Corporate social responsibility (CSR)

This paper discusses the growing level of interest both businesses and the public have in corporate social responsibility (CSR) and they ways in which businesses operate from a CSR perspective. Good CSR is becoming an integral component to company image and success. The problem, however, is in understanding what good CSR truly looks like. Through a content analysis using secondary data and Carroll’s Pyramid of CSR as a framework, the top 10 ranked companies are analyzed from Corporate Knights’ 2012 list of “Best Corporate Citizens in Canada”. The study presents findings on where these companies fall under Carroll’s Pyramid and whether the companies being celebrated are deserving of the accolades they have received. The findings contribute to the complex topic of corporate social responsibility by discussing reasons why certain companies are successful or less successful in approaching CSR in a complete, well-rounded manner. The study can help practitioners in their understanding of CSR and serve as a resource to guide their decision-making processes. From an academic perspective, the findings reinforce the importance of strong research methodologies and scoring measures in order to achieve accurate findings. The study also contributes to the ongoing discussion around the loosely measured topic of corporate social responsibility