Wealth and well-being: Buddhist Economics, right livelihood and developmental corporate social responsibility in Thailand

Purpose This paper explores “developmental” corporate social responsibility (CSR) using the financial sector (FS) in Thailand between the 2000s and 2020s as a case study. By analysing how FS CSR initiatives corresponded with Thailand's National Economic and Social Development Plans (NESDPs), the paper examines the role that state-led frameworks play in shaping CSR practices. The paper investigates how the Thai FS worked with small/medium rural enterprises (SMEs) to mobilise the Buddhist Economics practice of “right livelihood” within a NESDP framework and operationalise a Thai Buddhist form of “developmental” CSR that promoted national strategies on rural poverty through local agency and practice. Design/methodology/approach Using MAXQDA software, the analysis provides a detailed qualitative analysis of annual and sustainability reports from listed financial sector companies from the 2000s to the 2020s in the context of Thailand's 1st-12th NESDPs (1961–2021) and the Thai sustainability discourse of Buddhist Economics. Findings This paper demonstrates that CSR in Thailand is shaped by local socio-cultural and political contexts, especially the Buddhist concept of “right livelihood” which translates socio-cultural values into CSR practice. It highlights a developmental form of CSR driven by national plans to reduce rural poverty through collaboration between government, corporations and SMEs. In doing so, the paper proposes “right livelihood” as a framework that goes beyond legitimacy and stakeholder theories in its holistic concept of both wealth and well-being. Research limitations/implications This study focuses on a specific but important industry in Thailand, namely the financial sector, and highlights the potential value of its developmental CSR in alignment with NESDPs. This research emphasises the role and benefits of state-led frameworks in shaping effective and contextually-relevant CSR practices. The study thereby seeks to provide a foundation for future research in other developing economies and emerging markets (DEEMs) to assess whether and how CSR activities might be similarly guided by and integrated with national development strategies. Practical implications This paper challenges international CSR standard setters to engage with such local CSR alternatives. It suggests that developmental CSR in DEEMs can be a composite strategy deployed by large companies, the state and SMEs to address issues of poverty and rural under-development. This paper also proposes the concept of “right livelihood” as a potential means of promoting not only wealth development but also the pursuit of more holistic well-being through CSR. Social implications This paper highlights collaborations between government, larger corporations and SMEs in Thailand as a form of “developmental” CSR which seeks through the Buddhist concept and practice of “right livelihood” to address poverty by promoting the complementary development of wealth and social well-being. Originality/value This paper emphasises that CSR practice is substantially determined by local social, cultural and political context rather than solely by western-defined CSR theorisations. Using the financial sector in Thailand as an example, the paper demonstrates how the Buddhist Economics practice of “right livelihood” has been mobilised through national development plans to address poverty in collaboration between government, corporations and SMEs. As a consequence of the holistic focus of “right livelihood” on both “wealth and well-being”, this paper proposes “right livelihood” as a translatable concept with which to address the limitations of legitimacy and stakeholder theory interpretations of CSR.