progress needs. This method needs patience. However, when observed unfolding over time, it brings a sense of fulfilment.” 

Build a supportive ecosystem

An ecosystem that supports the different stakeholders can be powered by funding research on trends, challenges, and opportunities in CSR; sharing findings; and charting insights-based CSR plans.

It’s equally important to establish common platforms, forums, and gatherings to inspire dialogue among stakeholders. This will encourage partnerships, bring collaborative opportunities, and allow all to leverage collective expertise.

CSRs also need to move beyond mere funding and towards structuring a strong social sector. Flexible, multi-year grants can empower grantees to make informed investment decisions as required.

All hands on deck

It’s worth noting that at this juncture, CSR operates within the larger corporate environment. Corporate leadership teams and boards will need to encourage and support CSR’s shift towards funding innovation, which inherently has a higher risk of failure but also has the potential to scale disproportionately.

The government can always help by enabling a simplified compliance framework and fostering corporate collaboration by providing access to data. Real change, however, will be led from the front by India’s top 100 CSR leaders, and they carry the responsibility of making the next decade even more transformational than the last.

• Read the report that this article was based on.
• Read this article on lack of CSR investments in aspirational districts.

Ten years ago, India’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) mandate was introduced under Section 135 of the Companies Act, 2013. The first of its kind in the world, the mandate requires […]

Sumit Tayal is the CEO of Give Grants , where he works with CSR decision-makers to maximise their social impact. He initially joined Give Grants as a volunteer for the India Covid Response Fund. His past experience cuts across private equity, operations, and management consulting. Sumit completed his MBA from IIM Bangalore and is an engineering graduate from NIT Nagpur.

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Home — Essay Samples — Philosophy — Ethics — Divine Command Theory: An Examination of Morality and Religion

Divine Command Theory: an Examination of Morality and Religion

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The University of Chicago The Law School

College essays and diversity in the post-affirmative action era, sonja starr’s latest research adds data, legal analysis to discussion about race in college admissions essays.

Editor’s Note: This story is part of an occasional series on research projects currently in the works at the Law School.

The Supreme Court’s decision in June 2023 to bar the use of affirmative action in college admissions raised many questions. One of the most significant is whether universities should consider applicants’ discussion of race in essays. The Court’s decision in Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) v. Harvard did not require entirely race-blind admissions. Rather, the Court explicitly stated that admissions offices may weigh what students say about how race affected their lives. Yet the Court also warned that this practice may not be used to circumvent the bar on affirmative action.

Many university leaders made statements after SFFA suggesting that they take this passage seriously, and that it potentially points to a strategy for preserving diversity. But it’s not obvious how lower courts will distinguish between consideration of “race-related experience” and consideration of “race qua race.” Sonja Starr, Julius Kreeger Professor of Law & Criminology at the Law School, was intrigued by the implication of that question, calling the key passage of the Court’s opinion the “essay carveout.”

“Where is the line?” she wrote in a forthcoming article, the first of its kind to discuss this issue in depth in the post- SFFA era. “And what other potential legal pitfalls could universities encounter in evaluating essays about race?”

To inform her paper’s legal analysis, Starr conducted empirical analyses of how universities and students have included race in essays, both before and after the Court’s decision. She concluded that large numbers of applicants wrote about race, and that college essay prompts encouraged them to do so, even before SFFA .

Some thought the essay carveout made no sense. Justice Sonia Sotomayor called it “an attempt to put lipstick on a pig” in her dissent. Starr, however, disagrees. She argues that universities are on sound legal footing relying on the essay carveout, so long as they consider race-related experience in an individualized way. In her article, Starr points out reasons the essay carveout makes sense in the context of the Court’s other arguments. However, she points to the potential for future challenges—on both equal protection and First Amendment grounds—and discusses how colleges can survive them.

What the Empirical Research Showed

After SFFA , media outlets suggested that universities would add questions about race or identity in their admissions essays and that students would increasingly focus on that topic. Starr decided to investigate this speculation. She commissioned a professional survey group to recruit a nationally representative sample of recent college applicants. The firm queried 881 people about their essay content, about half of whom applied in 2022-23, before SFFA , and half of whom submitted in 2023-24.

The survey found that more than 60 percent of students in non-white groups wrote about race in at least some of their essays, as did about half of white applicants. But contrary to what the media suggested, there were no substantial changes between the pre-and post- SFFA application cycles.

Starr also reviewed essay prompts that 65 top schools have used over the last four years. She found that diversity and identity questions—as well as questions about overcoming adversity, which, for example, provide opportunities for students to discuss discrimination that they have faced—are common and have increased in frequency both before and after SFFA.

