Strategic CSR in Poland

Since 1950s, the CSR concept has been gaining growing interest—not only among researchers, journalists and entrepreneurs, but also from consumers and public opinion. In the theory of management it is currently treated by some authors as a modern tool for building goodwill and competitive advantage (Pańków et al., Oblicza społecznej odpowiedzialności przedsiębiorstw. Scholar, Warszawa, 2010). An analysis of the definition of CSR performed by a few selected authors (Bowen, Social responsibilities of the businessman. Harper and Brothers, New York, 1953; McGuire, Business and society. McGraw-Hill, New York, 1963; Sethi, California Management Review 17(3):58–64, 1975; Carroll, Academy of Management Review 4(4):497–505, 1979; Epstein, California Management Review 29(3):99–114, 1987; Rok, Odpowiedzialny biznes w nieodpowiedzialnym świecie. Akademia Rozwoju Filantropii w Polsce, Forum Odpowiedzialnego Biznesu, Warszawa, 2004; Adamczyk, Społeczna odpowiedzialność przedsiębiorstw. PWE, Warszawa, 2009; Wołczek, Prace Naukowe Uniwersytetu Ekonomicznego we Wrocławiu 156:275–286, 2011a) allows stating that it is a concept which assumes that companies will voluntarily make commitments that go beyond their obligations resulting from the law, in order to make improvements in the environmental, social, and market contexts associated with their functioning. Attention should be paid to the character of these commitments. Whether these commitments are one-off, accidental or not related to the corporate strategy or are permanent, long-lasting commitments included in the strategy of the company and its business model? The competitive position of a given company and its relations with stakeholders will depend on the character of such commitments. In this section we will examine the image of the strategic CSR in Poland and present some examples of companies that use a strategic approach to the CSR concept.