Corporate social responsibility towards the community: evidence from Islamic financial institutions in Malaysia

Abstract

Social responsibility towards the community is one aspect of the social obligations that an Islamic organisation is expected to fulfil. This study aims to investigate the social responsibility towards the community by Islamic financial institutions. A content analysis of the annual and sustainability reports of 37 Islamic financial institutions in Malaysia for the year 2012 was undertaken to examine the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) disclosure on the community dimension. The CSR disclosure was then prioritised into vital and recommended items based on an Islamic CSR (i-CSR) index that was developed. The results revealed that the Islamic financial institutions in Malaysia were targeting their CSR activities towards the social development of the community and were mainly concerned about improving the level of education of the community. Moreover, their focus towards the eradication of poverty by donating to the permanent and very poor is consistent with the requirements of Shariah.