Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): A Case of Give and Take

Abstract

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has been part of society long before it was recognized as a subject. Arguably, CSR emanates from certain religious principles, which encourage the wealthy to give to the poor as a divine duty. Essentially, companies have started to customize CSR to reflect their business environment. Therefore, the maturation of CSR can be linked to a dynamic business environment, rights group, access to widespread access to information and communication technology (ICT), and globalization. The paper evaluates CSR from a comparative perspective by reflecting on the approaches of multinationals companies to the concept in different business environments. It further establishes a relationship between corporate philanthropy (CSR) and the business case by using data from a previous study. The paper provides insight on what motivates the CSR activities of companies in different societies. In the end, it walks a fine line on the extant CSR practices of international oil companies (IOCs) in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria and business sustainability (business case). Finally, some action plans are recommended to make CSR independent of business case in less developed societies.

Keywords: CSR, Sustainability, NDR, & Business