Stakeholders, as a Bridge Between Business Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility

Abstract

This paper summarizes the arguments and counterarguments within the scientific discussion on the issue of stakeholders, the drivers of business ethics and corporate social responsibility for companies nowadays. The main purpose of the research is to comprehend how integrating corporate social responsibility in the core of business may contribute to the creation of a positive organization image among stakeholders. Systematization literary sources and approaches for establishing ethical business indicate that integrating corporate social responsibility in the business strategy may ethically influence stakeholders’ perception. The relevance of the decision of this scientific problem is that companies worldwide are facing a challenging period as the interests, expectations and needs of individuals are changing. Firms should embrace and adapt to the new reality to survive and function properly. For instance, besides economic objectives, organizations should strive to achieve social goals. Hence, companies should act based on fairness, responsibility, honesty, equity and morality. Investigation of the topic stakeholders, the drivers of business ethics and corporate social responsibility for companies nowadays in the paper is carried out in the following logical sequence: firstly, the theoretical concepts have been defined (ethics, business ethics, stakeholder theory, corporate social responsibility). Then the interdependency between business ethics and corporate social responsibility has been presented briefly. The methodological research was based on a quantitative method: the investigation and analysis of secondary data from 2016-2021. The paper presents the results of an empirical study focused on identifying how companies might create and maintain relationships with parties of interest in a responsible manner, which showed that in the initial phase of the process, corporate social responsibility should be integrated into the core of the business. The research empirically confirms and theoretically proves that an organization that develops positive relationships with its internal and external environment may benefit from credibility among stakeholders and a positive company image. The results of the research can be useful for practitioners or researchers interested in the responsible management of businesses.