scholarly journals CORPORATE SOCIAL ACTIVITIES IN GERMANY: THE EXPERIENCE OF COMPANIES

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tetiana Galetska ◽  
Natalia Topishko ◽  
Ivan Topishko

The purpose of the article is to study the European experience of the formation and regulation of socially responsible behaviour of economic entities; distinguishing the dominant drivers of corporate social responsibility in Germany and strategic priorities for its implementation. Its contents are interpreted in the expanded and narrow sense. Expanded approach insists that CSR is a set of interrelated types of responsibility (legal, economic, professional, moral, political, etc.) that reflect the system of values of society. Narrow interpretation foresees the definition of the degree (measure) of adoption by the subject of socially significant goals of society, the fulfilment of mutual rights and responsibilities, observance of social norms. The research subject – the peculiarities of the functioning of the European model of socially responsible entrepreneurship, the practice of its implementation in Germany. The methodology of the research is based on the definition of general principles of constructing the system of corporate social responsibility, disclosure the essence of the categorical apparatus, considering its main theoretical concepts. In the process of research, a set of methods of scientific cognition were used: analysis, synthesis, generalization (for the disclosure of the conceptual-categorical apparatus of the subject of the research); statistical method, grouping, empirical approach (while analysing the practice of distributing social responsibility among the subjects of social partnership in the EU for ensuring social protection of the population, and differences between the EU countries on the level of such responsibility of the subjects of the social process, depending on the model of socio-economic development). Conclusion. Under the influence of the challenges of globalization and the 4th Industrial Revolution, aggravation of competition, the conditions of the economy are changing. The need for business models on the basis of the strategy of sustainable development, socially responsible behaviour of business structures on the basis of systemic and long-term is growing. This situation actualizes the problem of creating mechanisms for maintaining social compromise in society. System of ensuring responsibility of the subjects of society for the formation of normal living conditions of society is one of the institutional mechanisms of social control and creating conditions for balancing personal, collective and social interests. Institutional support for the functioning of the mechanism for supporting social compromise regarding the formation of normal living conditions is based on the levers of state regulation (subsidies, preferential taxation, economic incentives, and compliance with the standards of activity); institute of entrepreneurship (international and national standards for doing business); institute of the public (the system of social reporting of enterprises, work with territorial communities). Compliance with product quality standards, with obligations to stakeholders, social reporting and progress reporting (including its environmental parameters), transparent business promotes the implementation of socio-stabilizing functions of entrepreneurial activity both on national and on a world scale. Experience of European (in particular, German) companies proves the need to adherence to the principles of social responsibility in entrepreneurship and the possibility of their use as a competitive advantage.

Author(s):  
M. A. Izmailova

The article is devoted to the understanding of the main stages and prerequisites of the evolutionary development of socially responsible behaviour of subjects. The stages and factors of the development of socially responsible behaviour of subjects are presented in chronological order. The author emphasised that the rich experience and traditions of charity, philanthropy, philanthropy in the Russian state were destroyed by the revolution of 1917. A retrospective analysis of the evolution of social responsibility revealed a steady trend towards institutionalisation of assistance to those in need. At the present stage, the concept of corporate socialresponsibility is an effective tool for solving a wide range of economic, social and environmental problems. The author stressed that the formation of a socially oriented society is possible provided the involvement of all its institutions in the form of a consolidated solution of the whole complex of accumulated problems. The concept of corporate social responsibility is recognised as one of the tools for solving economic, social and environmental problems. The establishment of mutually beneficial relations between business and government representatives, the multiplication of the best practices of socially responsible behavior of Russian companies based on the study and adaptation of foreign standard practices, the preparation of social reporting according to international standards, the positive dynamics in the publication of non-financial reports —it all become the norm in the Russian economy. The author concluded that the current period of development of social responsibility in Russia is characterized by the primary institutionalization of corporate social responsibility with the involvement of large businesses, non-profit organizations and other stakeholders in the sustainable development of society.


Author(s):  
Biljana Chroneos Krasavac ◽  
Ema Karamata ◽  
Jasna Soldić-Aleksić ◽  
Katica Radosavljević

