Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) are actions by a firm that appear to further some social good, beyond that which is required by law (McWilliams). These actions can usually be seen in firm’s commitment to contribute to sustainable economic development, working with employees, their families, local communities and society at large to improve the general quality of life (Branco & Rodriques). In the last decade, the popularity of CSR has arguably increased. Behind this proliferation are two main factors, the normative case and the business case, of which tangible and intangible advantages resulting from the implementation of CSR activities may be grouped under. In these two contrasting cases for CSR, the normative case suggests that a firm should behave in a socially responsible manner because it is morally correct to do so. While the business case can be presented by asking how companies view the possibility of furthering their economic success by paying attention to social responsibility (Branco & Rodriques). In many cases, a firm’s reasons for engaging in CSR might reflect an ambiguous blend of both these motivations.
In recent years, CSR has become more prominent on the corporate agenda. Evidence of the spread of CSR among companies across the world can be seen in the substantial and increasing membership of business organizations that are committed to it (Henderson). Multi-National Corporations (MNCs) are at the forefront of this surge of endorsement as it is usually these highly visible companies that are the closest to outside scrutiny and have in many cases been subject to hostile attacks or campaigns. Enhanced mainly by the growing global media and recent unscrupulous behavior of high profile fi ...