A Personally Inspired Interest

Although Starr has long written about equal protection issues, until about two years ago, she would have characterized educational admissions as a bit outside her wheelhouse. Her research has mostly focused on the criminal justice system, though race is often at the heart of it. In the past, for example, she has assessed the role of race in sentencing, the constitutionality of algorithmic risk assessment instruments in criminal justice, as well as policies to expand employment options for people with criminal records.

But a legal battle around admissions policies at Fairfax County’s Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology—the high school that Starr attended—caught her attention. Starr followed the case closely and predicted that “litigation may soon be an ever-present threat for race-conscious policymaking” in a 2024 Stanford Law Review article on that and other magnet school cases.

“I got really interested in that case partly because of the personal connection,” she said. “But I ended up writing about it as an academic matter, and that got me entrenched in this world of educational admissions questions and their related implications for other areas of equal protection law.”

Implications in Education and Beyond

Starr’s forthcoming paper argues that the essay carveout provides a way for colleges to maintain diversity and stay on the right side of the Court’s decision.

“I believe there’s quite a bit of space that’s open for colleges to pursue in this area without crossing that line,” she said. “I lay out the arguments that colleges can put forth.”

Nevertheless, Starr expects future litigation targeting the essay carveout.

“I think we could see cases filed as soon as this year when the admissions numbers come out,” she said, pointing out that conservative legal organizations, such as the Pacific Legal Foundation, have warned that they’re going to be keeping a close eye on admissions numbers and looking for ways that schools are circumventing SFFA .

Starr envisions her paper being used as a resource for schools that want to obey the law while also maintaining diversity. “The preservation of diversity is not a red flag that something unconstitutional is happening,” she said. “There are lots of perfectly permissible ways that we can expect diversity to be maintained in this post- affirmative action era.”

Starr’s article, “Admissions Essays after SFFA ,” is slated to be published in Indiana Law Journal in early 2025.

Corporate Social Responsibility Strategies Essay

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Introduction

List of references.

Globalized and local entities have held the concepts of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in order to achieve varied business objectives that match the current dynamic markets. This paper focuses on the different strategies used by organizations that chose to work with local communities, and their effectiveness in conducting themselves as corporate and global entities.

According to IISD (2011), CSR is the internal enactment of regulating policies, which ensures that the involved organization conforms to the legal, social, environmental, and ethical concerns of the society. Numerous organizations have realized the importance of practicing CSR in enhancing their market share and the overall public perception.

CSR involves the utilization of set standards within the company to ensure that the company acts responsibly and meets the aforementioned requirements.

Quality is one of the ways through which an organization can express its commitments to CSR (Calabrese 2004). It means that the involved organization care for its clients hence endeavours to serve them with the best. CSR is an in-built drive governed and steered with appropriate policies through viable business models.

Focusing on the different strategies used by organizations working with local communities, and their effectiveness to conduct themselves as corporate and global citizens

Viable CSR starts with mutual cooperation with communities to enhance equality, impartiality, and nurturing of the unique potentials presented by different individuals. Creating regulations that enhance adherence to ethical and human rights concerns is critical within organizations. CSR endures to achieve both internal and external compliances to the moral demands of the society.

This is achievable through stringent observation of the self-regulative policies and ratification of competitive business models within the organization. CSR strives to capture the community with ethical products and by-products that do not disfavour the community (Bidgoli 2006). It relates to the aspects of sustainable development where the industrial activities of today do not compromise the survival of tomorrow’s generation. Most organizations have formulated a unique approach to CSR as indicated in a while.

Such companies have long-term strategies to ensure their compliance with the legal, ethical, social, and environmental demands of the concerned societies. For example, GM Motors strives to provide the society with due comfort as one drives with a guaranteed safety on the roads (Schwartz 2011).

As a strategy, policies and business models that ensure the achievement of these provisions constitute the ethical and legal aspects of CSR. In this context, the organizations have developed safety mechanisms to guarantee this provision.

To improve the safety skills of a community, most organizations have organized education on issues affecting proper living. This aspect indicates the significance of CSR and its contribution to the corporate schemes (ETATS-UNIS 2007).

Providing the society with quality products is one of the ethical concerns of CSR. It is the mandate of the concerned organization to achieve value for money. Additionally, it is ethical to produce quality products that will eventually impress clients. Most organizations are in the forefront in quality provision.

Additionally, most organizations understand the benefits of quality products not only to the clients but also to the company’s growth (Stoian & Zaharia 2012). The strategies used by organizations working with local communities to embrace quality have been lucrative to the concerned entities.

