Consistency between Definition and Reasons for Applying Corporate Social Responsibility: The Perspective of Social Responsibility Managers

Abstract

Knowledge about the motivations of managers to practice corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a critical issue for those who promote its adoption. The understanding of these reasons is complicated by the fact that there are different ways of defining CSR, raising the question of whether there is any relationship between the reasons for adopting it and how it is defined. To address this issue, this research categorizes these reasons and relates them to a classification of the different ways of defining CSR. To this end, a self-administered questionnaire was applied to a non-probability sample of social responsibility managers, which included indicators for both classifications. It was found that these managers present all types of motives identified, that proactive motives outweigh reactive motives, and that there is a significant degree of correlation between the ways of defining CSR and the reasons for doing so. From these results, it can be concluded that managers present consistency between their objectives (motives) and means (social responsibility practices).