Transforming Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) into Indigenous Social and Economic Development : A Business Case from Australia

Transforming Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategies adopted by business corporations into social and economic development activities is an increasingly important, although challenging task. This is particularly important in disadvantaged regions, where a company’s social development activities can contribute significantly to poverty alleviation. This paper presents a business case study: GEMCO mining from Australia, in order to identify what organisational features facilitate successful CSR outcomes. This paper finds that GEMCO has made a significant social contribution to the development of the disadvantaged community in which it operates. Furthermore, it has integrated CSR into its core business strategy, whereby CSR is promoted and institutionalised as an integrated business strategy rather than an ancillary philanthropic activity. This paper concludes that the integration of CSR into core business strategies is a major factor that has contributed to successfully achieving social development outcomes