The aspects of quality contribute vividly in the attainment of CSR objectives as mentioned earlier. Organizations focus on the product quality, excellence, and management quality (IISD 2011). These efforts eventually influence the company’s growth with successful results.

As another strategy, most organizations enhance the success of the society through ample impacts of CSR. The sustainable and profitable expansion of the company indicates economic sensitivity to the society. Nissan’s conformity to the international legal requirements, ethical issues within the industry, and environmental concerns form the substantial aspects in the realms of embracing CSR.

This provision contributes to the company’s CSR achievement. Most organizations trust the concerns of the public and endeavor in their capacity to ensure that the public attains their ethical rights for a sustainable development (Hunter & Piltzecker 2003). Recognizing the significance of every stakeholder in the operational context is a crucial phenomenon in most companies.

Thus, the company strives to attain beneficial management practices as it endures to conform to the demands of the CSR and dynamic world markets. It is evident that the integration of the CSR principles into the company operation enhances the aspects of compliance demanded.

Precisely, CSR endures to manage the viable business processes in order to inflict a remarkable impact on society. Another example is that Coca Cola Company has strived to achieve its objective through integration of CSR within their systems as a major regulatory factor.

The concepts of CSR demand socially sensitive regulations that hardly hinder projects meant to favor the well-being of the society. The efforts to provide striking products to customers with elegant services are major objectives of most organizations.

Nissan Motors; nonetheless, this does not compromise its goodwill for the society. Instead, the aspect has increased the humanitarian support to ensure that the company grows together with the society (Dahlsrud 2008). As a strategy, most organizations have focused on the humanitarian aids, educational support, and the environmental fortification.

For instance, as a policy of the company, Starbucks Company liaises with humanitarian organizations in order to reach varied masses globally. Its contributions to the society on charitable grounds are remarkable.

Additionally, the company emphasizes on the education of the current children for a sustainable future development (PROBST 2010). It is a business law to integrate such CSR principals within the business models in order to achieve full impact (Banerjee 2007).

CSR fronts numerous benefits to an organization that have established and ratified its principles. This is crucial in earning the public trust on operational and business grounds. One advantage of CSR in governance is the ability to develop competitive advantages over other contenders following its impacts on the society (IISD 2011).

CSR manages to enact social, ethical, economic, and environmental values in the organization. It is crucial to agree that CSR is no longer a mere provision in most organization but rather a necessity for sustainable development within the organization (Mullerat & Brennan 2010, P. 317).

Evidently, organizations have set their core CSR areas to help them realize its mandates to the public. It is crucial to agree that CSR contributes immensely to the corporate strategies and governance since it reshapes concerned organizations in the realms of their operations and service to the people.

Most organizations have incorporated the CSR principles as any other policies within their business models. This effort benefits the company in achieving its corporate objectives with limited hindrances. Organizations have varied economic, societal, and environmental strategies depending on their mission and passion for the society.

It is crucial to recognize individual/corporate strategies in order to design appropriate CSR objectives. Nonetheless, CSR has numerous benefits to both the concerned organization and society, which it serves. While considering the social objectives of CSR, the involved corporate will observe the issues relating to education, public services, rejuvenation, and workers volunteering.

Precisely, the concerned organization will observe the social aspects of the public upon ratifying the CSR principles. This provision is evident in Pepsi company following its passion to give back to the public (Egan & Mather 2005). The significance of CSR in this context is its ability to mould the company’s operations to observe the ethical and social aspects in its service delivery.

Eventually, most organizations incorporate CSR principles in their endeavors as mentioned earlier. The economic contributions of CSR relates to the issues of jobs, business principles, and product value (IISD 2011). Organization that observes CSR in this aspect will ensure that their products have the recommended value commensurate to their prices.

Contextually, General Electric Company (based in the U.S.) has observed the issues of the product value earning it a massive competitive advantage. Thus, CSR will force the concerned organization to enact business processes with positive influence on the society as indicated before (Beurden & Go¨ssling, 2008).

CSR is a self-regulating phenomenon whose benefits forces any given company to consider the concerns of its surrounding. Any responsible organization will embrace the aspects of CSR voluntarily since its benefits are bountiful. Attaining a positive public perception is a remarkable achievement for any organization aiming to expand its market territories.

As a strategy, most organizations have put varied strategies to ensure that they enact viable CSR in their daily operation (Hillenbrand, Money & Ghobadian 2013). The company has a globalized fame emerging from its competitive automobiles and participation in numerous global social events and policymaking. It is crucial to consider and understand the concepts of CSR in the Nissan’s context.

This is achievable by dividing its participation into several units that have added to the achievement of its CSR goals independently (Egan & Mather 2005). Numerous corporations have realized substantial profits in their business upon the ratification of viable CSR policies within their business models.

