202 z JOURNAL OF HUMAN VALUES 15:2 (2009): 199–205
Sanjay K. Agarwal, Corporate Social Responsibility
in India, Response Business Books from SAGE.
New Delhi: SAGE Publications, 2008, Rs 375.
DOI: 10.1177/097168581001500210
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a rela-
tively recent phenomenon imbibed in corporate
business culture today; although the thought that
organizations do have social responsibilities had
begun earlier. In many ways CSR advances as cor-
rective to the long established idea of private and
free enterprises. A free enterprise economy was
based on the philosophy of laissez-faire, which
was centered around the idea of unbridled freedom
for the private entrepreneur to run the enterprise
and to maximize profit. The free enterprise was
not to be accountable to society (except fiscal mat-
ters). Until recently the only accountability was to
private shareholders and/or institutional investors
in the world’s financial markets.
The narrow self-seeking interest of profit
maximization of the private enterprises often
led to significant harm to society as well as the
environment (natural). This has been the catalyst
in the emergence of a diversity of stakeholders
demanding accountability about the impact of
corporate activity in the life of the planet as a
whole. Corporations cannot elude their social
responsibilities because their activities exert a
‘tri dimensional impact’ (social, economic, and
environmental).
Governments, activists, and the media have be-
come adept at holding companies to account for
the social consequences of their activities.
Heightened corporate attention to CSR has not
been entirely voluntary. Many companies awoke
to it only after being surprised by public responses
to issues they had not previously thought were
part of their business responsibilities. Nike, for
example, faced an extensive consumer boycott
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after the New York Times and other media outlets
reported abusive labour practices at some of its
Indonesian suppliers in the early 1990s.
Meanwhile, environmental awareness and
environmental movements were growing stronger
in Europe, America, and some parts of Asia
(Minamata Bay disaster, Long Island). Gradually
CSR emerged as an inescapable task for business
leaders in every country. On the one hand, the
wealth and assets of a small section of people
on the earth had been increasing while more and
more people were deprived of the basic amenities
of life.
Successful corporations need a healthy society.
Education, healthcare, proper drinking water and
sanitation, proper infrastructural facilities, and
employment opportunities are essential. Safe
products attract customers while good working
conditions may lower internal costs of accidents
and raise labour productivity. Efficient utiliza-
tion of land, water, energy, and other natural
resources makes business more competitive.
Good government, the rule of law, and equitable
property rights are essential for efficiency and
innovation. Strong regulatory standards protect
both consumers and competitive companies from
exploitation. Ultimately, a healthy society creates
an expanding demand for business, as more human
needs are met and aspirations grow. Any business
that pursues its ends at the expense of the society
in which it operates will find its success to be illu-
sory and ultimately temporary.
The term CSR is relatively new but the concept
is certainly not. Following independence, very
few Indian corporations like the Tatas, Birlas,
the Godrej family, the Bajajs, the TVS group,
and the Mahindras incorporated social respon-
sibility into their business goals. The attitude to
incorporate CSR on policy started since economic
liberalization in 1991 only. As the role of India’s

