Corporate social responsibility policy, practice, and implementation: An analysis of global trends

Since the 1953 publication of Howard R. Bowen's Social Responsibilities of the Businessman, the concept of what it means to be an ethical or responsible business has experienced a great deal of flux, debate, and evolution, with important implications for public health and trade policy. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), also known as Corporate Responsibility, Social Responsibility, or Corporate Citizenship, refers broadly to the practices that corporations and businesses undertake to benefit stakeholders beyond the immediate stockholders or owners. Although there is industry and geographic variation, CSR often entails practices and initiatives that support human rights, the environment, employee welfare, and community development. Whether implemented through a sense of corporate values or as a response to social pressures, it has been found repeatedly that proper implementation of CSR practices can lead to a competitive advantage for any business. With the global rise in popularity of CSR, multiple mechanisms for implementing CSR practices at the company level have been proposed. For-profit and non-profit groups have been established to provide technical assistance about CSR, to monitor businesses' CSR practices, and to educate the public about CSR. Through a rigorous online search, approximately 180 ‘CSR organizations' were systematically identified. Their websites were analyzed to determine their primary purpose and the information and services they provided. Using this information, the authors mapped CSR organizations and identified global trends in definitions of CSR practice and the mechanisms through which organizations attempt to implement CSR.