Analysis of Literature Review on Corporate Social Responsibility

This report presents a comprehensive literature review, focusing on the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and its significance in business development. The introduction defines literature review as a scholarly paper providing detailed information on a specific topic, highlighting its role in research and knowledge enhancement. The main body delves into the achievements of literature reviews, emphasizing their importance in demonstrating field knowledge, justifying research, and establishing theoretical frameworks. The report then examines CSR, defining it as a business's responsibility towards society, and explores its benefits, such as enhancing long-term profitability and improving brand reputation. Various perspectives on CSR are discussed, including its impact on ethical business practices, stakeholder engagement, and innovation. The report concludes by summarizing the importance of literature reviews and the critical role of CSR in achieving business goals and contributing to societal well-being. The report references various journals and books to support the arguments.

Study Skills

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
Question 1: Literature review and its achievements...................................................................1
Question 2: Literature review on Corporate Social Responsibility............................................2
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................5
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................6

INTRODUCTION
Literature review is can be defined as a scholarly paper which includes detailed information
regarding a particular topic. Theoretical and methodological methods are mainly used for the
purpose of conducting literature review. It is a part of research in which answers for the research
problems are being figured out. It helps observers to get detailed information regarding the topic
of research. Main objective of this report is to determine importance and achievement of
literature review. This assignment covers detailed analysis of literature review for corporate
social responsibility.
MAIN BODY
Question 1: Literature review and its achievements
Literature review can be defined as a review paper which help the observer of research to
gather detailed information regarding research questions. It helps to enhance knowledge
regarding the topic which is being studied by the researcher while conducting the whole study. It
is a search and evaluation of the available literature which is related to the topic which has been
selected by researcher to conduct a study (Hart, 2018). It is mainly used to synthesise the
information in a summary. It is also used to critically analyse the data which is being gathered
from different sources such as websites, journals and articles. In order to conduct the study, it is
very important to make that it is organised in a proper manner so that observers can get detailed
and appropriate information regarding the topic they looking for. The information which is
discussed under literature review is collected from already published data and considered as
secondary content which has already been researched by some else. It is summary of the whole
source which is used by researchers to complete the whole study. Students use it to complete
their research hence it is a part of academics of them and also help them to complete it in
appropriate manner. Literature review is conducted to achieve following purposes:
 Demonstrate the knowledge of field: Literature review helps the researchers achieve the
objectives that are set by them while conducting the research. It guides the observers to
understand the topic that they are willing to acquire from the study. It also helps to find
answers for the research questions which were formulated by researcher while working
on the study (Machi and McEvoy, 2016).
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 Justifies reason for research: Literature review is conducted by researcher to find
justified reasons on conducting a research. It provides the knowledge to observers which
can help them to gather appropriate information for their research.
 Establish a theoretical framework: In order to establish a theoretical framework for the
research literature review is added to the research work. It provides insight of the
questions which are formulated by researcher when research is being started.
 Find answers for research questions: Literature review helps to find answers for
research questions that are formulated by researcher while conducting the research. It
also guides the analysers to whole research to find solutions for their problems and fulfil
their objectives for which they are studying the research of others (Booth, Sutton and
Papaioannou, 2016).
Literature review is conducted for the purpose of gaining understanding of the existing
research which contains different questions and answers of them can be gathered with the help of
it. For all the students it is very important to add literature review in the research work as it can
help the observers to analyse that solutions for problems have been figured out or not.
Question 2: Literature review on Corporate Social Responsibility
According to Hopkins, (2016) corporate social responsibility can be defied as the duty of
business entities for society. It is very important for all the organisations to spend a fixed
percentage of their income for the betterment of society. The percentage for this objective is
around 2% and it is very important for all the companies to spend this amount so that business
can be executed in appropriate manner. It helps the enterprises to be socially accountable and
establish a good market image so that higher profits can be achieved and customers can be
retained for a long period in future. According to government regulations it is essential for
business entities to fulfil all the legal obligations related to CSR so that business can be operated
without governmental interference. It can also be defined as private firm policy under which all
the entities are mainly required to spend a little part of their profits for betterment of society in
order to establish a good market image. Main advantage of CSR is that it helps to enhance long
term profitability for organisations.
According to Flammer, (2015), Corporate social responsibility is a mechanism for
organisation to assess the effect which they leave on the society. In order to operate business
appropriately and ethically it is the main requirement of companies to fulfil legal obligations
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related to CSR by contributing towards societal welfare. It requires that companies assess its
various stakeholders including customers, employees, environment, suppliers and communities
and analyse the responsibilities towards them. An attractive CSR strategy focuses of formulation
of policies that can benefit society in various ways. All the business entities struggle to deal with
the competitors which are leaving negative impact upon them. Contributing in CSR is very
important gain funds from market and execute business in appropriate manner. Detailed
information regarding CSR can provide a way to the company to distinguish itself from others by
offering attractive benefits to the investors and buyers in the form of ethical and environmental
policies. It also results in happy clients and employees because the business is executed in ethical
manner.
According to Crane, Matten and Spence, (2019) Corporate social responsibility can lead
