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attached is two readings and assignment
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Reflection on the readings that should roughly follow the 3-2-1 approach to critical
reading that includes the following requirements:
3 – a one paragraph (approx. 200-250 words) summary of the readings. Try to think of
the readings as a set and consider how they work together so that your summary is a
succinct synthesis that doesn’t merely describe one or two of the articles but provides
the “big deal” that these readings are conveying together. Essentially, you want to
answer the question: What is the bottom line that connects these readings?
2 – one paragraph (approx. 200-250 words) that reflects on points in the readings that
were personally interesting to you (perhaps it was a finding that you found especially
meaningful, surprising, or problematic). You should reflect on your personal reaction to
the readings here.
1 – include 1-2 questions you’d like to pose for discussion (or that you would want to
ask the authors). Good discussion questions should demonstrate your knowledge of the
readings and curiosity about the topic – for example, they may inquire about the
implications or applications of the article(s). Questions may also ask about elements of
the readings that you found to be confusing or unclear, but you should provide context
about how you interpreted the problematic passages and why it seems important to
achieve clarity on them.
Received: 16 July 2018
Revised: 19 December 2018
Accepted: 11 January 2019
DOI: 10.1002/csr.1729
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Corporate social responsibility strategies: Past research and
future challenges
Ana Nave | João Ferreira
NECE – Research Centre in Business Sciences,
Department of Management, University of
Beira Interior, Covilhã, Portugal
Correspondence
Ana Nave, NECE – Research Centre in
Business Sciences, Department of
Management, University of Beira Interior, Rua
Marquês d’Ávila e Bolama, 6201‐001, Covilhã,
Portugal.
Email: [email protected]
Funding information
FCT ‐ Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia,
Grant/Award Number: UID/GES/04630/2013
Abstract
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is not only increasingly valued by companies but
also plays an extremely important role in the development of their strategies. This
study systematically reviews literature that seeks to ascertain just which CSR
strategies feature in the literature and their means of implementation by companies.
We made recourse to the ISI Web of Science database for the search and collected
119 articles spanning a 25‐year period. The results enable the identification and
categorization of CSR strategies into four key categories: (a) dimensions, (b) benefits,
(c) value creation and stakeholders, and (d) motivations. We also identify that major
companies around the world are ensured the implementation of their CSR strategies
throughout their organizational structures with specialized resources. This systematic
review provides a path for future research.
KEY W ORDS
corporate social responsibility (CSR), strategy, sustainability, systematic literature review (SLR)
1
|
I N T RO D U CT I O N
Lam 2017). These pressures have led to increased attention on CSR
in terms of commercial practices (Kotler & Lee, 2005); however, in
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is not only an area attracting a ris-
CSR academic literature pays little attention to market pressure
ing level of academic and professional interest, both in theoretical and
(Quairel‐Lanoizelée, 2011). Therefore, CSR has been drawing
in practical terms (Angus‐Leppan, Metcalf, & Benn, 2010), but is also
significant attention from researchers and corporate professionals
currently one of the most important questions facing the business
(Shim & Yang, 2016).
environment given that relationships between companies and their
CSR is therefore a very contemporary and pertinent theme
stakeholders are getting increasingly proximate (Asgary & Li, 2016).
approached by an increasing number of studies and, especially over
Therefore, the integration of CSR into the prevailing strategies has
the course of the last decade, a growing number of companies and
become a fundamental characteristic of companies (Asgary & Li, 2016).
firms now recognize the benefits accruing from CSR practices
According to Charlo, Moya, and Muñoz (2017) companies should
(Mousiolis & Zaridis, 2014).
be interested in implementing CSR practices not only for ethical
While there are numerous studies on CSR in companies, there has
reasons but also for their potential profits. Thus, “the challenge for
been no systematic review on this theme as a search of the Web of
business is to understand how CSR is socially constructed in a specific
Science and SCOPUS databases with the keywords “Corporate Social
context and how to take this into account when business strategies
Responsibility” and “Strategy” and “Systematic Literature Review”
are developed” (Dahlsrud, 2008:6). For example, the development of
obtained no results at all.
