ABSTRACT
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) represents one of the most widely debated contemporary business issues. In broad terms, CSR is the responsibility an organisation takes for the impact of its corporate activities on the various stakeholders with whom it interfaces and whom it affects (e.g. employees, customers, and communities) and on the environment. Thus, the concept holds that corporate emphases extend well beyond legal and statutory obligation to encompass a real and sustained responsibility to those whom the business affects. The emergence and growth of the concept reflects a deepening societal interest in the ethical behaviour of businesses. Stakeholders are increasingly prone to criticise unethical practices that damage the environment, exploit the workers or damage communities. Accordingly, in recent years, the nature and meaning of the concept has evolved from one of corporate philanthropy to a key business driver that influences organisations’ strategic priorities. This has seen the formal recognition of CSR as a key driver and metric for business performance. Thus, although assertions of a positive relationship between social and financial performance are by no means uncontested, the need for effective approaches to CSR is beginning to have purchase withinmany industries and sectors.
