Corporate social responsibility and Business Process Outsourcing in India - Issues and challenges

Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) is a relatively recent phenomenon in India. Its roots in this country can be traced only as far back as the early 1990s. BPO is today one of India's fastest growing industries. The industry has attracted many international companies as well as entrepreneurs (both local and international) over the last few years. It is thus by no means an exaggeration to say that the BPO industry has made a significant contribution in alleviating India's unemployment problem. But the industry has also witnessed a significant amount of problems over the period of its rapid growth in this environment. Paramount among these is the issue of psychological contract and its impact on employees' motivation. Preliminary studies have indicated that there is a significant amount of worker exploitation in the BPO industry in India. A number of studies have looked at the problem but few, to the best of our knowledge, have incorporated a corporate social responsibility (CSR) perspective pointing out additional benefits that could accrue to companies (and indeed society at large) by adopted this approach in the analysis of the problem In India companies are practicing Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) for decades, long before CSR become a popular basis. CSR is in its very early stage in India. A lack of understanding, inadequately trained personnel, coverage, policy etc. further adds to the reach and effectiveness of CSR programs. Large no. of companies are undertaking these activities superficially and promoting/ highlighting the activities in Media. This research paper focuses on the finding & reviewing of the issues and challenges faced by CSR activities in India. The objective of the present research therefore is to make a small contribution in that direction. We wish to contribute to the enhancement of knowledge about these issues within the Indian environment and show how, by adopting a CSR approach to the analysis of problem of psychological contract and its impact on employee motivation additional benefits could be derived by employers operating in this industry in India.