Corporate Social Responsibility in the Republic of Moldova

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has recently become a developing subject in the Republic of Moldova. CSR is frequently addressed in local publications, emphasizing the importance and timeliness of implementing appropriate social policies, since Moldovan companies are not familiar enough with the impact of CSR and implied opportunities for establishing a positive reputation of the company on the market, gain loyalty to the brand, etc. Currently, the perceptionPerception of the CSR notion varies in the Republic of Moldova. The population, largely influenced by the former socialist ideology, expects businesses to solve social problems instead of the state. It is assumed that companies must take responsibility for the social protection, including rest and treatment packages and create various facilities for well-being at work. In turn, many business people consider that their social responsibility lies with job creation only, by providing employees with middle wage standard and paying taxes. Thus, social responsibility is conceived more as philanthropic activity in the entrepreneurs’ mind-sets. During the development of the CSR concept in the Republic of Moldova, various studies have been carried out in this field. The latest highlight that companies prioritize social actions in employee-oriented initiatives, followed by actions for the benefit of the community and less attention paid to consumer issues. Thus, a very small number of companies are involved in customer and disability-oriented services, prophylaxis of professional diseases, etc. Businesses treat them as additional costs, not taking into account that these initiatives can have a positive impact on economic performance. Although we cannot yet speak of significant achievements in CSR, it’s been steadily developing mainly in companies with foreign or mixed capital. As they are not limited to philanthropicPhilanthropic actions, but alone initiate social sensitivity projects, focused on interaction with stakeholders and addressing serious social problems.