Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting : A Study of T o p Ten Indian Comanies

Abstract

Post liberalization Indian businesses have rapidly gained in size and power. Businesses being economic enterprises are inherently social institutions and need to balance responsibilities towards stakeholders extending beyond legal requirements to maximize long term impact o f business on society. This is particularly relevant in a developing country like India where disparities have significantly widened after liberalization. This paper studies Corporate Social Responsibility commitments o f the ten largest and most powerful companies in India. Top Indian Companies from the 2013 Forbes Global 2000 list were selected. Contents o f company websites, annual reports and CSR reports were analyzed to measure CSR using the approach developed by Maignan and Ralston (2002). CSR motives, activities and stakeholder issues fo r these companies were investigated. Differences between CSR practices o f public sector and private companies were analyzed. Studies have suggested that large corporations are precursors to CSR commitments in a society. Hence, CSR in these top Indian companies are probably influencing other companies. This study will add to the limited research on CSR in Indian context and will provide a glimpse into the future o f CSR implementation in the country.