https://doi.org/10.52340/eab.2024.16.01.07

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is becoming increasingly important in modern business. In order for a business to reach its long-term, strategic goals successfully in a competitive market environment, it is critically important for a company to care not only for its own profit but also to implement a policy relevant to public goals and interests. CSR is not just the fulfillment of a moral obligation to society or a financial cost to a company. It is a voluntary commitment by the company to act in line with the three main pillars of sustainable development - economic, social, and environmental - and to consider the interests of all stakeholders while doing business.
In the modern sense, Corporate social responsibility can to improve the image and reputation of the company, increase the motivation of the workforce, improve customer satisfaction, ensure the long-term viability of the company in the market, build a strong and healthy society, help business comply with legislation and international standards, increase revenues, raise awareness about the environment, encourage business to take responsibility for the results of the processes taking place in the company, and contribute to solving environmental problems (Sadik-Zada 2021, 402-434.). CSR has already been implemented in developed countries and businesses are successfully adopting this concept. Leading Georgian companies are increasingly trying to integrate the characteristics of CSR into their daily activities.
At present, most of the companies realise that they cannot limit themselves to meeting the requirements established by law. In addition to the requirements envisaged by the law, it is critical for company managers to recognise their social obligations and take into account the interests of the stakeholders along with the financial interests of the shareholders. Considering the interests of the interested parties allows the company to "look at one's own activities through the eyes of others, identify existing problems, gain new perspectives, and better combine one's own tasks with common public goals (Khoferia 2012, 126)".
Based on bibliographic research, the present paper studies the social responsibility of business in the context of stakeholders. Current approaches and concepts regarding the social responsibility of business and stakeholders are analysed from the perspective of clarifying the relationship between them. It is substantiated that for achieving long-term, strategic business goals in today's competitive market environment, it is important for businesses not only to care for their own profits, but also to undertake corporate social responsibility and implement policies that are in line with the interests of stakeholders. The bibliographic research revealed that stakeholders affect the efficiency of companies' activities, and taking into account their views allows the company to better align its own tasks with common public goals.
With the purpose to explore the views of stakeholders regarding the potential impact of corporate social responsibility on companies, a quantitative study was conducted. Based on the purpose of the research, a group of stakeholders was selected for the research, this group was represented by managers of various companies and undergraduate and graduate students of the Faculty of Economics and Business of Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, who are employed and have appropriate knowledge of the concepts of corporate social responsibility and stakeholders, as well as some experience of working in various positions in private companies. Accordingly, the process of the survey ensured that the answers to the questions were provided by the respondents based on deep thought and independent vision which further increases the validity of the research findings.
The study was conducted using a closed questionnaire. A hard copy of the closed questionnaire was provided to the research participants by the author. The survey was conducted in November-December 2023. 185 respondents participated in the survey, including 100 students and 85 managers. 70% of the respondents were women. The age of the respondents participating in the study ranged from 22 to 55 years. The survey data was processed using the SPSS statistical software. The results of the study are presented in Table 1.

The Opinions of the Managers and Students Regarding the Characteristics of Corporate Social Responsibility

¹ A similar study was conducted in 2016 by researchers of the Bolgatanga University of Technology (Ghana) to explore the opinions of stakeholders regarding the potential impact of corporate social responsibility on companies (Godfrey A., Azigwe J.B., Awuni A.R. 2016, 26-42). 

Source: The Table is designed by the author

The research conducted by us showed that most of the respondents perceive corporate social responsibility as an important factor for the growth and development of the organization. They believe that CSR strengthens the company's image and reputation, improves employee satisfaction and productivity, enhances customer satisfaction, and increases revenue. Therefore, it is important that companies have CSR practices that balance the interests of both shareholders and various stakeholder groups. The results of the research confirmed the opinions presented in the literature review that the interests of stakeholders affect the effectiveness of the company's activities and that taking them into consideration allows a company to align its tasks with common public goals in a better way.
Since the findings of the research clearly showed how important it is to implement corporate social responsibility in the organisation in various directions, especially in terms of improving the company's image and reputation, increasing employee satisfaction and productivity, enhancing customer loyalty, and ensuring the company's long-term viability in the market, it is important for Georgian companies to adopt the above practices, to develop and introduce the approaches that have been experienced by large corporations in developed countries for a long time already and work quite effectively. This will have a positive impact on the long-term results of their activities and help them achieve success faster and easier.

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Keywords: Corporate social responsibility, stakeholders, quantitative study.
JEL Codes: B23, M10, M14, M21