A THEORETICAL STUDY ON CROSS-NATIONAL DIFFERENCES ON CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY ORIENTATION (CSRO)

The nature of corporate social responsibility (CSR) as a construct can be viewed as a global issue. Nowadays, the business environment is multicultural in nature. Transnational corporations (TNCs) have become prime movers of cultural change as they work with people and other firms from different countries with different cultures and emphasize specific values. Although there is not a common consensus on the definition of CSR, it is widely accepted that the importance of CSR is still increasing. Furthermore, it can be proved by implementing standards, recommendations and metrics to evaluate the level of corporate social responsibility or sustainability. However, it is assumed, that the type of CSR activities, preferences and their perception by stakeholders will differ across different countries. Current research has proved that the main reason for the differences is the cultural, political and social environment. These differences have translated to differences in attitudes towards CSR activities. Neither there is a widely accepted compromise. The purpose of this article is to prepare a theoretical framework on differences in CSR orientation in different cultures for the following research. The present study is theoretical in nature as it examined literature review on corporate social responsibility orientation. Although corporate social responsibility is viewed almost the same by scholars and practitioners of business management, still there are subtle differences in implementing CSR policies in different countries representing different cultures. Although CSRO is highly discussed, there is not a general consensus on the relation between nation differences and CSR practices. More empirical research should be conducted using the same methods to obtain reliable and comparable results.