ABSTRACT
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a relatively emerging concept in academic research. Among practitioners also it is in an evolving stage of development. Critics recommend that business should focus on its prime motive of making profits and that ‘social responsibility’ is not its competency. But at the same time, the importance of CSR in the corporate world is increasing day by day, though the reasons may vary from the ‘CEO/board of directors personal philosophy’to ‘catering to stake holder interests’ to ‘following a global trend’ to ‘act as tool to enhance employee engagement. Organizations benefit from CSR activities as well since they enhance their image among their customers and increase their attractiveness to potential and existing employees. Hence CSR has become an integral part of business practice, regardless of the organization’s type of markets and organisations allocate hefty amounts in their annual budgets for investments in these areas. (Rizwana Bashir A. H., 2012)
Specially, in the era of global slowdown, the most important matter for corporations is sustainable growth, and researchers stress on corporates to assign substantial resources for the welfare of the community and consider the amount spent on CSR as investment than expenses. The corporations also realize the multifaceted benefits of CSR and use it to strengthen its relationships with different stakeholders including customers, investors, government, suppliers, and employees and also minimize conflicts and get maximum loyalty from all stakeholders.