ethical consumerism has also played an important role in pressuring
The fragmentation existing in the literature furthermore com-
private sector companies to deal with CSR (Asgary & Li, 2016) and
pounds the need for a systematic review of the main contributions
in recent years have seen a significant increase in stakeholder pres-
and discoveries in this field. In an effort to fill this gap existing in the
sure on companies to be not only economically sustainable but also
literature, the objective of this study therefore involves providing a
from an environmental and social perspective (Wiengarten, Lo, and
systematic literature review, identifying and analysing the CSR
Corp Soc Resp Env Ma. 2019;26:885–901.
wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/csr
© 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment
885
NAVE AND FERREIRA
strategies portrayed in the literature and the way companies have
towards improving the wellbeing of the community and adding that
implemented them over time.
there are strategic areas susceptible to CSR practices, for example:
Carrying out this systematic review allowed for the identification
of four key categories related to CSR strategies: (a) dimensions, (b)
cause related marketing, social causes marketing, sponsorship, corporate philanthropy, and corporate volunteering.
benefits, (c) value creation and stakeholders, and (4) motivations. In
In relation to the CSR theories, Garriga and Melé (2004) classify
addition, it was also possible to evaluate how major corporations
four types of theories: (a) instrumental theories (these theories focus
around the world are now appointing and integrating a new position
on achieving economics aims through social activities, which
—“Chief Sustainability Officers” (CSOs) as a means of implementing
contemplates maximization of shareholder value and cause‐related
their respective CSR strategies throughout their organizational struc-
marketing), (b) political theories (these theories are related to a
tures. These new company positions are both a reactive response to
responsible use of business power in the political area which reflects
developments taking place at the macroeconomic level and a
the corporate constitutionalism and corporate citizenship), (c) integra-
response/reaction to a period of crisis and recession (Strand, 2014).
tive theories (these theories are related to the integration of the social
The article contains the following structure: following this present
demands, which considers public responsibility, stakeholder manage-
introduction, the first section sets out a literature review on this
ment, and corporate social performance), and (d) ethical theories
theme. Subsequently, we then make a description of the methodology
(these theories are related to the right things to achieve a good
adopted and before then presenting our results in section three. We
society, which contemplates universal rights, sustainable development,
close by detailing our conclusions, limitations, and suggestions for
and the common good).
future lines of research.
On the other hand, the strategic approach to CSR incorporates
the perspectives arising out of institutional theory and stakeholder
theory (Kao, Chen, Wu, & Yang, 2014) and as well as transaction cost
2
LITERATURE REVIEW
|
theory (Acquier, Valiorgue, & Daudigeos, 2017). From the institutional
theory point of view, the companies are influenced by normative pres-
2.1
|
Concepts and Theories of CSR
sures, sometimes from external sources and sometimes from within
the company itself (Zucker 1987), and the society acts to confer
In literature, we find several concepts and theories of CSR.
power on companies, thus, companies that fail to deploy their powers
Carroll (1999) identified several definitions to CSR, and Amba‐Rao
in manners that society deems responsible tend to lose them (Porter &
(1993) affirms that the concept of CSR rests upon the management
Kramer, 2006). Meanwhile, from the stakeholder theory perspective,
values and receives a diversified range of definitions. Similarly,
Freeman (1984) considers that business can be connected with capi-
Marrewijk (2003) states that the concept spans all of the activities
talism and ethics in order to create value for stakeholders, and the
undertaken by companies that strive for the inclusion of social and
instrumental objective of this approach strives to explain part of the
environmental concerns within the framework of commercial
financial performance through the CSR activities undertaken
operations and the interactions with stakeholders while also paying
(Chtourou and Chtourou & Triki, 2017); thus, this approach maintains
attention to corporate sustainability.
identifying the presence or absence of bonds and ties between stake-
According to Carroll (1996), CSR encompasses the economic, legal,
holders and correlates with attaining or failing to attain the traditional
and ethical issues. The European Commission (2011:6) defines CSR as
objectives of a company (for example, profitability and growth). Some
“respect for applicable legislation, and for collective agreements
stakeholders hold influence over the survival and development of
between social partners, is a prerequisite for meeting that responsibility.
companies, while others share in the costs and risks (Kao et al., 2014).
