Corporate social responsibility: the way forward? Maybe not!

Abstract

Purpose -The paper seeks to consider the findings that emerged from a preliminary study into Cypriot businesses and their attitudes and behaviour towards corporate social responsibility (CSR). The overarching aim of the discussion is to explore whether Cypriot businesses have realized the opportunity of using CSR to build a strong reputation, a practice "embraced" and adopted by many successful and profitable corporations, or whether they ignore their social responsibilities and do it at their peril. Design/methodology/approach -A total of 4,000 questionnaires were given to the Employers Federation in Cyprus to mail to its members. Two issues were addressed: one dealing with philanthropic and the other with the stewardship CSR projects, covering social responsibility not only towards customers and society at large but also towards employees, suppliers, investors, and the environment.Findings -It appears that local corporations primarily emphasize the importance of meeting their responsibilities and obligations towards their employees and customers. The majority of respondents postulate that their philanthropic donations are made to approved organizations for tax deduction. So, financial gain appears to be a key motive for the adoption of social responsibility by the business sector in Cyprus.Research limitations/implications -The study was characterized by a low response rate, which has implications to the generalization of the research findings. Perhaps future research can focus on certain sectors and their approach to the practice of CSR instead of exploring several sectors in the Cypriot economy, which was the approach adopted in this study. Originality/value -The paper reports findings from the first nationwide study carried out in the area of CSR.

The Corporate Social Responsibility of Family Businesses: An International Approach

“…These categories are similar to those identified by [34] (employees, suppliers, customers, community) and [37] (employees, consumers, community, investors, suppliers, environment).…”

“…The stakeholder approach [34][35][36][37] Jamali [68,69], led to the identification of the following six stakeholder categories: "human resources", "shareholders", "community", "environment", "suppliers", and "consumers", based on the model developed by [39]. These categories are similar to those identified by [34] (employees, suppliers, customers, community) and [37] (employees, consumers, community, investors, suppliers, environment).…”

Exploring the Relationship between Corporate Social Responsibility, Employee Engagement, and Organizational Performance: The Case of Jordanian Mobile Telecommunication Companies

“…Regarding local communities, socially responsible companies are required to take philanthropic initiatives such as sponsorship activities. In addition organizations are considered socially responsible if they make infrastructure investments [18], launch community development activities, encourage their employees to participate in community projects [48], and provide financial support to social and other non-commercial community projects [47]. These initiatives and activities add value for both the company and community.…”

The Impact of Rewards & Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) On Employee Motivation

“…In the words of Aguilera et al, (2007) companies making developmental funding in transportation, water purification plants, education or health are considered as socially responsible. Different persons defined it differently while according to Papasolomou-Doukakis et al, (2005) start community aid projects to inspire their employees to contribute for community relief practices, European Commission, (2001); Ligeti and Oravecz, (2009) states that help brood, ailing or the handicapped or the racial minorities, for example recruit socially excluded people and according to Graafland and van de Van, (2006) offer financial support to social and other non-commercial community projects. All these CSR initiatives lead to formation of additional value not only to the community but to the company as well.…”