CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND INTERNAL ORIENTATIONS TO THE COMPANY'S EMPLOYEES. A CASE STUDY OF GREEK COMPANIES

Nowadays, companies are required to apply sustainability principles and take into account the triple bottom line of economic, social and environmental performance. A company must now focus on a new role which is not just about profits but also about employees, customers and public, developing a new corporate profile. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a multidimensional concept, contributing to the prosperity of employees, customers and public in general. However, it is observed that companies incorporate CSR actions without making them known, insofar as it would be supposed, to the employees. The aim of this research is to determine to what extent the CSR actions of the company are well known to the employees. It would be also interesting to investigate whether the demographic characteristics of the employees affect somehow the information they have about CSR and if employees can be grouped based on their perception on this issue. The study, conducted via closed-type questionnaires, focused on 135 employees of 15 large companies that implement CSR practices, in the Athens metropolitan area, Greece. The results showed that most employees are not informed about the CSR actions of the company, mainly because of the limited information that the company provides to them. Respondents consider that CSR actions have a strong influence on economic development, improvement of standard of living and friendly environmental practices. They also claim that it is strongly connected with the sustainability and the reputation of the company, and the improvement of employment relationships. On the basis of their responses on the role of CSR, four groups were identified using cluster analysis, ranging from being followers to being distrustful. It seems that internal communication is a potentially powerful channel for enhancing responsibility among its key stakeholders. Companies need to bring employees closer to their activities in order to achieve a full organizational participation in CSR. Management must both find and appeal to employees and consumers for long-term profitability.