Comprehensive Literature Review on Corporate Social Responsibility

This report presents a literature review on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), exploring its definition, importance, and various perspectives. It discusses the role of literature reviews in understanding CSR and achieving sustainable development. The report covers key aspects such as the benefits of CSR, its impact on stakeholders, and the role of media and corporate governance in CSR activities. The report includes insights from various researchers, including Anne Cooney, Ellie Collier, Praveenya, Mohammed Julfekar Haider, Nirbhay Lumde, and Jeremy Moon. The review highlights the importance of CSR for businesses of all sizes, emphasizing its role in building a positive brand image, improving customer relationships, and contributing to long-term sustainability. It also delves into the challenges and conflicts associated with CSR, providing a comprehensive overview of the subject.

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Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
1.) What is literature review and what does it achieve...............................................................1
2 ).Literature review on corporate social responsibility..............................................................2
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................5
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................6

INTRODUCTION
Corporate social responsibility is the combination of various activities done for the
achieving the situation of sustainable development by the organisations. This means it is the
business model which directly helps various organisations to be socially accountable. Performing
the activities of CSR has its own advantages for the companies. As with the help of this a
positive image in the mind of customers can be created, competitive advantage can be gained,
efficient use of resources will be done and organisation will be able to earn high profits from the
market(Barnea and Rubin, 2010). This report will deal in importance and purpose of literature
review and its role and contribution in the CSR activities of the organisation. Literature review
will also helps in defining the problems and issues faced while conducting the corporate social
responsibility.
1.) What is literature review and what does it achieve.
Literature review can be defined as the information which is published on a specific
topic. These information are generally published by the experienced authors and researchers who
have in-depth knowledge about the topic. It can be a summary of various sources and
information available to the authors. A literature review is generally divided into three categories
which are- introduction, main body and conclusion. The major focus of the literature review is
make proper objectives for the study so that relevant information can be gathered. A literature
review on Corporate social responsibilities will deeply analyse the various theories so that
appropriate conclusion can be drawn(Moura-Leite and Padgett, 2011).
The purpose of literature review is to provide appropriate information on a particular
topic in a coordinated manner. Another major purpose of this is it will help in providing
important knowledge regarding the CSR of various organisations. The internal and external
environment can be controlled by collecting information from the literature review section of any
research(Bauman and Skitka, 2012). As with the help of this the organisations will be able to
make appropriate plans and policies regarding the functioning of the CSR activities. There can
be various issues and problems faced by the researcher while analysing various aspects of
corporate social responsibilities . Some of the major problems can be irrelevant information can
be gathered due to this final conclusion may not be drawn and researcher can be biased at the
time of gathering information and analysing it. This will directly result in misunderstanding
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about the specific topic. The scope of literature review is very wide as this will help in knowing
the unknown facts regarding corporate social responsibilities of the various organisations.
According to various literature reviews done of CSR it was concluded that if organisation focus
on performing this activity in the sequential order than good reputation can be build in the
market and competitive advantage will be easily achievable(Carroll and Shabana, 2010). This is
because literature review will help in guiding and planning the actions in systematic manner. The
major objectives of the Literature review can be analysing the literature, synthesises of the
summary and presentation of literature in a systematic and coordinated manner. With the help of
literature review any new conclusion can be drawn or changes can be done in the existing
literature review theory(Lindgreen and Swaen, 2010). This means new facts and ideas can be
known for planning the activities and functions related to Corporate social responsibilities. The
problems and conflicts related to the CSR activities can be faced in the effective and efficient
manner. As solutions to the problems will be given by the experienced authors and researchers.
So that plans can be made to make the CSR activities more effective. The level of competition
in the market can also be handled in the best possible manner with the help of literature review
done on Corporate social responsibilities. But it is very much necessary that the findings of the
literature review is correct and must have some credibility because with the help of this plans for
effective functioning can be made in a coordinated manner(Kanji and Chopra, 2010).
2 ).Literature review on corporate social responsibility.
Many researches have been done on corporate social responsibilities of the organisation.
