CSR IN BANKING SECTOR A LITERATURE REVIEW AND NEW RESEARCH DIRECTIONS

Theoretical and empirical researches entirely addressed the issues of corporate social responsibility (CSR) since 1950s, and it is now gaining more importance, especially under the era of globalization and subsequent impacts of global financial crisis. As a result, by acknowledging CSR’s significance a majority of banks have undertaken social and environmental programs in order to benefit both itself and the society. This paper aims at providing a review of 84 quantitative and qualitative research on Corporate Social Management in banking sectors so as to identify 5 areas of emphasis of CSR research in the sectors. These issues are perception toward CSR, drivers, impacts, CSR practices, and CSR reports. Besides, this paper tries to draw the general picture of CSR practices in the banking secto rworldwide. By doing this, we raise the need for doing research in some emerging and missing issues that are derived from empirical practices. The new research direction proposed in this paper may help to develop a better understanding of CSR and encourage CSR implementation in banks