The Five Strategic Building Blocks of Mandated Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

The integration of corporate social responsibility (CSR)Corporate social responsibility (CSR) with businessBusiness strategyStrategy has been identified as a central theme of the CSRCorporate social responsibility (CSR) concept. With India mandating CSRCorporate social responsibility (CSR), it is important to understand the key driversKey Drivers and building blocksBuilding Blocks that is integral to this phenomenon and which will impact the civil societyCivil Society at large. If the Indian government and private companies are serious about meeting the sustainable development goalsSustainable Development Goals (SDG), mandated CSRMandated CSR (mCSR) has to be used as a strategic vehicleStrategic Vehicle not only to reduce the substantial financial shortfall but also to align CSRCorporate social responsibility (CSR) as an integral part of a company’s strategyStrategy, to help companies achieve competitive advantageCompetitive Advantage. The paper lists down five strategic building blocksBuilding Blocks of mandated CSRMandated CSR namely—shared visionShared vision, key driversKey Drivers, dialogueDialogue, measuring impact, and governanceGovernance which provide a mental framework to think about mCSR in a novel way. The paper emphasizes the importance of shared visionShared vision, problem identificationProblem Identification, utilizing board’s expertiseBoard’s Expertise, innovationInnovation, building network, best practiceBest Practice sharing, managing failure risk, shareholder’s activismShareholder’s Activism, government’s intentionGovernment’s Intention, and capacity buildingCapacity Building.