This incorporated the enactment of policies that considered the public interest and the current global demands in the realms of environment protection and economic intensification for poverty suppression (Borchgrave 2001).

As a strategy, most organizations have developed numerous key CSR areas to help them achieve their strategic goals in the realms of business and service provision to the society. To conform to the demands of CSR, companies have developed a philosophy that establishes a safe coexistence amid the society and nature.

In their endeavours, they strive to attain a sustainable and mobile society with limited adverse effects to the environment. Evidently, CSR endures to protect the interest of the society.

Most organizations have observed this demands hence established self-regulating policies that ensure a viable and sustainable environment (Nissan 2011). Despite the companies’ desire to attain huge returns, they prioritize the issues relating to the environment. Companies have identified three principal areas to achieve this mandate (Jakobsson & Ramzan 2008).

Firstly, most institutions endure to reduce the emission of CO2 and CO gases through the production of environmental friendly commodities. The emergence of new technologies forces organizations to reinvent vehicles that hardly utilize fossil fuels known to pollute the environment upon combustion.

This occurs besides the efforts to produce motors that hardly emit the known dangerous gases to the environment (Nissan 2011). Additionally, the company mandates to provide automobiles that would help in protecting the air, soil, and water among other lucrative resources. This will help the current and future generation in attaining a sustainably environment for other coming generations.

Establishing, developing, and championing these environmentally responsive technologies are core in this context. It is through technologies that the organization realizes its CSR through appropriate business models (Fischer 2009). Lastly, Nissan recycles numerous resources to ensure an efficient but sparing use of the available resources. This ensures little or no wastage of resources.

Most organizations have achieved their global might and business prevalence by fostering the individuality that exists amid employees and the society at large. Realizing the benefits of workforce diversity, and its impacts to the society are critical. Besides harnessing individual potentials, employees feel ethically valued hence ready to work and propel the company further (EC-COUNCIL PRESS 2011).

The diversity within the Nissan’s workforce fraternity is its driving force meant to achieve its client’s demands and attain a sustainable growth. As demanded by its CSR policies, the company has respect for diversity, creates a learning culture, embraces internal communication, and builds ambient workplaces (GEVA 2008).

These achievements have met the international standardization requirements regarding the establishment and ratification of CSR (Grünewälder, 2008).

As another strategy, numerous organizations dedicate their economic achievements to the society through ample impacts of CSR. The sustainable and profitable expansion of the company indicates economic sensitivity to the society. Nissan’s conformity to the international legal requirements, ethical issues within the industry, and environmental concerns form the substantial aspects in the realms of embracing CSR.

This provision contributes to the company’s CSR achievement. Nissan trusts the concerns of the public and endeavors in its capacity to ensure that the public attains their ethical rights for a sustainable development (Hunter & Piltzecker 2003). Recognizing the significance of every stakeholder in the operational context is a crucial phenomenon in most companies.

Thus, the company strives to attain beneficial management practices as it endures to conform to the demands of the CSR and dynamic world markets. It is evident that the integration of the CSR principles into the company operation enhances the aspects of compliance demanded. Precisely, CSR endures to manage the viable business processes in order to inflict a remarkable impact on society (Fifka 2013).

CSR is a critical provision in most organization meant to enact self-regulating policies. Most organizations strive to comply with the lawful, societal, ethical, fiscal, and environmental concerns in order to achieve their business objectives. CSR is voluntary requirement with its principles helping in conforming to the mentioned provisions with limited hindrance.

Contextually, most organizations have enacted CSR in numerous aspects ranging from their environmental concerns to the philanthropic passions. Organizations that chose to work with local communities employ different strategies.

The aspects of the society, environmental safety, quality, goodwill, internal governance, and promoting CSR through the value chain similarly demonstrate the concepts of CSR at the organizational level. CSR has numerous benefits, and it contributes immensely to the corporate success.

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IvyPanda. (2019, April 17). Corporate Social Responsibility Strategies. https://ivypanda.com/essays/corporate-social-responsibility-15/

"Corporate Social Responsibility Strategies." IvyPanda , 17 Apr. 2019, ivypanda.com/essays/corporate-social-responsibility-15/.

IvyPanda . (2019) 'Corporate Social Responsibility Strategies'. 17 April.

IvyPanda . 2019. "Corporate Social Responsibility Strategies." April 17, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/corporate-social-responsibility-15/.

1. IvyPanda . "Corporate Social Responsibility Strategies." April 17, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/corporate-social-responsibility-15/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Corporate Social Responsibility Strategies." April 17, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/corporate-social-responsibility-15/.