Corporate Social Responsibility Among Saudi Arabian Firms: An Empirical Investigation

Abstract

There is an increasing recognition within the developed economies across the world that today, CSR is not an optional extra; i.e., firms can no longer look at CSR as a luxury or an indicator of their goodwill toward society. Firms, in today’s context, are seeking to integrate CSR in their corporate policies and strategies. Developing countries’ firms, however, are still in the early stage of their awareness and integration of CSR activities within their corporate policies and strategies. The present exploratory study utilizes a sample of Saudi Arabian firms’ managers to assess the extent of their awareness of CSR, its role within their organizations, the extent of CSR integration in their corporate policies, and the nature and scope of these firms’ CSR activities. Results indicate that there is a reasonable level of CSR awareness as well as a moderately positive attitude toward the concept. However, most CSR activities in Saudi Arabia seem to focus on the local communities in which these firms operate. Discussion of the results and their implications are provided.