Study on Economic Actors’ Societal Responsibility - Research Report on the Situation in Asia

Although CSR is the form that is understood in the west is relatively new in Asia, the relationship between businesses and the community has always been an important facet of social structures. In some part, Asian countries have long had religious–based societal organizations [1] that have often had strong patronage from businesses.

The issue of CSR as it is now understood has emerged only in the early 1990s. The process in Asia was introduced by the advent of many companies from the west that entered Asia to trade or set up manufacturing bases. The CSR movement in the west was possibly fuelled by civil society, which stimulates CSR by generating greater societal demands and expectations of business responsibility. This might have also motivated Asian companies (particularly the large ones that desired trade with the west) to appear socially responsible.