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The Link Between Competitive Advantage & Corporate Social Responsibility

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Submitted By bruins123
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The Link Between Competitive Advantage & Corporate Social Responsibility | Business and Society | |

There is currently growing interest in corporate social responsibility (CSR) among both companies and managers. It has become an important topic of theoretical concentration and one of the most widely accepted business concepts. The major issues in the field of CSR concern stakeholder analysis and corporate strategic management. Numerous attempts have been made to link CSR and financial performance. While the debate over CSR continues, it reveals that some additional research can be done on the link between CSR and competitive advantage (CA).
CSR is understood to be the way firms integrate social, environmental, and economic concerns into their values, culture, decision making, strategy, and operations in a transparent and accountable manner (Berger, 2007). Thereby firms establish better practices within, create wealth, and improve society (Berger, 2007). CSR programs go beyond legal and ethical frameworks to include a wide range of issues for the organization (Berger, 2007). Specifically, CSR programs can impact a wide range of issues managed by the organization including: corporate governance and ethics programs; health, safety, and environment programs; attention to human and labor rights; human resource management policies; community involvement; respect for indigenous groups and minorities; corporate philanthropy and employee volunteering; adherence to principles of fair competition, anti-bribery, and anti-corruption measures; accountability, transparency, and performance reporting; and responsible supplier relations (Berger, 2007).
Competitive advantage that is defined by the organization and will vary at its core competitive advantage is the asymmetry or differential in any firm (Ma, 1999). CA allows one firm to better serve the customers than

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