Corporate social responsibility practices in India: approach, drivers, and barriers

Abstract

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to examine how corporations in India interpret corporate social responsibility (CSR). Focusing on four commonly known approaches: the ethical, the statist, the liberal, and the stakeholder approach, the paper seeks to investigate the reported drivers and barriers to implementing CSR practices.Design/methodology/approachThe paper surveyed top‐level managers of a sample of companies currently engaging in a CSR initiative, representing a variety of industry sectors.FindingsThe study finds that the CSR approach that is most favored by Indian firms is the stakeholder approach and that the caring or the moral motive, followed by the strategic or profit motive, are important drivers for Indian firms to pursue CSR. Further, the results indicate that the most significant obstacles to CSR implementation are those related to lack of resources, followed by those related to the complexity and difficulty of implementing CSR.Research limitations/implicationsThe study focuses on the activities of leading Indian firms participating in the UN Global Compact (GC), thereby restricting one's knowledge of CSR practices of non‐participants. Future research should expand on this effort either by conducting comparative studies of non‐participants to the GC, or by investigating CSR practices of firms engaging in other voluntary initiatives.Originality/valueThe majority of studies on CSR are still embedded in the economic and organizational contexts of Europe and the USA. This research aims to address this gap by focusing on the CSR framework of developing nations, particularly the emerging market of India.

Evaluation of Barriers of Corporate Social Responsibility Using an Analytical Hierarchy Process under a Fuzzy Environment—A Textile Case

“…Some studies do consider CSR barriers within Indian and other scenarios [11][12][13][14][15][16], but these studies have limitations. Some pursue different sectors other than the Indian textile industry.…”

Social and Environmental Disclosure Rating in the Libyan Oil and Gas Sector

“…The general consensus is that companies disclose environmental information primarily to improve their image and reputation 25,26,27,28,29,30,31 , but controversy still exists as to the influence of other factors such as societal expectation, legal requirements, social pressure and economic factors 32,33,34,35 . On the other hand, according to 14 , corporate social responsibility disclosure (CSRD) is inhibited by: "barriers related to lack of resources, followed by barriers related to the complexity and difficulty of implementing CSRD and finally, lack of management support at both top and middle levels".…”

“…Despite the growing interest being shown in ED in developed countries such as the USA and the UK 8 , it is much rarer elsewhere; a number of studies have shown that many developing countries do not show any interest in ED 9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16 . The main incentive for conducting this study is to address gaps in the literature regarding CSR in general and ED in particular.…”

Exploring Approaches to Drivers and Barriers of Corporate Social Responsibility Implementation in Academic Literature

“…Arevalo and Aravind [16] offer insights into models, motivations and barriers of CSR within Indian firms. They referred [13,17,18] in the delineation of four models of social responsibility operating within Indian firms: the ethical (Gandhian) model; (focus on community welfare and ethical awareness) the statist (Nehruvian) (driven by legal requirement) model, the liberal [19] (focus on shareholder objectives) model and the stakeholder [20] model (stakeholder centric-focus).…”