Empirical Investigation of Current Status of Corporate Social Responsibility in Indian Organizations

Purpose: This paper aims to investigate current status of corporate social responsibility in Indian organisations. Its purpose is to understand, document, analyze and review the corporate social responsibility perceptions of relatively selected companies in India after its legislation. Design/methodology/approach: This empirical study is based on a survey of 97 respondents of Indian organisations among top 500 fortune companies from various sectors. Out of the top 1000 companies in India, 125 companies were selected randomly from various sectors both from the public and private sectors also covered from manufacturing and service industries. The data was collected by using a structured questionnaire blended with suitable open-ended questions. The analysis has been carried out with the help of percentages and mean values using SPSS software. Findings: CSR has become progressively projected in the Indian corporate setting because organizations have recognized that besides growing their businesses, it is also important to shape responsible and supportable relationships with the community at large including almost all groups of people like rural community, nearby community, tribal community, customers, employees etc. CSR initiatives in India increasingly include lobbying for legally enforceable corporate standards that apply to all firms. Further the significant engagement of top management in setting up of CSR policies, deciding CSR activities, integrating CSR as a business strategy into their policies and practices and discharging CSR activities effectively in India will really take CSR to new heights. There is positive impact of CSR on the financial performance of company. But India is lacking in providing CSR training; which need to be given more thrust for a big success of CSR. Research/limitations/implications: This paper is of value to the researcher and practitioners of corporate social responsibility. The study, I hope, would help other small and medium sized companies, to actualize their CSR interventions by identifying appropriate target group of people to discharge CSR activities. This study can further be utilized to identify CSR training needs for their companies. Keywords: -Corporate Social Responsibility; CSR Initiative; Corporate; Stakeholder; CSR performance; CSR Training; CSR Practices; CSR.