A toolkit for designing firm level strategic corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives

Abstract

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to attempt to develop a framework that will help managers to design firm level corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives which can be of strategic interest for an organisation.Design/methodology/approach -The paper reviews concepts from the domains of strategic management and CSR literature. The concepts are deliberated and analyzed to build up a strategic corporate social responsibility (CSR) framework. The article starts by identifying the salient stakeholders of a firm, based on the three stakeholder attributes of power, legitimacy, and urgency. The framework then talks about the identification of a firm's interest in CSR, on the basis of firm value chain, context of competitiveness and intention of creating new business opportunities. Finally, this literature talks about the expected benefits to be achieved by carrying out strategic CSR initiatives.Findings -In a competitive atmosphere, it is important to utilize the firm resources in a proper manner and for a worthy cause. The undertaking of CSR initiatives calls for the sacrifice of firm resources. Resources are scarce and valuable. Managers can design CSR initiatives in a number of ways. But the real challenge for managers is to design firm CSR strategy in such a manner that it helps address a social issue and also provides the organization with some business benefits. Originality/value -Though managers are aware of the need and benefits of undertaking strategic CSR, a comprehensive theoretical framework which can guide CSR managers to design and implement CSR activities for strategic gains is not present. This study provides for such an integrated framework from the stage of identification of stakeholders, to the design of CSR, to the nature of strategic gains to be incurred.

“Make” or “Buy” the Choice of Governance Modes for Corporate Social Responsibility Projects from a Stakeholder Management Perspective

“…Consequently, the emerging of a prioritization process of CSR domains overlaps with a stakeholder management approach (Bansal et al, 2015) in order "to answer the question of which stakeholders should be considered and… how much is at stake" (Falck & Heblich, 2007). Therefore, an ex-ante selection activity conducted by company represents what Porter and Kramer called the "acid test" for assessing the presence or absence of an effective CSR strategy (Porter & Kramer, 2006) whic h aims at addressing social issues, while providing the organization with some business benefits (Bhattacharyya et al, 2008).…”

Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility on Organisational Effectiveness: An Empirical Analysis of Oil and Gas Industryin the Niger Delta, Nigeria

“…This has a way of engendering continuity and stability in the firm's operations which underpins it productivity. It is therefore hypothesized that: H1: Perceived CSR is significantly related to organizational productivity [17]contend that if firms design strategic CSR, it will impact positively on new market opportunities that have related with firm's performance. Also, these activities affect the reputation of organisations and enhanced reputation is with financial performance and organizational stability [12;14].…”

“…Therefore, managers taking a proactive approach to embrace the need to behave in socially responsible ways to learn about the needs of different stakeholders and are willing to utilize organizational resources to pursue the interest of the stakeholders [17]. Considering the longrun growth and sustainable development following the norms of CSR, devising new policies and effective implementation is inevitable in bringing out and sustaining a balance between corporate world and society present generation and upcoming generation, man and nature [1].…”

Boicote De Consumidores Em Relação À Responsabilidade Social Corporativa: Proposições a Partir Do Contexto Brasileiro

“…Outros autores se preocupam com a análise da RSC como uma orientação gerencial, seja na perspectiva de responder às demandas do mercado (Bhattacharya et al, 2008;Wood, 1991) ou na perspectiva holística de entender os atores que compõem o processo de gestão da RSC (Cruz, 2009;Ashley, 2005;Donaldson e Preston, 1995). Já um autor crítico, tenderá a analisar RSC em uma perspectiva em que serão considerados principalmente o funcionário, a sociedade e o meio ambiente, deixando de problematizar stakeholders como acionistas e executivos (Tenório, 2004).…”