Corporate Social Responsibility refers to ‘the actions of an organization that are targeted
toward achieving a social benefit over and above maximizing profits for its shareholders and
meeting all its legal obligations. Also known as corporate citizenship and corporate
conscience’ (Ghillyer pg, 70). There are two approaches when considering CSR:
1. Instrumental Approach: ‘The perspective that the only obligation of a corporation is to
maximize profi ts for its shareholders in providing goods and services that meet the needs
of its customers’ (Ghillyer pg, 71).
2. Social Contract Approach: ‘The perspective that a corporation has an obligation to society
over and above the expectations of its shareholders’ (Ghillyer pg, 72).
There are 5 factors leading to CSR:
1. Transparency- Whatever a business does, good or bad, the public will know about it.
2. Knowledge- Consumers and investors have more knowledge on companies than ever
before.
