Abstract:

The concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become an increasingly common term and conjecture in the political, academic and business realms over the past number of years. Understanding the potential role of CSR in government policy is important to the design of regulation. At one level it interfaces with ideas of self-regulation and co-regulation, and at another it challenges the basis of the modern liberal market economy. The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of CSR in government policy and research its relevance to a particular sector, the regulated utilities because the contemporary CSR agenda is founded on the premise that businesses are part of society, their relationship with society is interdependent, and they have the potential to make a positive contribution to societal goals and aspirations. This role of business in promoting positive social progress is well recognized by governments in many developed and developing countries and they have begun to adopt this type of CSR agenda and encourage business in taking initiatives toward positive social development. At the national level, in case of the Czech Republic, the role of CSR has not been fully implemented into strategic government issues and has the potential to put forward as both a mechanism to address welfare deficits, and a means of promoting national competitiveness. By drawing on existing CSR approach in Czech and understanding of CSR are demonstrated. The paper provides an alternative, more comprehensive government approach of CSR, useful as a tool for academics and business leaders alike. Finally it considers main developments in CSR government policy and the conclusion includes questions that detected further research directions.

Keywords:

Corporate social responsibility, government policy, development, approach, society.