Corporate social responsibility and sustainable development: a developing country study of business's attitude towards and perception of corporate social responsibility

This paper, based on data from thirty-two large businesses in Bangladesh, investigates if the various efforts taken to promote CSR have had any impact on local businesses' attitudes towards CSR and if those efforts have been able to change their perceptions as to the important considerations of CSR practices which could meaningfully contribute to sustainable development. The study confirms that businesses have a positive attitude towards CSR which has improved quite considerably in recent years. Philanthropic and charitable contributions seem to be the most important determinants of CSR while environmental performance is thought to be the least important determinant, as revealed by perception data. Although philanthropy certainly has a role in developing countries, this paper emphasizes on the need to revisit strategies and intervention to promote CSR so that they are able to generate interest among businesses to consider other CSR initiatives, along with philanthropy-based CSR, that could meaningfully contribute to sustainable development