Corporate social responsibility in the Countries of the Carpathian Euroregion

Abstract

In the last years the expectations were also grown in the countries of the Carpathian Euroregion (Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Romania, Ukraine), which require from the companies to be active-besides profitability and job creation-in solving ethical, social and environmental problems. The purpose of fostering corporations and also SMEs to integrate CSR activities into their operations cannot be achieved without raising awareness of the society and without effective governmental support, but the most crucial question concerning the expansion of corporate social responsibility is, whether players of the Economy of Carpathian Euroregion will recognize those forms of CSR that can be beneficial and easily harmonized with their business interests. According to recent European research projects there is a growing demand for corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the states of the Carpathian Euroregion as well. In my paper I would like to collect the latest developments of CSR and to explore the future possibilities of developing CSR in the countries of the Euroregion. The main purpose of my paper will be to explore the way of learning CSR from other countries taking specialities of market, environment and society of the region into consideration.

Corporate Social Responsibility and Performance in SMEs: Scientific Coverage

“…Badulescu et al [171]; Skýpalová et al [172]; McCaffrey and Kurland [173]; Parker et al [174]; Tang and Tang [175]; D'Aprile and Talò [176]; Maijala et al [177]; Robinson et al [178]; Van Tulder and Da Rosa [179]; Tang and Tang [180]; Charitoudi et al [181]; Ahmad and Seet [182]; Csáfor [183]; Lepoutre and Heene [12]; Crals and Vereeck [184], among others.…”

Role of Competences of Graduates in Building Innovations via Knowledge Transfer in the Part of Carpathian Euroregion

“…An additional aspect that may be an obstacle depending on the approach, as well as an attribute is the fact that the region of the Eastern Carpathy is divided by the external border of the EU. In turn, the political significance of the partnership with Ukraine for each of the adjacent states (particularly Poland) is of a strategic dimension [10,12].…”

Social Reponsibility Attitudes and Practices of Companies: Hungary vs. Romania Crossborder Comparison

“…Economic development seems to be positively correlated with SR att itudes and practices of companies (Welford, 2005). On the other hand, norms regarding performance, the concern for the environment or for the welfare of fellow members of the community are varying across countries However, there are still few comparative researches about SR in Central and Eastern Europe -mainly because SR has not became institutionalized in the area (Csáfor, 2008;Koleva et al, 2010) which is refl ected in the low incidence of policy initiatives related to corporate social responsibility in Central and Eastern Europe (Steurer, Martinuzzi and Margula, 2012). Comparing the older members of the EU with the newer ones, Line and Braun (2007) found variations that they att ributed to diff erences in economic development, to legacies of communism, to peculiarities of functioning of governments as well as to the underdevelopment of NGOs that could promote SR as well as to the lack of awareness on behalf of the public.…”

“…One of the most extended surveys of SR practices of companies in the area is that of Csá-for (2008) which deals with companies from the so-called Euro-Carpathian region 1 . Among the features of SR in the region the survey has found: the predominance of economic planning without regard for the community or the environment, and of improvised philanthropic activities as forms of SR, the disregard for unions and voluntary work, the use of SR mainly for marketing and public relations, rare publication of SR reports by companies and weak demand for SR practices on behalf of the public (Csáfor, 2008). In addition, Koleva et al (2010), highlight the importance of multinational corporations for the diff usion of SR practices in the area.…”