CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IN THE ENTREPRENEURIAL ACTIVITY SYSTEM: TRANSFORMATION OF APPROACHES AND EVALUATION DIRECTIONS

Abstract

Topicality. Mutual determination of economic, political, scientific and technical, social, resource, ecological and other elements of the business environment, deepening of internal relations caused the development of the forms and content of firms� social activities of, as well as its conceptual substantiation and evaluation. Integration of Ukraine's economy into the international economic space and the effective interaction of domestic business structures with the actors of world markets should take into account a number of socio-economic conditions and challenges, among which the processes of socialization of entrepreneurship occupy a decisive place that determines the relevance of this paper. Aim and tasks. The purpose of the study is analyzing the current trends of the corporate social responsibility concept, the directions of the evaluation of its implementation and effectiveness in accordance to existing criteria and world practices. The results of the study have theoretical and applied value and can be used for research purposes and for the Ukrainian business sector improvement strategy development. Research results. The transformation of the CSR concept reflects the implementation of a more pragmatic approach to the relationship between social issues and business processes strategic management. The social activity is considered as a lever of employees� contradictions and conflicts managing, the human resources quality improving, regional and local development, environmental issues solving. Structurally, corporate social responsibility reflects the economic, legal, ecological, ethical and philanthropic demands of society to business. New trends in CSR have been institutionalized into corporate and industrial codes, multi-stakeholders� initiatives, and private companies� standards, with appropriate monitoring of requirements and outcomes. Conclusion. The concept and practice of corporate social responsibility is quite "broad", the manifestation of which is determined by the scale of activity, company size, society's expectations at a specific time, etc. Actually, new economic and social norms and indicators of the business structures' performance were developed. CSR in Ukraine is in the stage of formation, its new forms and manifestations are developing, the structure is getting complicated. In order to enhance the long-term business competitiveness through the practices of responsible attitude towards its employees, consumers and other stakeholders different measures are to be applied: informative activities about importance of companies� socially responsible behavior, promotion of best practices of its implementation and evaluation will provide systemic improvement of management processes.