Corporate Social Responsibility in Times of Crisis

Many Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Switzerland have highly sophisticated Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) agendas. In many cases they are unintended, informal as they are coming from corporate cultures that nurture a “raison d’être” and a noble business purpose beyond profit-maximisation. Previous research aggregated this core logic to an overarching SME business model, L’EPOQuE, making Swiss SMEs, arguably, hidden CSR champions with regard to social, economic, and environmental responsibilities. This model is borne by a set of key features: i.e., the process of work socialisation, soft assets, proximity and informality, agility, the nexus of company ownership and government, the focus on education, and long-range planning. By the methods of focus group discussion with seven SME owner-managers combined with case studies located in the French-speaking part of Switzerland this research looked at the impact of different financial crisis on the Swiss CSR business model. The results show surprisingly strongly, that there is no substantial leverage. The psychological and sociological tradition of stewardship and the SMEs’ emphasis on excellent craftsmanship help sustain morale and ethics despite economic downturns. As their business model evolves from CSR as “moral activity” it prevents the potential sacrifice of ethics due to financial scarcity. At the same time, it mirrors a highly competitive business approach that can be generalised to other unconventional, “non-standard” milieus where money might be short (e.g., in start-up companies). Considering the economic, political, and social competitiveness of Swiss SMEs and their relevance within CSR, this study demonstrates the power of the small business approach as it works detached from economic situations.

Our world is dealing with several pressing sustainability problems. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives seem to have failed: despite the actions firms have taken over the years to contribute to a better world in an ecological and social sense through directing their resources and competencies towards this goal, the world has been degrading on many important sustainability-related indicators. By implication, firms need to resort to other ways of integrating societal goals into their strategies, organizational architecture, and decision-making processes. Sustainability-oriented business models (SOBMs) may present a way to turn the tides. Adding to the developing discourse on this topic, this chapter identifies three generations of SOBMs and their limitations in realizing sustainable development as well as by presenting an interpretation of fourth generation SBOMs. In doing so, it integrates insights from evolutionary psychology and identifies three types of ‘sustainability intelligence’ firms need to develop in order to be successful in developing SOBMs.

In times of financial and economic crisis companies face difficulties causing them to review their costs and restructure their activities. This affects also corporate social responsibility programs, both in terms of size and complexity, despite the fact that current economic, social and environmental challenges any society faces are even more pronounced. During such difficult periods, some companies choose to strengthen their social responsibility programs as to increase their reputation and to gain the trust of the local community where they operate. On other hand, there are companies that substantially reduce their social responsibility budgets and activities.

In this chapter, the authors will address the issue of social responsibility in Romania, during the economic crisis both in terms of microeconomic and macroeconomic analyses. In this regard, qualitative and quantitative analyses of OMV Petrom 2010–2014 social responsibility programs were performed, as OMV Petrom is the largest company in Romanian economy, whose turnover represents around 5% of national GDP. Macroeconomic analysis focused on the solutions that Romanian Government developed as to overcome the threats and challenges faced by financial responsibility due to economic and financial crisis.

Romanian Government has developed a National Strategy on Social Responsibility to raise awareness of the importance and benefits of applying social responsibility and increasing involvement of public sector, Romanian companies, multinational corporations, and civil society in implementing social responsibility. The chapter analysed the elements of this strategy and the effects it has on society.

There is a growing need to shed more light onto the impact of internal corporate social responsibility (CSR) practice on employees and their behaviour in the workplace. The chapter aims to generate empirical evidence from a research study that was implemented in Cyprus within twelve SMEs exploring the practice of four dimensions of internal CSR practice: (1) health and safety in the workplace, (2) organisational justice and fairness, (3) employee training and development and (4) work-life balance.

The paper presents the Corporate Social Responsibility in the public sector of Romania, offering an image on the role of the public authorities, different than that of the private sector. There are a lot of differences between the two sectors and the state should focus on two aspects: the public sector as a responsible actor, involving itself in CSR projects and the relation between the private and the public sector, where the state should offer the background for a proper implementation of CSR projects by the private companies.

The issue is of a great importance, taking into consideration that CSR, competitiveness and economic and social progress are linked in a great extent. The potential of the research is high and challenging, because the CSR in the public sector of Romania is not very well spread.

The main objectives are: highlighting the tendencies in implementing the European Directives related to CSR; establishing the obstacles in front of a higher CSR activity in the public sector; offering solutions to strengthen the partnership between the public and private partners.

The research methodology includes the analysis of the data gathered from public authorities, the comparison between the public and the private sector in implementing CSR projects and also a quantitative research applied on employees and managers in the public sector, in order to understand the level of knowledge and awareness regarding CSR.

The results of the research will consist in offering solutions to improve the number of CSR projects in the public sector and increase the support offered by the state in creating an adequate background for private companies.

This contribution evaluates the United States (U.S.) government’s policies on corporate social responsibility (CSR) and environmentally-sustainable behaviors. It looks at the establishment of particular corporate citizenship procedures and expectations. US entities, including bureaus, agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have often interpreted their own view on business ethics and stakeholder engagement, within their own regulatory context. This conceptual paper suggests that relevant policies, guidelines and communication on corporate citizenship and their disclosures can change the companies’ attitudes toward CSR, sustainability and corporate governance reporting. It has presented numerous opportunities for businesses to engage in CSR practices in order to create value for themselves and for others. In conclusion, as corporate citizenship and social responsibility policies are widely-understood, accepted and implemented by stakeholders, there will be greater convergence of laudable behaviors. This will ultimately bring positive implications for a sustainable and fair future for all.