Research question: This paper examines some aspects of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and company reputation (CR) in the Serbian business environment during the COVID-19 pandemic. Motivation: The survival, growth and development of companies in the current business environment are conditioned by their capability to reach socially responsible decisions and carry out activities that meet the expectations of different stakeholders. The main motive for this research has stemmed from the current global corona virus pandemic and the way this state of affairs has affected socially responsible behaviour of companies. The research of activities Serbian companies carried out in the time of crisis prompted us to explore the possible relationship between corporate social responsibility and its effects on corporate reputation, and consequently business results. Research idea: An empirical research has been conducted with the view to investigate the position of the public on the importance and impact of CSR on corporate reputation, and also to determine the key factors that guide the decisions of people living in the Republic of Serbia to shop, bearing in mind the socially responsible behaviour of companies. Data: The sample included 173 respondents, the number that allowed valid conclusions. The questionnaire was anonymous; all the respondents were residents of Serbia with access to the internet and willing to fill in the questionnaire, either by following the link advertised on social media or replying to the e-mail. Tools: The gathered data were processed and analysed using descriptive and explorative statistics. Research hypotheses were tested by: Frequency tables, Crosstable procedures, Paired Samples t-test, Spearman`s coefficient of correlation, Chi-square test, and Phi coefficient of correlation, resulting in conclusions and corresponding suggestions. Findings: Respondents perceive companies as social actors driven not only by profit, but by the interest of the community and their business environment. They believe companies can assume their responsibilities through different aspects of doing business, especially by contributing to the improvement of their consumer’s lifestyle. The majority of respondents tend to buy from companies they perceive as socially responsible from the point of view of further development of the society and their ethical behaviour towards the community.  Contribution: The findings can encourage the company’s management to direct their financial and organizational resources into the better management of the CSR, especially during the crisis, because solidarity and care for the most vulnerable part of the population lead to an improvement in the reputation and business results of a company.


Author(s):  
Maria Brízida Tomé ◽  
Deolinda Aparício Meira ◽  
Ana Maria Bandeira

This study aims to evaluate whether integrated reporting can be considered the appropriate tool for disclosure of the socially responsible behaviour of social economy entities (SEEs), as they currently face an increased demand for transparency from a number of stakeholders. The initial analysis of the concept and principles of corporate social responsibility (CSR), through a triple bottom line concept, and of the social economy and the legal regime governing mutual associations is followed by an empirical study of Portuguese mutual associations in the health and welfare sector. A proposal is also made for an integrated reporting system which is suitable for showing the organization’s socially responsible behaviour and pursuit of the general interest and is concluded to have overcomethe difficulties of disclosing their economic, social, and environmental aspects. Furthermore, it is proposed that SEEs should obligatorily adopt integrated reporting in order to transmit dynamic, up-to-date information of relevance to stakeholders.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 4597
Author(s):  
Rayma Ireri Maldonado Maldonado Astudillo ◽  
Yan Pallac Maldonado Astudillo ◽  
Juan Alfonso Méndez Zavala ◽  
Claudia Leticia Manzano Jiménez ◽  
María Xochitl Astudillo Miller

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has been the subject of extensive research, especially during the past two decades; however, few academic studies investigated the relationship between CSR and employee behaviour. This study reduces this gap by identifying the degree of association between CSR and the proenvironmental behaviour (PEB) of workers. These concepts were analysed among companies that are recognised as being socially responsible and others that are not; not enough empirical evidence was found to determine if these are positively affecting employee PEB in the Mexican context. The methodology was quantitative through questionnaires addressed to workers from renowned companies in Mexico, and analysed by using structural equation modelling (SEM) in AMOS software. Results showed that the CSR practices of the companies with a badge and the PEB of their workers are poorly related. The average of compliance with global CSR practices for companies that have a badge is less than or equal to that of those that do not. Conclusions indicate that CSR could occur only in declarative terms from the workers’ perception.


2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 16
Author(s):  
Ronie Alexsandro Teles Silveira ◽  
Francisco José Costa ◽  
Henrique Muzzio

This article discusses the philosophical foundations of business ethics and corporate social responsibility, from a critical conception of the approaches commonly used, their assumptions and their justifications. The paper presents a theoretical and philosophical reflection, developed in order to question and appoint alternative solutions to the weaknesses of the most common justifications of corporate social responsibility. These discussions, according to the argumentative construction of this article, culminates in the proposition of four elements to be considered in a stronger debate about the theme: the ethical personality of organizations; ethics community; the liberty; and the identity between ethics and interest. These elements bring in themselves a different agenda for the debate on responsible business, corporate responsibility, business ethics and social ethics. By considering the ideas proposed in this article, management professionals and students, as well as researchers from the general areas of management will have differentiated and complementary references to the pre-existing ones to a understanding better a more consistent and well justified definition of an ethical and socially responsible company, going beyond current and sometimes fragile justifications which  are, sometimes, social and academically discredited, as is the case with justification of the strategies of social responsibility from the argument that it generates profits for companies.


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 2460 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabricio Schmidt ◽  
Roselaine Zanini ◽  
André Korzenowski ◽  
Reno Schmidt Junior ◽  
Karl Xavier do Nascimento

The purpose of this article is to analyze the performance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) manufacturing, aiming to identify the main practices of sustainability, including the values and transparency, internal audience, environment, supplier relationships, customer and/or consumer relationships, and community relationships. In order to develop this research, a questionnaire was applied on the subject in question, through which the companies were classified as to their reality in relation to corporate social responsibility. Based on the analysis, it was observed that five of these companies obtained a score that indicates that the companies have already assimilated the associated concepts and are clear of the necessary commitments for a socially responsible action. However, given the results obtained, it is possible to conclude that there is a need to strengthen the actions to be taken with regard to corporate social responsibility, since no company has positioned itself in excellence. In addition, some suggestions for new research were identified and discussed in the analysis of the results.


