Abstract:
This study investigates about the matters on which Sri Lankan companies base
and carry out their Corporate Social Responsibilities and up to what extend
those activities are based on good intensions. The study also looks into the fact
as to what motivates the Sri Lankan companies to issue CSR reports. The study
documents the motivations of modern corporations in issuing corporate social
responsibility (CSR) reports to their stakeholders. It further demonstrates why
these entities have suddenly become more moral or ethical. It identifies how Sri
Lankan companies perceive Corporate Social Responsibility and their
motivations of undertaking CSR projects and reporting to stakeholders of the
same. An empirical methodology was used to gather and analyze the required
information from 20 Sri Lankan companies listed in the Colombo Stock
exchange. Study results suggest that Sri Lankan companies have different
reasons for issuing CSR reports, for instance; in response to an increasing
number of stakeholders requesting information on CSR, companies believe that
doing so is good for business, to derive positive public relations benefits, to
comply with the government’s request for them to issue information on CSR,
etc. Information on corporate entities’ CSR activities is considered to be
valuable by both academic researchers and business managers as it provides a
working framework on which future studies can be based. In addition, it
improves understanding of the social obligations which corporate entities owe to
their stakeholders and society in general.
