From transition to accession: the experience of Corporate Social Responsibility in Central and Eastern Europe

This paper begins by looking the context of CSR in the new market economies of Eastern Europe. The author states that support for enterprise development has been weak, especially for the less advantaged (youth, minorities, long-term unemployed, women). Corruption has become further entrenched and there is little political will to address this at the public level. Training to prepare a new generation of businesspeople and public administrators has often been inadequate. The change from government run business to capitalism, and a transition to CSR thinking, has brought paradoxes for new business leaders.

The second section of the report looks at some examples of corporate engagement with society. These are grouped under the following headings:

• the environment
• rebuilding local communities
• stakeholder dialogue
• codes of conduct
• good governance and anti-corruption
• social inclusion
• enterprise support and development
• CSR mechanisms
• CSR tools and methodologies
• community and consumer based drivers of CSR
• the public sector and CSR

The author ends by calling for wider dissemination of knowledge and good practice of CSR in Central and Eastern Europe in order to influence both businesses and public policy.