organisations to make innovations in business in order to attract large number of customers set a
positive image of company in the minds of them. It can improve the reputation of brand and also
generate potential funds for enterprises. CSR also plays a vital role in the profit and sales
boosting activities of entities by attracting large number of customers for organisation. A
customer become more motivated to buy products from that company which is having a good
market image and operating business in ethical manner. Some of the companies focus on their
social responsibility efforts on sourcing ethical products so that a positive image can be
established in the minds of clients and also enhances revenues for organisation. It can be said
that entities can attract large number of customers by motivating them to buy products from the
company which is operating business in ethical manner. An organisation which is highly
involved in social welfare activities can attract highly skilled workforce because employees
choose that company to work which is executing all the operations in ethical manner. With the
help of them higher productivity can be attained by companies.
According to Grayson and Hodges, (2017), corporate social responsibility is concerned
with the activities of making sure that business of organisations operated in ethical manner. It is
vital for companies to take all the social, economical and environmental factors in to
consideration so that all the requirements of governmental parties can be fulfilled in appropriate
manner. Various activities which are involved in CSR are working in partnership with local
communities, environmental protection and sustainability, socially responsible investments and
developing relationships with employees and customers. Some of the companies focus on CSR
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for the purpose of fulfilment of environmental or social goals as opposed to a business which is
trying to attain all the finance related objectives by reducing negative impact on society and
nature. Corporate social responsibility is a business approach where organisation contribute in
the society for the sustainable development. Through by delivering economic, social and
environmental benefits to the stakeholders. CSR include the various ethical practices which they
have to perform for maximising productivity or profitability. It very wide and complex concept
where they have to ensure about various social elements that is beneficial for their stakeholders.
CSR activities improve brand image in the market as well as in consumer' mind. Most of the
companies perform their duties ethically by following their code of best practices. But few
organisations not fulfil their responsibility towards society and done unethical practices.
According to Crowther and Seifi, (2018), CSR is a broad business concept in which a
business entity make commitment to operate all the activities in ethical manner. The actions
which are involved in this procedure are environmental management, responsible sourcing,
improvement of working standards and conditions, socially responsible investment, development
of staff members and community relations etc. With the help of CSR fair and open business
practices are conducted which helps to establish positive relations with clients. Under procedure
of CSR there are various ways to create positive change in the community. These are taking part
in charity initiative, volunteering, sponsoring local events etc. All of them are part of CSR and
helps companies to establish a positive image in the market. It is very beneficial for companies to
enhance business performance, raise competitive advantage and gain trust of workers and
customers. Proper involvement in CSR also helps to attain operational cost saving and reducing
inappropriate or unnecessary fees. It is a need of a business which is required to become a good
corporate citizen. It is an essential element which is needed because it benefits community and
society. Under the concept of CSR, business entities donate tonnes of money, provide goods and
services for free and helps to face global issues such as global warmth, pollution etc.
According to Cheng, Ioannou and Serafeim, (2014), Corporate social responsibility is a
approach which is required to be fulfilled by companies by contributing a specific percentage of
profits towards social development. Under this approach business entities take responsibility for
societal and environmental improvement. It plays a vital role in the wellness of society as
organisations starts to five back to the community by spending a small part of its funds. It creates
an opportunity for enterprises to strengthen relations with different stakeholders such as
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employees, customers, investors, suppliers etc. All the efforts that are made by an organisation to
improve society and contribute towards sustainable development are considered as the part of
CSR. It is a type of self regulatory business plan which is focused with achievement of
economic, social and environmental benefits. Main purpose of CSR is to help companies to
conduct all the operational activities in ethical manner so that a positive image of can be
established in the minds of stakeholders. For all the companies it is very important to spend a
little part of their profits for betterment of society in order to reduce negative impact of social as
well as environmental factors. It helps organisations to become a committed employer for
employees and outstanding partner for clients. With the help of CSR companies also create an
image of environmentally friendly player which does not harm nature by operations or other
activities.
CONCLUSION
From the above project report it has been concluded that literature review is the activity of
finding answers for the research questions so that goals related to the study can be achieved. It
helps students and observers of research to gather information in order to enhance their
knowledge. It is beneficial for observers as it helps them to find solutions for their problems. It is
a vital party of research in which answers of previously formulated questions can be are figured
out. It is a detailed analysis of different aspects in which theoretical framework is being
formulated for the purpose of analysing specific topics.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals:
Hart, C., 2018. Doing a literature review: Releasing the research imagination. Sage.
Machi, L. A. and McEvoy, B. T., 2016. The literature review: Six steps to success. Corwin Press.
Booth, A., Sutton, A. and Papaioannou, D., 2016. Systematic approaches to a successful
literature review. Sage.
Cheng, B., Ioannou, I. and Serafeim, G., 2014. Corporate social responsibility and access to
finance. Strategic management journal. 35(1). pp.1-23.
Crowther, D. and Seifi, S. eds., 2018. Redefining Corporate Social Responsibility. Emerald
Group Publishing.
Grayson, D. and Hodges, A., 2017. Corporate social opportunity!: Seven steps to make
corporate social responsibility work for your business. Routledge.
Crane, A., Matten, D. and Spence, L. eds., 2019. Corporate social responsibility: Readings and
cases in a global context. Routledge.
Flammer, C., 2015. Does corporate social responsibility lead to superior financial performance?
A regression discontinuity approach. Management Science. 61(11). pp.2549-2568.
Hopkins, M., 2016. The planetary bargain: corporate social responsibility comes of age.
Springer.
Online
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