CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY: AN OVERVIEW AND NEW RESEARCH DIRECTIONS

The idea of corporate social responsibility (CSR) -- that is, businesses bearing a responsibility to society and a broader set of stakeholders beyond its shareholders -- gained currency in the 1960s. Since then, attention on CSR has been growing in both academic and practitioner communities around the world. While there have been criticisms and debates on whether it was appropriate for corporations to expand their remit beyond shareholder value, an increasing majority of corporations have proactively committed to addressing larger societal challenges. With a variety of options for corporate engagement in mainstream society and local communities, corporations have created dedicated organizational units to effectively manage their social obligations. As an organizational phenomenon, CSR has become increasingly prevalent and visible within corporations as a mechanism to energize and motivate stakeholders, as well as manage societal perceptions and expectations on the role and utility of businesses in societies and communities beyond the core function of producing and selling goods to a defined consumer market.