Some among them are mentioned below-
Corporate social responsibility
According to Anne Cooney, 2016 Corporate social responsibility is not a costly and time
consuming process for the big and small enterprises. But it is the most important factor for
becoming successful in the market. This is because the expectations of the society from the
business organisations is changing rapidly. As now the people are more concerned for the
society and environment. Due to this CSR is now becoming first priority for many businesses
across the world. So business organisations must not perform this task just for the sake of
formality but must try to do it with the motive of retaining the employee's of the organisation,
reducing the chances of risk and uncertainty and for increasing the competition level in the
market. CSR also focuses on treating the employee's in the right manner so that proper work
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environment can be maintained, employee's are satisfied and productive. Using appropriate CSR
activities will give a positive impact in maintaining good relationship with the customer's,
suppliers and stakeholders. But many business organisation might think that CSR activities is the
waste of time and resources for the organisation. It also helped in managing and dealing with the
issues and problems in the best possible manner.
Importance for Corporate social responsibility
As per the views of Ellie Collier, 2018 Corporate social responsibility is very much important for
various business organisations. So many organisation are continuously focusing on performing
its responsibilities towards the society. There are various benefits of CSR such as- it will help in
improving the image of the organisation. This is because if the organisation is successful in
performing the CSR activities than customer's will end up buying the product of the company.
This will directly lead increase in the sale and profitability of the organisation. Another major
benefit is it will lead to saving the cost of the organisation. This is because better plans can be
made for the growth and sustainability of the of the organisation. If the organisation wants to
save the cost than changes in the packing of the product can be done. This will directly lead to
decrease in the production cost and will save the cost. Better relationship with the Customer and
employee can be made with the help of CSR activities. This is because organisation will make
efforts in maintaining the needs and demands of the customers and employee. Both the parties
will be satisfied because preferences of customer's and employee's will be taken into
consideration while performing activities of CSR.
Need for Corporate social responsibility
As per the views of Praveenya, 2015 The basic root of CSR is related with various philanthropic
activities such as charity, donation and other activities performed by various enterprises. This is
because these activities are voluntarily done by various organisation but in some case they are
bided with the legal laws and regulations imposed by the government. The major motive of the
business organisation is not just earning high profit but their motive is also satisfying the society
in which it operates its business. CSR can be understood as the right method for achieving the
balance in the economy by fulfilling the expectations of the stakeholders and shareholder's of the
business organisation. The term CSR can be understood with the help of 4 P's related to the CSR.
They are- people, plant, profit and principles. The first P stands for people working in the
organisation. There needs and preferences must be taken care by the organisation as they will
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help in performing CSR activities in the better manner, the plant or surroundings of the
organisation can be saved, CSR activities will directly lead to earning high profit. All the 4 p's of
CSR are inter- related and inter- connected with one another. Changes in any one will directly
affect the working of other.
Corporate social responsibility and customer's
According to Mohammed Julfekar Haider, 2010 Organisations also have the responsibility
towards their potential customer's. As any business organisation will not function without its
valuable customer's. So the growth and survival of the organisations largely depends upon the
satisfaction level of the customer's. Organisations can increase the satisfaction level of the
customer's by gaining the trust of the valuable customer's. There are some activities which can be
performed by the business organisations for building a positive attitude among the customer's
related to the particular organisation. Some among them are- good quality of products can be sod
to the customer's or the quality of the existing product can be improved, fair prices can be
charged form the customer's, use of misleading advertisement must not be done by the
organisation as doing this will lead to loss of customer's. The facility of after sale services can
also be given to the customer's so that they are satisfied with the services. Chances of
monopolistic competition must be avoided because in this the interest of customer's will not be
taken into consideration in this. Training programmes can also be arranged for the customer's so
that they are more satisfied with the organisation and its CSR activities.
Corporate social responsibility and role of media
As per the views of Nirbhay Lumde, 2017 Media plays a vital role in strengthening the
ecosystem of Corporate social responsibility. Media any encourage the organisation, employee
and customer's to perform their task in the appropriate manner. As with media can help in
guiding the organisation for formulating and implementing the plans and polices in the right and
accurate manner. Media can either help in improving the image of the organisation or can
decrease the image in the mind of customer's if the CSR activities is not done in the proper
manner. Organisations can also take the help of media for performing its duties and
responsibilities towards the society. As media can be used as a platform for showcasing the
success of the organisation received by performing desirable corporate social responsibility.
