CSR Initiatives of Indian Banking Industry

Abstract

PurposeThe paper's purpose is to highlight the corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives taken by the Indian Banking Industry, which can help them to enhance their overall performance.Design/methodology/approachThe research is based on the survey questionnaire, administered to 33 public‐private sector banks in Northern Haryana, including its capital Chandigarh, which has been analyzed with the help of descriptive statistics and factor analysis.FindingsThe findings suggest that banks have an objective view‐point about CSR activities. They are concentrating mainly on education, balanced growth (different strata of society), health, environmental marketing and customer satisfaction as their core CSR activities. The Indian banking industry is found to be adopting an integrated approach by combining CSR with the ultimate customer satisfaction. Irrespective of location, the nature of CSR activities undertaken by banks is found to be similar.Research limitations/implicationsThe study was conducted on 33 banks. As the banks are undertaking CSR activities under the guidance of their respective head office, this perhaps generalizes its usefulness elsewhere.Practical implicationsAs CSR improves the performance of banks in terms of goodwill, social image and expanding business, this may be a fruitful example for other industries as well.Originality/valueThis paper observes that the work done for society may pass on the advantages to the corporate world and initiatives in this area may enhance the value.