Organizacija ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 53 (3) ◽  
pp. 212-226
Author(s):  
Dana Bernardová ◽  
Klára Kašparová ◽  
Martin Fink ◽  
Kateřina Ivanová ◽  
Tetiana Arkhangelska

AbstractBackground and Purpose: Regular reporting on Corporate Social Responsibility (hereinafter referred to as CSR) should make it easier for enterprises to identify the sustainability risks and lead to an increased investors and consumers’ confidence. The aim of the paper is to find out how the indices which evaluate the socially responsible behaviour of enterprises are constructed.Design/Methodology/Approach: The scoping review is the method used in this study. The scoping question is: What do we know about the construction of indices evaluating the socially responsible behaviour of organisations from the existing expert resources?Results: The analysis of 20 papers shows that there is no consensus about the method of determining the weights and constructing the index. There are 4 approaches to the aggregated index construction. The first one uses the percentage of filling the specific criteria or the average of values of specific dimensions of the index. The second one uses the multi-criteria decision-making methods (most often the Analytical hierarchical process method). The third one uses unconventional linguistic models and fuzzy logic and finally, the fourth one uses the factor analysis or the method of the main components.Conclusion: The main feature of CSR indices lies in their methodological disunity. It complicates the understanding of the CSR outputs and essentially makes it impossible to create a CSR performance ranking, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises (hereinafter referred to as SMEs).


2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (7) ◽  
pp. 153-165
Author(s):  
Agnieszka Marek

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a subject of great interest to both theoreticians and practitioners of management as well as to international organisations that promote this idea among existing enterprises. Despite many years of research on CSR, there is no single binding definition of this concept, therefore for the needs of this publication, the definition of Archie B. Carroll, and the resulting approach to CSR implementation in companies, has been adopted. The aim of the article is to analyse CSR activities undertaken by FC Barcelona in the framework of a system derived from Carroll’s CSR pyramid, therefore its activities have been divided into four groups corresponding to the dimension of financial, legal, ethical and philanthropic responsibilities. Due to the commercialisation of football, FC Barcelona is treated as a global enterprise, considering, however, the specificity of regulations governing the sports sector as well as goods and services offered by the club. The research has been based on an analysis of literature and available documents published by the club itself as well as by international organisations regulating football tournaments on national and international levels. The study has indicated that FC Barcelona is taking action in all the dimensions of social responsibility highlighted in Carroll’s pyramid and can be seen as a socially responsible organisation, at the same time meeting expectations of its stakeholders.


2001 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 16-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lance Moir

There have long been conflicting expectations of the nature of companies’ responsibilities to society. However, for those businesses that do undertake what might be termed “corporate social responsibility”, what is actually socially responsible behaviour as opposed to management of corporate image management or other activity aimed predominantly at business benefits? This article reviews definitions of corporate social responsibility from both practice and the literature and looks at theories to explain why such behaviour takes place. The literature has strong divides between normative or ethical actions and instrumental activities. The article concludes by posing the question of when instrumental activities become business activities rather than largely social responsibility.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Zakharkina ◽  
V. Novikov

The paper analyzes the approaches of scientists and the essential characteristics of corporate social responsibility as a factor in increasing its attractiveness and public confidence. The purpose of the study is to define the definition of "Social responsibility of business", to study the historical aspects of its formation. A separate analysis of foreign experience, namely the EU countries, in the development of ethical business principles of conduct of economic entities and tools for their systematic compliance. In the course of the research, it was established that socially oriented business monitors the implementation of codes of ethics and regulations adopted in its own corporate strategy. Social principles of interaction relate to a responsible attitude to the environment, compliance with labor laws on working conditions for employees, social investment in educational, sports, environmental and scientific programs for the growth of social, innovative and cultural capital in the country. It was found that the socially oriented activity of companies forms a trusting attitude towards themselves on the part of international partners and investors, which ultimately affects the financial result. cooperation between business, the public sector and government agencies in shaping social sustainability. Based on the analysis of indicators of social activity of business in European countries, a rapidly growing dynamics of social investment, given the reduction in the number of socially oriented projects to support corporate and socially oriented business. Emphasis is placed on the increased relevance of the introduction of corporate social responsibility by Ukrainian entrepreneurs and communication with society due to the lack of dissemination of ethical practices and low interaction. It is critical for Ukraine to adopt the European experience to develop its own model of socially responsible governance, which can be the subject of further research, and to combine it with national traditions and interactions to reduce the negative consequences for all stakeholders.


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