A Study on Selected Firms of the Apparel Industry to Find Out the Motive Behind Firms to Exercise Corporate Social Responsibility – ‘To Buy Goodwill’ or ‘Out of Good Intention

Abstract

CSR because of the pressure from some external factors. Lots of multinational retailers have been observed to actively engage in CSR activities regarding labour standards in their supply chain. This paper attempts to find out the true motives of the retailers behind these activities. The CSR history of four big names among the UK retailers i.e. Nike, GAP Inc., Primark and Marks & Spencer has been analysed. The analysis has been carried out by categorizing the firms according to the stances they take towards CSR. The influences of any tangible or intangible benefits or any external factors on the CSR activities of these firms have also been analysed. The findings illustrate that while most of the firms do not practice CSR out of good intentions, firms like Marks & Spencer have CSR embedded in them since their origin. However, all the firms realize the business benefits of CSR at some point and use it as a business strategy.

Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility; Apparel Industry; External Factor; True Motive; Goodwill; Profit

Australian Academy of Accounting and Finance Review, vol 2, issue 1, January 2016, page 23-43