Corporate Social Responsibility in Poland: From the Perspective of Listed Companies

Corporate social responsibility is defined as a concept “whereby companies integrate social and environmental concerns on their business operations and in their interaction with their stakeholders on a voluntary basis” (European Commission Green Paper. Promoting a European framework for Corporate Social Responsibility, COM 366, final, http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/site/en/com/2001/com2001_0366en01.pdf , 2001; Neal Comparative Labor Law and Policy Journal 29:459–474, 2008) to achieve long term sustainable growth and development. Its practical dimensions range from the regulatory framework and stakeholders activity to corporate programs and initiatives. As the CSR fundamental assumptions are addressing the practice of companies, the response of the business appears to be crucial for the successful implementation and effectiveness of this concept. The paper presents the results of the qualitative research on the CSR practice implemented in Polish companies listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. The analysis is based on the case studies of policies and programs adopted by companies included the CSR rating known as RESPECT Index and compared to their peers operating in the same industries not covered by the benchmark. The goals of the research are to identify main differences in the two sample groups of companies (if there are any) with respect to CSR initiatives, reporting and stakeholder dialogue as well as to trace the changes in the CSR policies observed within the 5 years of 2007–2011. The paper presenting the Polish experience attempts to address the issues of CSR in emerging/transition economy where the state is weaker and its interventions appear to be rare suppressed by the corporate activities.