ABSTRACT
This chapter notes that the role that multinational corporations (MNCs) can play in the social and economic development of countries, especially developing and emerging ones, has been controversially discussed since the 1970s. With the advent of corporate social responsibility (CSR) this discussion has received new input. In this context, this paper aims at examining the economic and social impact of the CSR activities of MNCs in Romania as a transition country. To do this, it analyses the specific national political and socio-economic background for CSR and its development as a first step. Afterwards, business operations and CSR activities of MNCs are investigated and three case studies are presented. Our findings show that the understanding of CSR is mostly reduced to philanthropy and does not encompass core business activities. Moreover, governmental and civil society initiatives to promote CSR are very weak. We conclude that the potential of CSR to contribute to economic and social development in Romania is not being used.
