There is a continuing academic debate on corporate social responsibility (CSR), its goals and practices, and its impact on business and society. Following this debate, this study has made a critical investigation of CSR practices of business enterprises with a view to examining their spirit, intentions and roles in terms of pristine business goals. After analyzing the contents of pertinent literature (126 articles, of which 89 are empirical) in both developed and developing country contexts, the study finds that corporate managers are still less concerned about the meaning and essence of pristine business goals and the true goals and role of CSR. They practice CSR largely in a voluntary philanthropic fashion to build public image and primarily enhance business profit, not necessarily for social wellbeing. Their CSR practices have been found to be more of a cosmetic and face‐saving marketing strategy, undermining the social wellbeing goal for sustainable development. The CSR movement, therefore, needs reformation.

A small business entrepreneur is defined as an individual who establishes and manages a business for the principal purpose of profit and growth. Small businesses constitute an increasingly large proportion of businesses generally in the United States economy. They account for 39 per cent of the United States gross national product and create two out of every three new jobs in our economy. Seven important prerequisites are identified as being necessary for successfully operating a small business. These include adequate financing, qualified personnel, efficient operation and production, marketing and sales, customer service, information management and administration. One of the most significant contributors to failure of a small business relates to acquisition of adequate capital. Small Business Administration (SBA) was established by Federal Government in 1953 to provide low interest loans to small business borrowers that would not otherwise have access to credit. However, there is some criticism that these SBA programs unfairly benefit, not the small businesses, but the financial institutions that participate in the SBA loan programs. Another significant source of debt financing to small businesses is known as micro-financing, started as new wave in providing capital to small businesses by the Nobel Peace Prize winner, Muhammad Yunus, in Bangladesh.

This research addresses the question of the potential growth of electronic marketplaces as an e-entrepreneurship model. We will examine how electronic marketplaces are different among industry sectors from two major perspectives: the level of electronic marketplace usage and the level of e-readiness. The results of an empirical study conducted in the United States show that a wide range of industry sectors are currently prepared to use electronic marketplaces, and will use them in the future. These findings indicate a better chance for the growth of e-entrepreneurship as a solution for entrepreneurs in our current troubled economy.

The study aims at examining the impact of investment in human resource development (HRD) on the financial performance of the banking sector of Bangladesh. Using the economic data as well as survey data collected from purposively selected 120 bank executives of 20 private commercial banks of Bangladesh. The study through regression models finds that there is a significant positive correlations between HRD investment (in salaries and allowances, provident fund and gratuity, bonus and incentives, staff welfare and training, workshop, and seminar) and financial performance of the sample banks. Though, training is one of the important HRD indicators, the lowest investment was made in this sector by the sample banks. The findings of the study may be useful for bankers, policymakers, HR professionals, and the stakeholders of all types of organizations regardless of the geographical boundary. Finally, further investigations on manufacturing and other service sectors through case study, focus groups, and longitudinal study are also suggested. IIUC Studies Vol.14(2) December 2017: 35-54

The study is on 10 locally private commercial banks operating in Bangladesh. In this study, secondary data have been extensively used. Some primary data have also been used in the study. These were collected from a total number of 10 Executives in-charge of Corporate Social Responsibility Department using structured closed end questionnaire. While collecting primary data, direct interview method was mainly used. The main objective of the study is to critically analyse the CRS performances in the selected banks which covered the Heads of CSR activities, the determinants of CSR activities, Investment in CSR activities and Impact of CSR investment. The period of empirical study covered 4 financial years ranging from 2009 to 2012.  The main findings of the study are; (i) some 90% of the respondents have emphasized on the significance of CSR activities in the selected banks, (ii) some 60% of the respondents have emphasized on the significant impact of CSR investment on the Market price of the Share (MPS), (iii) the major factors affecting CSR activities have been Sustainable development, Business tool, Leadership and ethics, (iv) empirical analysis of the study reveals that the CSR investments as percentage of total investment of the respective banks have been very negligible ranging from 0.01% to 2.87% only during the study period. It is found that out of the seven heads of CSR expenditures Health sector have occupied the highest position in majority banks followed by Education sector. Therefore, it can be concluded that the selected banks should increase their investment in CSR activities in order to create more confidence among the existing clients as well as prospective customer in one hand and increase MPS of the banks on the other. JEL Classification Code: G21; G28