Corporate social responsibility in Russia

Abstract

Nowadays companies try to strike a balance between maximizing their profit and being socially responsible. On the one hand, a lot of scientists and economists admit that the primary goal for any company has been and still is to maximize profits of shareholders. On the other hand, some other experts believe that a company nowadays should not concentrate only on pursing profits. Some other objectives are connected with interests of stakeholders, ethical and moral behavior of a company and others. Based on the analysis of theoretical approaches, the paper offers to unify different groups and their interests and goals. The authors during the research come to the conclusion that the development of CSR in Russia is directly connected with the country’s peculiarities and at the same time all European best practices are taken into consideration and relied upon by Russian companies in terms of CSR.

Some considerations regarding corporate social responsibility in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Russia

“…This is a narrower interpretation than the general global understanding of CSR. However, the Russian government imposes a broader definition of CSR-encompassing environmental issues, sustainability, social welfare, labour protection and so on (Zavyalova & Ostrovskaya 2020)-that aligns more closely to standards in other countries.…”

“…The main difference between Russia's CSR practices and those of Western countries is that Russia lacks a clearly defined set of CSR goals as well as a system for how companies should approach CSR (Zavyalova & Ostrovskaya 2020). Another difference is that in Russia the government intervenes more directly in corporate affairs than it does in many other countries (Khonyakova & Tulaeva 2013;Henry et al 2016).…”

“…At the same time, the financial support that the Russian state provides for CSR is very limited (Khonyakova & Tulaeva 2013;Henry et al 2016). For example, the state offers a tax exemption for companies that perform philanthropic work with their net profits (Zavyalova & Ostrovskaya 2020).…”

“…Large stateowned or state-controlled 'private' enterprises, like Lukoil, Gazprom, Gazprom Neft and Novatek, wield significant influence in various sectors that are of vital importance to the Russia's economy-from energy and raw materials to telecommunications and banking. As strategic instruments of the state, they align their strategies with national interests, playing a crucial role in the implementation of the government's economic development plans (Zavyalova & Ostrovskaya 2020).…”

Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility on the Effectiveness of Companies' Business Activities

“…Russian big corporations have realized the significance of CSR and are already conducting CSR programs at different levels. At present, society and businesses in Russia are realizing that to achieve sustainable growth, it is significant to have a strong relationship and mutual contribution between the state and business [32]. Nevertheless, there is limited information on CSR practices followed by large Russian companies, indicating a lack of involvement by companies in social and environmental reporting.…”