Certification of Corporate Social Responsibility. The Case Study of India

Abstract

Corporate social responsibility is in the focus of many companies in recent years. It becomes a way of sustainability for many companies on the market. It expresses a voluntary commitment of companies to behave responsibly to their surroundings within three pillars: economic, social and environmental one. The issue of social responsibility is developing in many European countries and European Commission is aiming at supporting national CSR strategies. CSR activities can be focused on philanthropy, the care of the employees, the environment and transparency of economic activities. This paper describes the certifi cation process for CSR, namely SA8000 and focuses on states with the higest number of certifi ed companies. A er European Italy, it is India which is in the centre of attention and specifi cally with respect to child labor.

Developing a Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy in India Using the SA 8000 Standard

“…Analyzing the motivations behind the certification (Table 3), all the companies agreed to consider the possibility of having a better impact on customers and suppliers, to improve the working environment, but also to improve their image and reputation, indicating that they were encouraged to obtain certification from a market request. This is in line with what has been found in previous studies of [17,41,43]. It should be underlined, the emergence from interviews, of a factor not detected by previous research, that is, the intent to use the standard to improve the management and the efficiency of the company.…”

“…The challenges to be faced, however, are: the low participation of the community in the activities of CSR, the need to build local capacities and the lack of transparency. Focusing directly on SA 8000 standard, the study of Pavlikova and Basovnikova [43] aimed at discovering the motivations that push Indian companies to be SA 8000 certified, has identified how the certification represents the commitment of Indian companies towards the fight against child labor. Additionally, Stigzelius et al [44] had examined the motivations, obstacles and benefits related to the implementation of the SA 8000 standard in seven Indian clothing companies.…”

The benefits of corporate social responsibility introduction in small and medium-sized enterprises: a systematic review of the literature

“…According to Pavláková Dočekalová et al (2015) the triple-bottom-line represents the original concept of sustainable development. As reported by Abramuszkinová Pavlíková and Basovníková (2014) the issue of CSR is developed in many European countries and the European Commission targets to the support of national CSR strategy. CSR activities can be targeted f. e. the charity, care about the employees, the environmental area or on the transparency of the entrepreneur's economic activities.…”

“…Abramuszkinová Pavlíková, Basovníková 2014 Activities are target on the charity, care about the employees, the environmental area or on the transparency od the entrepreneur´s economic activities.…”

Análise comparativa das normas de gestão de responsabilidade social e sua abrangência

“…The certification of companies in social responsibility is very desirable and the main motivations are generally to increase the loyalty of the employees, to improve the image of the organization, and consequently, to increase the competitiveness (Pavlíková & Basovníková, 2014). It also includes an unbiased view on the type of business and on the society in which it is inserted, a effective communication with business partners to respond to their demands, a increasing on the corporate social responsibility or the use of certification to ensure the status of sustainable and socially responsible business (Pavlíková & Kuritková, 2013).…”