To fully meet their CSR, enterprises should have in place a process to
According to Freeman, Harrison, Wicks, Parmar, and De (2010),
integrate social, environmental, ethical, human rights and consumer
stakeholder theory evolved through efforts to answer three different
concerns into their business operations and core strategy in close
aspects: (a) how to understand and manage a company so as to gener-
collaboration with their stakeholders”. Thus, for WBCSD (2000:8), the
ate wealth, (b) how to integrate ethics, responsibility, and sustainability
definition of CSR is “the company’s continued commitment to behaving
from the perspective of capitalist economics, and (iii) what present and
ethically and contributing to economic development by improving the
future managers should learn about successfully managing companies.
quality of life of the workplace and its families as well as the local
Furthermore, institutional theory serves to explain the complex
community and society in general.”
nature of institutional environments and the reciprocal pressures
Although there are several definitions of CSR, according to
ongoing between organizations and their contexts (Scott, 2008),
Dahlsrud (2008:6) they are consistently referring to five dimensions:
taking into account how these pressures serve to influence the CSR
(a) the environment dimension, (b) the social dimension, (c) the
activities engaged in (Ozdora‐Aksak & Atakan‐Duma, 2016).
economic dimension, (d) the stakeholder dimension, and (e) the
voluntariness dimension.
According to Coase (1937), a company could continue to exist if
its function has a lower cost than would be incurred if it were
CSR interrelates with the business of a company that complies
achieved by means of market transactions, and thus, the transaction
with its responsibilities beyond the profit motive within the scope of
cost theory aims to minimize the costs for planning, executing, and
the objective of sustainable economic development, quality of life,
monitoring the company’s interactions with its agents (Coase, 1992).
and among others (Boulouta & Pitelis, 2014). In the study by Kotler
King (2007), also through adopting the transaction cost theory per-
and Lee (2005), the definition of CSR focuses on its commitment
spective, analyses the cooperation ongoing between companies and
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886
their noncommercial stakeholders (e.g., nongovernmental organiza-
Companies that strategically implement CSR actions may thereby
tions, international associations, and local environmental associations)
obtain competitive differentiation (Porter & Kramer, 2006). Thus, this
before concluding that transaction costs represent a factor explaining
may amount to a source of opportunities, generating innovation, and
the difficulties encountered in implementing such CSR initiatives.
supplying competitive advantage (Asgary & Li, 2016).
Therefore, within the context of the theories outlined above, CSR
Thus, the strategic approach to CSR recognizes that the economic
emerges as a strategic tool for obtaining economic objectives and
benefits to companies and the interests of society may interlink within
consequently for the generation of wealth and value (Chtourou &
the framework of striving for competitiveness (Carroll & Shabana,
Triki, 2017).
2010; McWilliams & Siegel, 2011).
In sum, CSR has become familiar concept in recent decades (Lyon
Burke and Logsdon (1996) establish five key dimensions for CSR
et al., 2018), and CSR theories are focused on four main aspects: (a)
that, when managed strategically, may improve not only competitive
meeting objectives that produce long‐term profits, (b) using business
advantage but also the results and performance of companies. These
power in a responsible way, (c) integrating social demands, and (d)
core dimensions are (a) volunteering, designing CSR initiatives that fall
contributing to a good society by doing what is ethically correct
within the scope of the company’s own mission and objectives; (b)
(Garriga & Melé, 2004).
proactiveness or preempting emerging economic, technological,
social, or political trends whenever not in periods of recession; (c)
visibility or recognition among stakeholders; and (d) the capacity to
2.2
|
CSR Strategies
learn from the benefits of CSR programs. While the first three
dimensions concentrate on planning and positioning CSR, the latter
To rank as socially responsible, companies need to take into account
two dimensions cast attention on the nature of the results obtained
four types of responsibility: economic, legal, ethical, and philanthropic
(Burke & Logsdon, 1996).
(Carroll, 1996).
Currently, CSR is fundamental because it is able to create value
Therefore, CSR has become an important strategic tool
for companies and society (Kramer and Porter, 2011). According to
(McWilliams, Parhankangas, Coupet, Welch, & Barnum, 2014), suscep-
Font, Garay, and Jones (2016), CSR practices that focus on
tible for integration into the differentiation strategy of any company
environmental, social, and economic measures undertake the impact
(Siegel & Vitaliano, 2007).
that sustainability has on company. Thus, CSR can bring enormous
Asif, Searcy, Zutshi, and Fisscher (2013) consider CSR as an
approach that has the potential to make corporate practices more
advantages and supports companies’ performance (Borges et al.,
2018; Font et al., 2016).
