Author(s)

K. Aravossis & N. Panayiotou

Abstract

Over the last decade there has been an apparent shift from adopting more responsible business practices. To demonstrate that they \“care” about people and the environment they operate in, organisations have taken different courses of action. The Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) reports which are annually published, in addition to the traditional annual financial reports, are considered as one of the vehicles used to demonstrate how caring they have been over the ending financial period and how they intend to continue to be even more proactive in the future. This study examines the adoption of CSR practices in Greece as these are described by companies in CSR reports. The CSR disclosures are further classified and the results are analysed and interpreted in order to draw conclusions and to predict the future of CSR in Greece. Keywords: CSR, Greece, case study. 1 Introduction: CSR & CSR reporting Over the last decade there has been an apparent shift from adopting more responsible business practices (Hancock [1]) as a result of regulatory citations, consumer complaints, and special interest group pressures, to proactive research exploring corporate solutions to social problems and incorporating new business practices that will support these issues. Several factors may be contributing to this shift: evidence that socially responsible business practices can actually increase profits; a global marketplace with increased competition and consumer

Keywords

CSR, Greece, case study.