Business Advantages of Corporate Social Responsibility Practice: A Critical Review

Abstract

Corporate social responsibility is the managerial obligation to take actions that protect and improve both the welfare of society as a whole and the interests of the organisation. Thus, the paper is an examination of the business advantages of corporate social responsibility practice. The paper is anchored on two theories; stakeholder’s theory, which states that organisations have constituent groups that need to be taken care of and the iron law of corporate social responsibility, which states that organisations that fail to use their power responsibly will lose it in the long run. Previous studies were reviewed and it was discovered that several benefits abound to organisations that practise corporate social responsibility; several advantages were identified; these among others include: enhanced brand and reputation, reduction in operation costs, attracting new customers, balances power with responsibility, discourages government regulation, improves a company’s public image, promotes long run profit, improved relations with the investment community and better access to capital, enhanced employee relations, productivity and innovation and stronger relations within communities through stakeholder engagement. The paper therefore concludes that organisations that carry out corporate social responsibility activities have a lot to benefit. Thus, it recommends that organisations should endeavour to pay due attention to corporate social responsibility and this practice should be a continuous one.

Keywords: Business, advantages, benefits and corporate social responsibility