Agenda for the future can be set by the organisations by using proper media tools. As with the
help of this each and every activities will be planned in the sequential order and chances of errors
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will be reduced. Media and CSR forums will help in increse the knowledge of the organisation
regarding the CSR activities as right information will be used in the right and desirable manner.
Corporate social responsibility and corporate governance
As per the views of Jeremy Moon, 2015 Corporate governance and corporate social
responsibility are inter- related with each other. According to the author both the terms do not
have same meaning but are inter connected with one other. As corporate governance focus on
regulating internal and well as external environment of the organisation. Where as on the other
hand CSR is related with the behaviour of the organisation towards the society in which it
operates. Every business organisation needs to focus on both corporate governance and corporate
social responsibilities at the same time. This is because both the terms will help the organisation
in achieving the goals and objectives either in the direct or indirect manner. The long term and
short term stability of the organisation will depend on CSR and Corporate governance. This is
because financial and social performance of the organisation will be improved in the positive
direction. Innovations in the business plans regarding the CSR activities can be done with the
help of corporate governance and its policies and procedures.
CONCLUSION
From the above report it can be concluded that corporate social responsibility is one of
the major aspect for every business organisation irrespective of the size of the organisation. The
plans and polices for the CSR can be made after analysing the current and past situation of the
market. If the organisation wants to expand its business than the major focus can be on making
better plans for conducting the CSR activities. Literature review can be done on the particular
topic for gathering appropriate information in the sequential manner. This is because information
will be taken from the various experienced authors. Formulation and implementation of plans for
CSR activities can be done by using the theories of various authors and researchers. So that
organisational goals and objectives can be attained in the best possible manner.
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REFERENCES
Books and journals
Barnea, A. and Rubin, A., 2010. Corporate social responsibility as a conflict between
shareholders. Journal of business ethics. 97(1). pp.71-86.
Bauman, C.W. and Skitka, L.J., 2012. Corporate social responsibility as a source of employee
satisfaction. Research in Organizational Behavior. 32. pp.63-86.
Carroll, A.B. and Shabana, K.M., 2010. The business case for corporate social responsibility: A
review of concepts, research and practice. International journal of management reviews.
12(1). pp.85-105.
Kanji, G.K. and Chopra, P.K., 2010. Corporate social responsibility in a global economy. Total
Quality Management. 21(2). pp.119-143.
Lindgreen, A. and Swaen, V., 2010. Corporate social responsibility. International Journal of
Management Reviews.12(1). pp.1-7.
Moura-Leite, R.C. and Padgett, R.C., 2011. Historical background of corporate social
responsibility. Social Responsibility Journal. 7(4). pp.528-539.
Online
An Overview of Corporate Social Responsibility. 2016. [Online]. Available Through:
<https://fora.ie/readme/anne-cooney-esb-social-responsibility-2979703-Sep2016/>
Importance of Corporate Social Responsibility. 2018. [Online]. Available Through:
<https://www.highspeedtraining.co.uk/hub/importance-of-corporate-social-
responsibility/>
Need of Corporate Social Responsibility. 2015. [Online]. Available Through:
<https://www.tutorialspoint.com/articles/the-need-for-social-responsibility-of-business-
enterprises/>
Corporate Social Responsibility towards customers. 2010. [Online]. Available Through:
<https://www.indiastudychannel.com/resources/127789-Social-Responsibilities-of-a-
Business-Organization-towards-Customers.aspx/>
Media role in Corporate Social Responsibility. 2017. [Online]. Available Through:
<https://thecsrjournal.in/strengthening-csr-ecosystem-role-media//>
Corporate Social Responsibility and corporate governance. 2015. [Online]. Available Through:
<http://www.bos-cbscsr.dk/2015/01/13/corporate-governance-and-corporate-social-
responsibility//>
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