ABSTRACT
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has been an issue in the literature for decades as a concept whereby companies on a voluntary basis integrate social and environmental concerns in their business operations and in their interactions with stakeholders. The fundamental idea of CSR is that business corporations have an obligation to work for social betterment. Institutional theory can be useful in understanding the adoption and implementation of CSR activities. Institutions can be market- or nonmarket based. Nonmarket is an umbrella term applicable to a variety of intraorganizational and interorganizational. The government is a powerful nonmarket institution, which has the power to affect the legal and economic environment. It can influence organizations via different social normative pressures. Government initiatives can stimulate the diffusion of CSR activities by encouraging organizations to adopt them. Diffusion theories describe how ideas and practices become established among a population of organizations, groups, or individuals. The diffusion of CSR in particular is taking place on a global scale.
