The five strategic building blocks of mandated corporate social responsibility (CSR)

Abstract

The integration of corporate social responsibility (CSR) with business strategy has been identified as a central theme of the CSR concept. With India mandating CSR, it is important to understand the key drivers and building blocks that is integral to this phenomenon and which will impact the civil society at large. If the Indian government and private companies are serious about meeting the sustainable development goals, mandated CSR (mCSR) has to be used as a strategic vehicle not only to reduce the substantial financial shortfall but also to align CSR as an integral part of a company’s strategy, to help companies achieve competitive advantage. The paper lists down five strategic building blocks of mandated CSR namely—shared vision, key drivers, dialogue, measuring impact, and governance which provide a mental framework to think about mCSR in a novel way. The paper emphasizes the importance of shared vision, problem identification, utilizing board’s expertise, innovation, building network, best practice sharing, managing failure risk, shareholder’s activism, government’s intention, and capacity building.