Case study on Corporate Social Responsibility
of MNC’s
in India
Dr. G. Muruganantham
Assistant Professor, Management Studies, National Institute of Technology,
Tiruchirappalli, India.
Abstract
In this era of global competition, declining brand differentiation, and
increasing media clutter,
companies are going beyond the conventional marketing mix to increase the
value of intangible
assets. Over the years there is a shift from functionally centric brands to
emotionally centric -
brands to values - centric brands. Today, brands must be inspirational in a
socially responsible
way to all stakeholders. To achieve the same Corporate Social Responsibility
(CSR) has become
more common in business practices. CSR remains a very relevant strategic
Marketing tool.
Many companies use CSR as a way to increase their image, generate brand
equity, and increase
employee loyalty. The purpose of the paper is to understand the various CSR
activities carried
down by select MNC’s in India and how are they integrating Corporate Social
Responsibility
into their marketing strategy to build and sustain a competitive advantage.
Keywords
CSR; Marketing strategy; MNC’s in India; Brand Image; Competitive
Advantage
Introduction
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is defined as operating a business in a
manner that meets or exceeds the ethical, legal, commercial and public
expectations that
society has of business. In the last twenty years, there has been a sea
change in the
nature of the triangular relationship between companies, the state and the
society
(Edenkamp, 2002). CSR has become increasingly prominent in the Indian
corporate
scenario because organisations have realised that besides growing their
businesses it is
also vital to build trustworthy and sustainable relationships with the
community at
large. This is one of the key drivers of CSR programs (Ramya Sathish,). CSR
is coming
out of the purview of ‘doing social good’ and is fast becoming a ‘business
necessity’.
Corporate houses are realising that ‘what is good for workers - their
community, health,
and environment is also good for the business ( Indu Jain, 2010).
Corporate social responsibility is a form of corporate self-regulation
integrated
into a business model. Essentially, CSR is the deliberate inclusion of public
interest into
corporate decision-making, and the honoring of a triple bottom line: people,
planet,
profit. A more common approach of CSR is philanthropy.
International Trade & Academic Research Conference (ITARC) - London 2010
Another approach to CSR is to incorporate the CSR strategy directly into the
business strategy of an organization. CSR may be based within the human
resources,
business development or public relations departments of an organization
(Wood, 1991).
Corporate Social Responsibility is what an organization does to influence the
society
positively in which it exists. The concept of CSR has been evolving for
decades. CSR is a
multidimensional concept. While some take CSR as an obligation, others
consider it as
a strategic tool. CSR focuses on the social, environmental and financial
