Corporate social responsibility as a part of corporate public relations in Serbia

Abstract

Besides the media, the web presentations of the companies are one of the possible and widely applied means for communication of corporate social responsibility (CSR). For efficient CSR communication, good planning of the massages that will be presented to the public is of particular importance. It is additionally emphasized in the countries in the transition period where the social environment is burdened with numerous problems that result in preformed public mistrust towards companies. The extent and the results of public cognition of the company and creation of its identity and image are highly dependent from content of the web presentation but also of the manner of presentation and positioning of specific contents. Application of adequate slogans, can also highly contribute to the visibility of specific information. In order to review the way in which companies in Serbia present their CSR motives and activities, the web pages of leading companies in Serbia from the agro-business, public and financial sectors were analyzed and the practice of presentation of CSR to the public was reviewed. The similarities and differences in approach to CSR communication among analyzed sectors are outlined in the research results.

Consumers’ perception of CSR motives in a post‐socialist society: The case of Serbia

“…Contribution of this research gains importance because data on consumers’ perception of CSR in Serbia are generally more than scarce, while differences of the Serbian society’s and economy’s development paths from development paths of open markets and other post‐socialist countries (Vuković, Miletić, Čurčić, Ničić, & Mitrović, ) give rise to doubts about applicability of the existing data to Serbia. The fact that recent findings (Ćurčić, Lj, & Bjegović, ; Vuković, Mihić, Miletić, & Čurčić, ) point out at the incoherence of public presentations of CSR activities and consumers’ expectations in Serbia provides additional input which confirms the need for this research.…”

“…Consumers’ perception in Serbia, in spite of the socialist legacy, is that companies practice CSR programs primarily with the motive to ensure market success, as it is the main goal of companies in open market economies (Adizes & Weston, ). This finding may be related to the fact that most visible CSR programs in Serbia are run by large companies (Vuković et al, ). On the other hand, the fact that consumers in Serbia suffered greatly negative consequences of economic irresponsibility with regard to their existential issues (Hollinshead & Maclean, ; Jovanovic & Nedović, 1998), may have resulted in high appreciation of profit and market‐related motives as a socially responsible behavior.…”

Influence of National Culture in Companies with Different Ownership on Employees’ CSR Perception in a Developing Country: The Case of Serbia

“…High scores in this CSR area might be also a consequence of the fact that some aspects of responsible treatment of customers are also a legal obligation for the companies. The fact that companies get involved in CSR in order to attract consumers [1,67] might also be the reason for high scores in these CSR areas.…”

Consideration of corporate social responsibility activities application within SMEs in clothing industry

“…Mnogi smatraju ovaj koncept neophodnim kako bi organizacije defi nisale svoje uloge u društvu i primenjivale društvene i etičke standarde u svom poslovanju [8]. Društvena odgovornost organizacija podrazumeva set veza koje kompanija održava sa svojim stejkholderima, odnosno kupcima, zaposlenima, lokalnom zajednicom, deoničarima, vladom, dobavljačima i konkurentima [9]. Nije čisto materijalne prirode, smisao primene društveno odgovornog poslovanja je dublji.…”