TITLE:
An Assessment of Lebanese Companies’ Motivators to Adopt CSR Strategies
AUTHORS:
Ghada M. Chehimi, Ale J. Hejase, Nour H. Hejase
KEYWORDS:
CSR Strategy, Motivators, CSR Triple Bottom-Line, Sustainability, Lebanon
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Business and Management,
Vol.7 No.4,
October
12,
2019
ABSTRACT: Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and its importance in companies
around the globe have grown substantially in the past years. With the advent of
globalization, managers in different contexts have been exposed to the notion
of CSR and are being pressured to adopt CSR initiatives. This made organizations
develop strategies to enhance managing their ways of working in a way that they
can produce an overall positive impact on the surrounding environment. CSR
helps the organization succeed in balancing its business goals and its impact
on the environment. It is becoming vital for organizations to adopt environment-friendly
ways of working, which not only lessens their negative impacts but also gives back
to the community in general. However, despite CSR being a very significant
issue, Lebanese companies, organizations and service industries are not quite
embracing it as a fundamental part of their business plan. Failing to realize
the authentic significance of CSR in the community and the low awareness levels
about the topic will eventually have negative results on the companies
themselves. Moreover, CSR is still a not well-comprehended term in Lebanese
society as its benefits are vague and unclear. This
research is an exploratory and quantitative study using a survey questionnaire
distributed to a convenient sample of Lebanese managers and employees working
in 5 different service industries in Lebanon. The purpose is to assess what
motivates companies in Lebanon to adopt CSR strategies. Accordingly, the
research also seeks to highlight people’s awareness about CSR which in turn
forces these companies to engage in CSR activities that will lead to a win-win
situation. The outcomes may serve as eye openers and may shed light on important
facts to be considered for further research or policy planning.