public sector in the economy diminishes, the pri-
vate sector is increasingly viewed as a key player
in driving development in the country. The Indian
public expects businesses to play a leadership role
in addressing the country’s social and economic
challenges.
Social responsibility encompasses sectors
like health, education, employment, income, and
quality of life. It should be binding on the cor-
porate sector to work on these aspects, which are
thought to be primary social indicators.
In Chapter 1 (‘Introduction’) the author attempts
to highlight the growing importance and relevance
of CSR in today’s world, a world dictated to a
large extent by financial and monetary numbers.
He tries to argue that GDP figures, rising incomes,
and expanding productions are not the only tools
to measure development. China has faced a sev-
ere setback by adopting inhuman development
resulting in wide gaps in the areas of income,
healthcare, and schooling between the rich urban
dwellers and the poor rural population, resulting
in resentment amongst people shaking the political
stability of the country. The situation is not very
different in India where the gap between the rich
and the poor has widened during the last 50 years
endangering the country’s social, economic, and
political stability as well. So he rightly argues that
we need economic development, but an economic
development with a social cause that is sustainable
and equitable. The government alone should not
be held responsible for taking all the initiatives to
alleviate the miseries of the people; the corporate
sector must step in as a partner to turn India into
a truly welfare state.
The author has also attempted to point out
how a business can reap benefits out of CSR.
With brief case studies he shows that companies
which have changed their businesses to operate
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Book Reviews z 203
more sustainably are reaping the rewards like The
Body Shop International Plc.
Another noteworthy feature is the importance
of stakeholders in business, which enhances a
company’s ‘license to operate’ that has been
highlighted here. The author also talks about the
adoption of structured CSR policies by most of
the corporate houses in India, which he takes it
to be a very welcome step with respect to CSR
in India.
A thoughtful reader would find the book to
be quite engaging. However, since comprehen-
sive and well-researched books on this subject are
very limited in the country, readers would have
liked to get a better insight into the evolution of
CSR in India, which is found to be a bit lacking.
The importance of the theory of stakeholders in
business with respect to CSR in India, highlighted
here, could have been made more relevant to
a reader, if the author had showed the growing
responsiveness towards the stakeholders by the
corporate sector in India using practical case
studies. Moreover, the author’s saying that most
corporate houses have adopted the Code of Busi-
ness Conduct and Ethics, which include the release
of structured CSR policies, is debatable.
Chapter 2 (‘Triple Bottom Line’) tries to portray
the close link between CSR and the principles of
sustainable development according to which the
companies are accountable for their economic,
social, and environmental performances. Here the
author covers areas of environmental protection
with an emphasis on Agenda 21, the Commission
on Sustainable Development, the Vienna Con-
vention on the ozone layer, the Montreal Protocol,
Kyoto Protocol, and the Global Compact Pro-
gramme, which is enriching for a reader. He ex-
presses his concern about India’s low ranking in
environmental protection and hence emphasizes
on supply-chain, social, and environmental
JOURNAL OF HUMAN VALUES 15:2 (2009): 199–205
204 z JOURNAL OF HUMAN VALUES 15:2 (2009): 199–205
responsibility amongst business as well as product
recycling issues. In this chapter, the author also
hints at the limitations of conventional financial
accounting and the emergence of environmental
accounting. Being a chartered accountant with
interest in corporate and factory accounts and
direct and indirect taxation, the author also
emphasizes on sustainable financing with the
emergence of sustainable investment funds. But
in the whole discussion of the triple bottle line, the
author remains silent on the aspect of corporate
responsibility towards social issues.
In Chapter 3 (‘CSR’ Report’), the author men-
tions the importance of sustainability reporting
with special emphasis on ‘Global Reporting
Initiative’ guidelines. He also analyzes the sustain-
ability reports of TATA Steel, ITC, and British
Petroleum, respectively, which is a noteworthy
feature of this chapter. It would definitely help as
a guide for all managerial personnel in India and in
multinational companies. The simple language and
style would also appeal to management students.
But it would have been an interesting aspect if
the author had brought out the differences in the
sustainability reports brought out by companies
analyzed in this chapter and other companies, so
that it would have given a reader a better idea as to
the extent of coverage, lack of coverage diversity
in reporting, limitations faced by enterprises in
preparing such reports if any, and suggestions as
to how such companies can emerge as leaders in
preparing ‘ideal reports’.
In Chapter 4 (‘CSR Projects’), the author tries
to bring forth the initiatives undertaken by some
top corporate houses towards fulfilling their social
responsibilities in India, which is commendable,
but it fails to give a comprehensive idea about
the extent to which the corporate sector in India
is engaging in business responsibilities since very
limited and very selected companies have been
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identified in this chapter, which does not give us
a true picture of corporate social responsibility en-
gagement in the broader Indian context spanning
across a range of business organizations. Besides,
the author has not focused on what more areas
and innovative ways can organizations engage
themselves in for CSR interventions and in what
ways can organizations help in improving the
primary social indicators of our country in terms
of health, literacy poverty, and employment to
name a few.
In Chapter 5 (‘Tax Breaks on CSR Expenses’),
the utilitarian aspect of CSR in terms of tangible
tax benefits have been highlighted by illustrat-
ing with the help of a number of real-life cases,
which would be an enriching experience for the
readers.
In Chapter 6 (‘CSR Report Assurance’), he talks
about the aspect that reliability of both qualitative
and quantitative data in sustainability reports can
be enhanced by external assurance providers or
internal auditors’ attestation. The author high-
lights that currently there are two recognized
professional assurance standards—the AA1000
and ISAE 3000—but practically diverse assurances
approaches are used. A noteworthy feature of
this chapter is the detailed sample assurance re-
ports of an Indian and a foreign company that
the author has provided, which will enhance a
reader’s understanding regarding preparation,
assessment, and comparison between such reports.
Quantitative data interpretation for corporates
is easier as we are comfortable tracking down
numbers, whereas generation and interpretation
of qualitative date will require a more sensitive
and perceptive level of leadership that indeed will
remain a challenge for the future.
CSR is an area which has no boundaries.
It is not possible to throw light on all relevant
areas of CSR within the two covers of a book.
 Book Reviews z 205

Therefore, the suggestions expressed here are the academician and researchers’ point of view,
merely ways of enriching the content for future this book lacks scholastic depth and a researcher
consideration. The author’s attempt is to be com- may not find the book useful to a large extent for
mended as an excellent beginning. In this mech- deeper research.
anized world, governed only by profits, the
author’s attempt to go beyond just numbers and SUMONA GHOSH
talk about holistic development lifts our spirit Lecturer
and raises our hopes. The book on the whole is Department of Commerce
readable and its language is simple. It will suit St. Xavier’s College (Autonomous)
practicing managers and corporates, but from Kolkata, India

JOURNAL OF HUMAN VALUES 15:2 (2009): 199–205

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