transparent and socially responsible and should be built at all levels
According to Kao et al. (2014), the characteristics of the company
of a company. Likewise, Baumgartner (2014) argue that in the
founder are fundamental to the successful implementation of CSR
different areas of the company that have to be implemented
strategies. However, we would also reference how members of staff
normative and strategic objectives and in case it is necessary, the
provide a critical group of stakeholders that contributes towards both
organizational structures or management processes are adapted or
developing and implementing truly successful CSR initiatives
redesigned. These authors add that is required the review of
(Ozdora‐Aksak & Atakan‐Duma, 2016).
strategic positions, objectives, and guidelines in order to integrate
Quairel‐Lanoizelée (2011) defined two types of CSR strategy in
CSR policies into several departments such as materials management
competitive situations: (a) a traditional enlightened CSR strategy and
and logistics, production, maintenance, marketing, communications,
(b) symbolic CSR strategy based on reputation. To this author, the first
and human resources.
type of CSR strategy falls within the scope of the mainstream concept
Indeed, López‐Pérez, Melero, and Sesé (2017a) affirm that compa-
of management. It focuses on products and processes and aims to
nies currently tend to place less value on maximizing short‐term gains
boost profitability by cutting costs and improving efficiency (savings
and profits and greater value on other priorities that have taken on rising
on consumption and recycling), as well as through innovations, the
levels of importance to companies, for example, at the level of sustain-
launch of products that meet new demands (organic food, recycled
ability. Similarly, according to Kleine and Hauff (2009) CSR is usually
paper, antipollution facilities, and renewable energies). And add that
focused on a company’s contribution to sustainability. In turn,
this strategy applies new standards for energy efficiency in buildings,
Benites‐Lazaro, Giatti, and Giarolla (2018) claim that the current debate
implements management systems that provide access to markets
on CSR was triggered by the understanding that companies should be
(ISO 14000 certification, etc.), while in second type of CSR strategy,
responsible for mitigating the impacts of their activities on the society
is a strategic intangible asset that becomes the source of a competitive
and the environment. On the other hand, for instance, considering the
advantage concerning customers as well as providers, financial
viewpoint of Murphy (2005), the code of ethics back to the early
resources investors (especially for socially responsible investment), or
twentieth century, making it a CSR behaviour.
employees (competence attractiveness).
Lyon (2004) emphasizes that in order to incorporate CSR into the
Concerning to corporate hypocrisy is another important point to
long term, companies need to move on from a culture oriented by
focus; the concept can be defined as the belief that a company claims
objectives to one based on values. Therefore, companies should
to be something it is not (Wagner, Lutz, & Weitz, 2009); namely, the
nurture and develop their corporate values so as to create an
hypocrisy happens when the behaviour contradicts the declared
organizational culture able to be receptive to change and to sustain
behaviour of the company (Janney & Gove, 2011). In turn, Wagner
a CSR strategy into the long term (Lyon, 2004).
et al. (2009) propose that hypocrisy is a psychological mechanism in
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887
NAVE AND FERREIRA
NAVE AND FERREIRA
the processing of inconsistent information on CSR activities by
and the Environment, (d) Business Ethics: A European Review, (e)
consumers. Therefore, the relationship between consumer perception
Social Responsibility Journal, (f) Society and Business Review, (g)
of CSR and hypocrisy can be mediated by corporate brand trust (Kim,
Corporate Governance: the International Journal of Business in
Hur, & Yeo, 2015).
Society, and (h) Journal of Global Responsibility.
Considering Shim and Yang (2016), in the context of the hypocrisy
For the selection of these eight journals, we undertook research,
applied in the CSR, the public’s ethical judgment of corporate
specifically visiting the respective journal websites with the objective
philanthropy is reflected, and they add that corporate hypocrisy
of ensuring the identification of only journals publishing on the field
negatively impacts corporate reputation regarding the attribution of
of CSR. Therefore, the final number of articles subject to analysis
corporate social motives.
totalled 119 (data available on request from the authors).
According to Fassin and Buelens (2011:587), there is a way to
We would duly note that there was no restriction placed on the date
measure the hypocrisy through the distance between statements
of article publication with the objective of ensuring the widest possible
and performance of the company, and they argue that this distance
search attaining the largest feasible number of publications on the theme
leads to a perception of hypocrisy, once the sincerity of the motives
under study. Table 1 details the stages leading to the selection of articles.
