Corporate Social Responsibility

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Brand Building through Corporate Social Responsibility; an Indian Scenario Jinu Mathew and Suresh T.S. ABSTRACT CSR activities refer to the initiatives of an individual corporate entity undertakes as an extra effort for the welfare of the society and environment as a whole. This initiative is a kind of gratitude shown by the companies towards the society from whom they earn profits. Companies can build sustainable brand image by emphasizing on social, economic and environmental problems of the society. Customers will perceive such organisation as socially conscious organisation. This study describes about the concepts of CSR and relationship between the CSR activities and brand building. Companies like Tata Steel, ITC and Mahindra & Mahindra…show more content…
CSR is a management concept whereby companies integrate social and environmental concerns in their business operations and interactions with their stakeholders. CSR is generally understood as being the way through which a company achieves a balance of economic, environmental and social imperatives while at the same time addressing the expectations of shareholders and stakeholders. Different concerns define Corporate Social Responsibility differently. World Business Council for Sustainable Development defines Corporate Social Responsibility as “The continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as of the local community and society at large.”Jamshedji Tata has very beautifully defined the Corporate Social Responsibility as “The clear definition of Corporate Social Responsibility is that the community is not just another stakeholder in our business but the very purpose of our…show more content…
In recent years, with industrial development and social progress, issues of corporate social responsibility (CSR) have been receiving increased public attention. By way of contributing to the well-being of society, enterprises have striven to present good business images, and consumers no longer tend to seriously examine corporate feedback to society (Esrock&Leichty, 1998; Goi& Yong, 2009; Alsmadi&Alnawas, 2012). There are two reasons why CSR is getting more attention: firstly, enterprises understand that CSR is a key to business success, and secondly, nonprofit organizations need support, and this encourages enterprises to participate in the social well being activities.(Lichtenstein, Drumwright, &Braig, 2004). Furthermore, most enterprises believe that carrying out CSR can make themselves recognizable to the public (Kotler& Lee, 2005), because undertaking social responsibilities allows a company to build good images and a good reputation (Fombrun&Shanley, 1990; Giannarakis&Theotokas, 2011). Therefore, a company carrying out its policy of social responsibility can enhance its good image and create a competitive edge (Porter & Kramer, 2006; Boonpattarakan, 2012). In fact, CSR and corporate brand images are actually inextricably bound, but there are very few studies on the related topics. This is one of the motives for this
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