Abstract

Wiboon Kittilaksanawong

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) increasingly receives attention from executives, business academics, and public officials. However, whether CSR positively contributes to firm performance is inconclusive. This paper integrates and extends the extant literature about CSR and introduces a conceptual framework and propositions on how firms can accomplish some social goals effectively and still, meet the performance expectations of shareholders. This paper suggests five major CSR-related strategies including the integration of CSR activities into business operations, CSR-related innovations and first-mover advantage, CSR-related advertising and risk management, relationships with CSR-related governmental and nongovernmental organizations, as well as implementation of international CSR through geographical diversification. Managerial interpretations of CSR as opportunities rather than as threats importantly facilitate the positive translation of CSR engagement into firm performance. This selective interpretation is dependent on the discretionary slack resources readily available to managers and the integration of CSR performance criteria into their performance appraisals. The implementation of CSR practices are not without costs. To determine the appropriate level of CSR engagement, firms need to take the demand and the supply of CSR-incorporated products into consideration. Most importantly, firms need to consider the level of CSR engagement from its benefits and costs in the same way as in all other investments with a long-term forward thinking and opportunity seeking approach.