There is now a growing recognition of the importance of socially and environmentally responsible enterprises. Businesses are increasingly seen to address and inculcate Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives into their business models/strategies. In-spite of associated benefits of CSR, businesses encounter challenges in their quest to engage in CSR activities and in some circumstance prevented from active CSR engagement. The study focuses on challenges experienced by male and female SME owner/managers when undertaking CSR related activities and explores the perception of SME owner/managers on how to overcome these challenges. This study contributes to the growing body of literature on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in African countries from a Nigerian perspective. The literature review draws on the CSR and entrepreneurship literature in arriving at a working theoretical base for the study. The study adopts a mixed method approach in order to collect data. The first stage of the data collection involved the use of face-to-face questionnaires with SME owner/managers. In total 371 entrepreneurs in Lagos Nigeria took part in the questionnaire survey. The second stage of the data collection involved the use of semi-structured interviews with 64 SME owner/managers who took part in the questionnaire survey. The finding obtained shows mixed responses from the male and female SME owner/managers about the challenges experienced and their perception on strategies to overcome CSR related challenges. The study makes useful contributions to the growing body of literature in this area in Nigeria, by filling gaps in the literature on SME CSR practices, challenges experienced and strategies adopted in overcoming such challenges. The study therefore contributes a theoretical perspective on which future research and policy initiative can be developed.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a fuzzy concept, but is critical in many contexts and situations. In Kenya, CSR is viewed by organizations as a necessary but voluntary commitment. More succinctly, a long-term commitment to sustainable outcomes motivates organizations to consider social, economic, legal and environmental rights. Despite the nobility of CSR, organizations and wider society variously consider it either a blessing, a curse or a ‘necessary evil’. In challenging and turbulent times, these perspectives become even more significant, since while the pursuit of CSR is considered critical for sustainability, competing needs make it unlikely to be considered a priority. In a Kenyan context, we have deliberately dubbed such an era as the ‘adolescence age’, which relates to a relatively early and fragile period in a country’s history. Accordingly, Kenyan organizations are undergoing difficult times, and the resources necessary for CSR are diminished or non-existent. Stakeholder expectations are not commensurate with reality, and societal expectations are rising. In the chapter, we start by considering CSR and its enduring benefits in a Kenyan context. We then examine the social, economic, legal, environmental and political challenges currently faced by corporate organizations who are seeking to pursue CSR in Kenya. Next, we examine the strategies being used by Governments, International Organizations and NGOs to lessen the burden of these challenges. Finally, we discuss how SMEs are attempting to deal with these challenges, and we present some conclusions and implications for theory and research.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) remains a new concept in Ghana albeit a thriving one which has now engaged the attention of many businesses. Its relative freshness perhaps accounts for its amorphous nature as many businesses seek to propound their involvement in CSR even though such involvement very often amounts to something purposely altruistic and quite negligible and, at times, clearly done on ad hoc basis. Whilst CSR-related activities have become common, the scope is still limited in terms of the general ‘drivers’ of CSR or ‘the core priority issues.’ The chapter looks at the situation and sets out the parameters within which CSR operates in Ghana.

Economically developing countries pose unique difficulties for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) implementation and sustainability compared to more economically developed countries. This chapter examines and discusses these challenges, with particular attention to Zimbabwe. Arguably, challenging times in developing countries are really all the time, the rule rather than the exception. CSR requires a balanced approach that encompasses the economic, social and legal pillars of business operations. The situation for Zimbabwean companies exemplifies the challenges of maintaining CSR in difficult environments. Zimbabwe is characterized by a weak institutional environment, poor governance structure and various social, economic and political challenges. Developing countries in general are also subject to illicit financial outflow to rich countries further stripping the developing nation of critical resources (Dobers & Halme. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management 16(5):237–249, 2009). After overview of an ideal CSR model, this chapter examines several Zimbabwean companies and how they have or have not addressed CSR in their operations. Discussion focuses on what may be key factors that support or weaken the implementation of CSR in a developing country and what further research and practice guidelines are recommended base on this discussion. It is felt that the situation in Zimbabwe is and can be instructive for the implementation and sustainability of CSR in other developing countries.

Since the introduction of Structural Adjustment Programs (SAPs) in the 1980s, the gold mining sector has been a major contributor to the economies of many African countries including Ghana. There has been a fall in the global prices of gold in recent times resulting in budget cuts especially those not directly related to corporate prosperity, as well as job losses. This study sought to examine the level of CSR activities in five of the big mining companies operating in Ghana. Findings from the study pointed to a reduction in the profit margins of mining companies as a result of the fallen gold prices, which has invariably affected the volume and nature of CSR activities engaged in by the mining companies in the past 5 years. The study concluded that the fallen price of gold has re-defined the form and shape of CSR activities among mining companies in Ghana.

We hypothesize that, in order to improve their financial performance, Microfinance Institutions (MFI’s) should invest in social empowerment or Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programmes. CSR investments create opportunities to raise savings deposits and reduce default rates among debtors. However, the 2008 credit crunch led many MFI’s to cut back on CSR investments. Using case analysis and interviews, we examine the CSR best practices of uniCredit Ghana Limited MFI. We establish that a single branch used CSR strategies and outperformed the others. We therefore conclude that MFIs should consider CSR investment as a business opportunity rather than an expense.

Throughout this book Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has been discussed in an international framework. The European aspects of CSR are presented in the following countries: Switzerland, Italy, The Netherlands, Cyprus and Romania. In the United States of America (US), the CSR was approached by the policies, environmentally-sustainable behaviours and particular corporate citizenship procedures and expectations. In Africa, in countries as Zimbabwe and Ghana, CSR is still a concept that is underdeveloped and it is even so that many businesses seek to propound their involvement in poverty alleviation and protection of the environment.