Corporate Social Responsibility as a Bolster for Economic Performance: Evidence From Emerging Markets

摘要

Although the main responsibility of firms may be to maximize their profits, organizations stand to gain much from the development of corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategies. This article reviews the connection between CSR and financial performance and discusses existing multilateral initiatives that global managers and investors are taking to align their business decisions with social and environmental needs. Moreover, an analysis of developments in six emerging markets- Malaysia, South Africa, Egypt, Turkey, Brazil, and Morocco-highlights how ongoing regulatory reforms provide incentives for company sustainabil-ity. The adoption of proactive CSR strategies while generating and disseminating robust and quantitative extra-financial information to shareholders and regulators is an emerging driver of global competitiveness. Therefore, regulators and leaders of industrial organizations and business schools would do well to incorporate these elements into their twenty-first-century strategies.