CSR and the Hungarian reality

Abstract

Nowadays corporate social responsibility (CSR) is of greater importance than it was ten years ago. It has become an integral part of corporations' business strategies. Companies assume more responsibility for the social and environmental consequences of their operation. Big and well known companies have a share in setting a good example in the area of responsibility. This paper contains a comparison of companies' conscious and unconscious behavior. The base of the research is a former survey issued by CSR Hungary Atlantis Press. Our survey also includes the opinions of concerned persons. Two types of questionnaires were applied: one for companies who have declared a CSR policy and one for those who have not. As we expected, in the former CSR has been applied to different areas: protection of environment, voluntary work, equalities, employee-friend environment, teaching, supporting indigents etc. In the second part of our paper, we compare companies operating in the region of Central Hungary and in the Southern Transdanubia region. The survey was not representative; its results illustrate big differences between the regions regarding the application of CSR. In some cases we found unclear opinions about the concept. But the attitudes of questioned persons were generally positive and open-minded. Keywords: CSR policy, companies’ behaviour, questionnaires, conscious