Corporate Social Responsibility - a Tool for Business Enhancement?

Abstract

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become a topic widely discussed in the last years. Ever more companies declare their commitments to sustainable growth, environmentally friendly operations and ethical conduct towards their workforce and the society. CSR has become not any more just a sideline, but a part of business. However, there are quite many contradictory theories and opinions on CSR – from strong supporters of the idea that responsible business is mutually beneficial for the business and the society, to strong opponents, who consider CSR as a pure marketing tool. Moreover, as my study has found out, on a managerial level in the companies, there is lack of sufficient knowledge on CSR, its impact on the business and how this impact may be assessed in order to make appropriate investment decisions an achieve competitive advantage. The purpose of this research is to analyze whether CSR might be used by companies as tool for business enhancement and even as an instrument for faster getting out of the crisis. I have chosen this topic and I consider it important and interesting as this is a notion that is providing benefits for all participants in the society – companies and consumers. Consumers benefit from the socially responsible actions of the companies like care about the environment and the local communities, ethical conduct towards their workforce, even philanthropic activities like donations and charity. On the other hand, the companies enjoy favorable relationships with the consumers as increased customer loyalty (Maignan & Ferrell, 2001), brand identification (Becker-Olsen et al, 2006), better financial performance through increased sales (Salzmann et al, 2005). In order to present an overall view on the research problem and draw conclusions, I have examined the existing theories on CSR, have conducted a survey to study the attitudes of the consumers towards companies who have adopted CSR programs and have presented also a case study, providing the outcomes for a major Bulgarian bank that is already engaged in various CSR activities.