Is CSR a company strategy or a managerial style decision?

Purpose - To understand what's behind a company decision to involve in CSR programs. The balance between strategies and management styles, in making decisions to allocate company resources in contributing to social programs. Methodology/approach - Our work involved interviews and tests with key decision makers in 16 top companies activating in Romania that are involved in CSR programs. Our methodological approach consists of a survey of management behaviors in these companies. For this, we used a managerial psychometric instrument (LSQ) that precisely measures the management styles and we completed the research with in depth interviews in these companies. Findings - Is CSR decision a matter of management style or a required strategic decision? We answer this question by making a survey in companies that involve in CSR programs and compare them with similar companies that do not involve in this type of programs. Interpreting the data of our research, not only that we were able to understand that the decision is not singular but is best to have a joint decision on involvement in CSR programs at strategic level and to encourage all managers to make decisions on Social programs at team level. Deciding on CSR programs on managerial levels improve managerial skills, leadership and personnel engagement. This study was able to measure how much the CSR programs accounts on this issue. Research limitations/implications - This study is limited to international companies from Romanian business environment. Practical implications - The results are important for both Top Management and for NGO leaders concerning their CSR strategies. Originality/value - This work is based on an original research.