An investigation of corporate social responsibility definitions from academic and practitioner perspectives: are they different?

The objective of this study is to evaluate corporate social responsibility (CSR) definitions defined by both academics and practitioners (organisations) published over the last six decades and compare these definitions against common categories and dimensions to identify the differences and suggest a comprehensive definition. Design/Methodology/Approach: This study employs the systematic literature review approach to identify CSR definitions published between 1953 and 2013. These definitions are then organised chronologically into academic and practitioner (organisational) definitions over time to investigate the changes which may have occurred in terms of dimensions and categories of CSR definition. Findings: A total of fifty six definitions of CSR published over a period of six decades between 1953 and 2013 are identified. Among these definitions twelve definitions are suggested by practitioners (organisations) and the remaining forty four are defined by academics. From the content analysis of all these definitions, we identified twelve dimensions of CSR definition which are then grouped into five broad categories such as aspect, outcome, beneficiary, approach and time frame. The most commonly referred categories are aspect, beneficiary and outcome, whereas, the most commonly referred dimensions are social and external stakeholder. Practitioner definitions published between 2005 and 2010 are found to be the most comprehensive definitions. Originality/Value: This study advances on the discussion of CSR evolution by comparing definitions from practitioners (organisations) and academics with respect to dimensions and also by grouping these dimensions into broad categories. Research Limitations: Since the focus of this study is on CSR, hence, all the other related CSR concepts and themes such as corporate citizenship, corporate responsiveness, and corporate governance are not considered as a part of this study.