Концептуальні основи корпоративної соціальної відповідальності

The paper examines the basic categories in the structure of corporate social responsibility. The economic responsibility of a firm remains an important part, as it ensures economic stability. The basic element is the legal responsibility of a business as a business entity, which must adhere to established rules – laws and regulations that formulate the fundamental concepts of honest business practices established by legislators at the state and local levels. Ethical business behavior boils down to compliance with both the spirit and the letter of the law, however, even in the absence of laws or regulations, a business will operate fairly, will be responsible for the full range of norms, standards, values, principles and will respect what, according to consumers, employees, owners, the community, corresponds to the protection of the moral rights of stakeholders. The fourth component of corporate business responsibility is discretionary responsibility, which involves voluntary functions that enterprises undertake, but which are not provided for in the ethical category. The conceptual categories of corporate social responsibility (economic, legal, ethical, discretionary/charitable) did not define social problems or the areas in which these responsibilities should apply. The process of problem management includes identifying, analyzing and prioritizing these problems, planning a response to the problems and evaluating the results. The concepts of problem management have given way to the concepts of stakeholders and stakeholder management. The stakeholder approach, reinforced on a global scale by the imperative of sustainable development, is becoming the main motive for companies’ activities. The article evaluates the results of activities in the field of corporate social responsibility according to the criteria: productivity, effectiveness and efficiency. The difference between the concepts of efficiency and effectiveness of the organization and the concept of stakeholders is analyzed, since stakeholders may perceive the activities of the organization differently. Therefore, CSR can be considered as the perception of the organization, and corporate social impact as the perception or recognition of stakeholders.