An overview of corporate social responsibility

Abstract

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is becoming increasingly important, as investors are ever more concerned about where and how their money is invested. So investors need to understand the social responsibility companies should assume; the questions this responsibility raises; the philosophy on which the arguments on each side are based; the theories explaining the rationale behind CSR; and finally, the empirical evidence of how and why CSR affects corporate financial performance. This article aims to bring some answers to these questions, giving an overview of corporate social responsibility.