The process of CSR implementation - local cases in Hong Kong

Compared with the corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices of Multinational Corporations (MNCs), this study on CSR of the companies in Hong Kong aims to understand how local companies in a non-Western context implement their CSR initiatives. Interviews have been conducted with eleven local companies in Hong Kong. Their views are analyzed with the secondary data collected as well as opinions collected from two focus groups consisting of CSR experts. Existing theoretical frameworks on the process of CSR development and implementation have been adapted to suit the attributes of the local companies in terms of their company size, availability of resources and the lack of external pressure in the society. A three-phase CSR development and implementation process framework has been used for analyzing the data collected in this research. The results of this qualitative research demonstrate that the critical success factors in the CSR implementation process of the selected local companies are the support from top management and the corporate culture of value-centric CSR initiatives. However, many other critical factors considered by MNCs as instrumental to the successful implementation of CSR are not applicable to the local companies in Hong Kong. This clearly illustrates the differences between MNCs and local companies in terms of their scales of operation, the degree of external pressure and the types of perceived benefits from CSR. Based on the conclusions of this research, further research can be conducted to better understand how local companies in a non-Western context carry out their CSR initiatives.