Analysis of the 119 articles obtained by the aforementioned
of the company managers is questioned, even when the implemented
activities of CSR are honest.
research process took into account the Eveleens, van Rijnsoever, and
In addition, CSR can be applied when a company has a good
Niesten (2017) approach. The working method applied in the produc-
reputation, while the hypocrisy is perceived when a company is
tion of the systematic literature review contained the following
associated with a bad reputation and/or a business crisis that leads
phases: (a) full reading of each article, (b) identification of categories
the public to infer other reasons for CSR (Shim & Yang, 2016).
and subcategories, and (c) presentation of the results.
In sum, once the consumers tend to punish insincere business
conduct, a company has reasons to avoid the appearance of hypocrisy
(van de Ven, 2008); thus, companies must become transparent about
4
|
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
their CSR (Lyon et al., 2018).
Figure 1 illustrates the trend in the publication of the 119 articles over
the period of time under analysis (from 1993 onwards). We find that
3
METHODOLOGY
|
despite some oscillations, 2017 featured the greatest number of
publications and with 1994 and 2002 recording the lowest number
In keeping with how any systematic literature review consists of a
content analysis process composed of a set of phases (Mayring,
2000), the methodological procedure for this present study involved
the following stages: (a) identifying the gap for study (i.e. identifying
the CSR strategies portrayed in the literature and the way companies
have implemented them over time); (b) searching the literature,
selecting the articles, and analysing the information therein contained;
(c) categorising the articles; and (d) presenting the results.
of articles published. The year of 2018 covers only the first 3 months
of this year.
Below, Figure 2 displays the number of citations received by
each of the articles published over the period of time analysed and
once again reporting oscillations over the course of the years. While
2017 stands out as the year with the most citations (516), between
1993 and 1999, the number of citations remains only very low.
However, 2000 records six citations with this number, then sliding
in 2001 before 2004 sees the beginning of sustained growth in
3.1
|
Searching and selecting the articles
the citation numbers running through to 2017. Given that 2018
refers only to the first 3 months, this explains why, at the date of
The database chosen for the bibliographic search was the ISI Web of
producing this systematic literature review, there were only 89
Science belonging to Thomson Reuters. The search and selection
citations.
process took place as follows:
Firstly, we chose the following keywords: Corporate Social
One of the filters applied to undertake this current research
involved the selection of eight academic journals that specialize in
Responsibilit* (topic), Strateg* (topic), and Implement* (topic) and
obtained 708 articles. Subsequently, we applied the filter in order to
specify the categories (Business, Management, and Ethics) and
thereby reducing the total number to 411 articles. We applied this
filter on the grounds that these areas fall within the framework of
TABLE 1
Selection of articles from the ISI Web of Science database
Steps
Filters
Step 1: selecting the keywords
Corporate Social
708
Responsibilit* AND
Strateg* AND Implement*
the theme under study; thus, CSR interlinks with the business (corporate vision), management, and ethics of any company. Thirdly, we
advanced with the choice of the articles, with the number of articles
then trimmed to 321. The final filter consisted of selecting journals
with a particular interest in publishing on CSR and correspondingly
adopting the following eight journals due to their specialist focus on
the theme of CSR: (a) Journal of Business Ethics, (b) Corporate Social
Responsibility and Environmental Management, (c) Business Strategy
Articles
Step 2: selecting the categories Business, Management and
Ethics
411
Step 3: selecting the type of
article
Articles
321
Step 4: selecting the journals
specializing in the field of
corporate social
responsibility
Selecting journals
specializing in publishing
on corporate social
responsibility
119
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888
FIGURE 1
Trend in the number of articles published [Colour figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]
FIGURE 2
Number of citations of articles published between 1994 and 2018 [Colour figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]
publishing on CSR. With the objective of identifying only those
journals with this specialist interest, we carried out research via the
TABLE 2 Distribution of articles by journals, number of citations,
and period of publication
websites of the already identified journals.
No. of
articles
No. of
citations
Period of
publication
Journal of Business
Ethics
73
2228
Between 1993
and 2017
Corporate Social
Responsibility and
Environmental Management
15
158
Between 2009
and 2018
Business Strategy and
the Environment
9
75
Between 2012
and 2017
Business Ethics: A European
Review
6
81
Between 2008
and 2017
Social Responsibility
Journal
5
7
Between 2015
and 2017
5
2
Between 2015
and 2018
systematizing this current study: keywords, methodology, study
Corporate Governance:
the International Journal
of Business in Society
objectives, and key conclusions (data on available on request from the
Journal of Global Responsibility
3
2
2016, 2016,
and 2017
Society and Business
Review
3
0
In keeping with this detailed analysis, the articles classified in
2011, 2017,
and 2017
accordance with the type of approach adopted: theoretical studies (that
Total
119
2553
Table 2 features the 119 articles distributed among the eight
journals, listing the number of citations and the period of publication.
