June 2009, CSR Asia
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) differs from place to place, industry to industry and over time. It is increasingly accepted that in order to define precisely what social responsibility means to a company, it needs to engage with its stakeholders and take into account their needs and aspirations when designing CSR strategies and programs. It is difficult to define CSR precisely because it will always have a location-specific context. It is therefore vital to understand the priorities of local stakeholders and take them into account.
To some extent companies need to engage in their own stakeholder dialogue, specific to their own company. But the research presented here should provide the business sector (and others) with some guidance in terms of expectations of a range of stakeholders in Hong Kong. In this research we have identified the CSR priorities of both businesses and their stakeholders in the region. A similar methodology could easily be transferred to other locations, however.
This research was undertaken by the CSR Asia in association with the Centre of Urban Planning and Environmental Management at the University of Hong Kong. The main aim was to find out what Hong Kong businesses and their stakeholders thought were the most important factors in determining what is socially responsible.
