THE INTEGRATION OF CORPORATE SOCIAL

While companies have been practising philanthropy for decades, the field ofCorporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a relatively new and fast evolving fieldin business. Companies invest ever increasing sums of money and resources inCSR; consequently, there is a need for companies to think strategically abouttheir CSR approach to ensure its effective integration with overall businessstrategy.This research study documents how South African companies integrate CSR withtheir overall business strategy. By following a process of in-depth semi structuredinterviews, the views of senior executives and managers involved with CSR atcompanies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange’s Social ResponsibleInvestment Index were obtained.The main findings that emerged reveal that South African companies believeCSR should form part of company strategy. How companies set about makingthis a reality depends on their unique organisational structure. Importantly, it wasfound that an understanding of the external as well as internal forces impactingupon CSR, buy-in from leadership and all stakeholders and effectiveorganisational processes and systems were critical for effective implementation.While some companies report having made progress, there is anacknowledgement that fully integrating CSR with company strategy has not yetbeen achieved