We may correspondingly note that the Journal of Business Ethics
returns both the largest number of published articles and citations,
while the journal Society and Business Review does not feature any
cited articles.
4.1
|
Study of analysed article type
We analysed each article individually; thus, reading each article in its
entirety so as to be able to access the information fundamental to
authors), sets out the core objectives and conclusions for each article.
Journals
correspond to 31 articles) or empirical studies (in which 52 articles are
qualitative studies and 36 articles are quantitative studies).
We would duly emphasize that the empirical articles apply differ-
between those authors (Atakan & Eker, 2007; Duarte, 2010;
ent research tools, whether through questionnaires/surveys, data-
Lehmann, Toh, & Ma, 2010; Ruiviejo & Morales 2016 and Maon,
bases, interviews, consulting management reports and accounts, etc.
Swaen, & Lindgreen, 2017) approaching the implementation of CSR
Among the diverse case studies included, we may differentiate
strategies in the public sector and those opting to focus on the private
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889
NAVE AND FERREIRA
NAVE AND FERREIRA
sector across a host of countries (to begin a list: Brazil, Mexico, Spain,
Line (McWilliams et al., 2014). In turn, Maon et al. (2009) focuses on
France, Turkey, Switzerland, Denmark, United Kingdom, Greece,
three levels, the critical factors of success to the implementation of
Poland, India, Japan, among others) and across diverse sectors of
CSR initiatives: the corporate level (thus, the connection between
activity (banking, the clothing, mining, tourism, telecommunications,
the CSR vision and the core values and competences of the company),
food and beverage industries, among others).
the organizational level (thus, the training and preparation of staff
These studies do share certain similarities especially as regard the
fact
that
their
authors
present
and
explore
the
CSR
initiatives/activities implemented by companies. Another aspect worth
involved in CSR), and, finally, in terms of management (thus, creating
credibility around CSR, providing updated and regular information
about the progress being made).
highlighting interrelates with the theoretical framework applied as
Based upon their study, Hemingway and Maclagan (2004)
many and diverse studies make reference to stakeholder theory in
advance with two types of motivation driving companies towards
their literature reviews (Chkanikova & Mont, 2012; Pérez & Rodrıiguez
implementing CSR policies: (a) altruistic motivations or (b) strategic
del Bosque, 2013; Kao et al., 2014; Apostolakis, Kraanen, & van Dijk,
motivations and that the level of the locus of responsibility might stem
2016; Clarke & Boersma, 2017 and Gabler, Panagopoulos, Vlachos,
from the corporate level (the company) or the individual level
& Rapp, 2017).
(company members of staff). Furthermore, Ozdora‐Aksak and
Atakan‐Duma (2016) maintain that Business‐to‐Business firms
concentrate their CSR activities on their core business, while
4.2
|
Implementing CSR Strategies
Business‐to‐Consumer companies instead focus upon philanthropic
CSR activities. Furthermore, these same authors add that multinational
Cruz and Boehe (2010) set out how CSR programs generate costs
companies implement their CSR initiatives on a global scale rather
even while Chtourou and Triki (2017) highlight the importance of
than targeting the needs of the local communities in which these
advancing with the implementation of CSR policies for companies
businesses operate (Ozdora‐Aksak & Atakan‐Duma, 2016).
even when there are substantial doubts persisting around these social
An example that is presented by Bezençon and Blili (2009)
actions. In order to assist companies in integrating CSR into their daily
conveys how the sale of Fair Trade products is rising and explaining
commercial practices, the European Network of Businesses for CSR
how the Fair Trade movement represents one solid example of how
(CSR Europe) launched the European roadmap in 2003 with the
a commercial vision may include the market, competitiveness, justice,
objective of supplying a range of information, targets, and strategies
and solidarity.
that companies might adopt (Maon, Lindgreen, & Swaen, 2009).
According to Strand (2014), in order to deal with CSR strategies,
Therefore, through the Enterprise 2020 Strategy, CSR Europe enables
large scale and global corporations are setting up new positions within
companies to share their best CSR practices
