CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (CSR) - A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE CONCEPT

The article provides an attempt to critically analyse the concept of corporate social responsibility (Corporate Social Responsibility) and to answer the question if corporate social responsibility is a voluntary activity or whether it results from economic and legal constraints. In the first part, the authoress analyses the relations of an enterprise to its inquirers in modern economy. At the same time, she attempts to show how they sustain pressure on the enterprise. Part II deals with two CSR models: the American which can be equated with charity and the European in which CSR constitutes a means of increasing of corporate profits. The third part outlines the critical views of Milton Friedman concerning the CSR concept. The last part describes three CSR motors: corporate interests, activities of governments and those of the third sector. The authoress believes that a really responsible business is a result of a responsible society and a move towards the balanced consumption model.