Key CSR Initiatives in Serbia: A New Concept with New Challenges

Abstract

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) as a business concept emerged in corporate and NGO sector in Serbia in 2000s, when the transition towards the market economy started. First, CSR was introduced by large multinational companies that started their operations in Serbia and transferred the good practice from global level to local level. Soon after, the academic community started to research the topic, while NGOs initiated advocacy campaigns and started to build the cross-sectoral partnerships to promote the CSR concept. The first public policy document related to CSR was the “National Sustainable Development Strategy” adopted by the Serbian Government in 2008, followed by the “National CSR Promotion and Development Strategy 2010-2015”. The main objectives of this chapter are to present the initiatives used by: the government to promote CSR, such as the public policies and legal framework, and NGOs, corporate entities and other institutions in Serbia, such as campaigns, CSR awards, certification and reporting. In order to answer research questions, the authors analyzed survey results related to the CSR practice of the 17 large companies, members of Business leaders forum in 2014, the amount and type of their community, marketplace and environment investments, as well as their priorities regarding the social issues and social groups to address. Finally, to illustrate the expectations and perception of CSR from the perspective of the Serbian citizens, the authors presented and discussed the results of the public opinion survey related to CSR in Serbia.