This framework helps firms recognize and
address the economic, legal, ethical, and philanthropic expectations that society has of the
business enterprise at a given point in time. According to the CSR perspective, managers
need to realize that society grants shareholders the right and privilege to create a publicly
traded stock company. Therefore, the firm owes something to society. Moreover, CSR
provides managers with a conceptual model that more completely describes a society’s
expectations and can guide strategic decision making more effectively.
In particular, CSR
has four components: economic, legal, ethical, and philanthropic responsibilities.