Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Innovation–The Drivers of Business Growth?

Abstract

Nowadays, CSR and Innovation are the foundation of business competencies. CRS and innovation has emerged slowly over the past decade. Improvements in the CRS process can refer to as ‘social innovation’. Companies should do more to tackle the issues such as: social justices, poverty and climate change. The only successful brands of the future will be the ones that see these challenges as opportunities for innovation, rather than risks to be alleviated. As stated by the department of Trade and Industry in the United Kingdom, CSR represent “the integrity with which a company govern itself, fulfils its mission, lives by its value, engages with its stakeholders, measures its impact and reports on its activities” . Further, we analyze the main four topics related to CRS and innovation, starting with Corporate Social Innovation; which will refer to a product innovation with a social purpose, in addition we will focus on the important subtheme of corporate social innovation focused on low-income market - Base of the Pyramid (BOP). Moreover, Social Entrepreneurship will be analyzed since they act as the change agents for society, seizing opportunities others miss and improving systems, inventing new approaches, and creating solutions to change society for the better. Likewise, the paper will point the significance of Eco–Innovation as a new discipline with the purpose of describing products and processes that contribute to sustainable development.