The Role of CSR Reporting Instruments in Increasing the Organization's Management Performance

Introduction

The performance of a business, in the context of economic globalization, should be approached from a multidimensional perspective, which should address at least the organization and community levels, as well as the resulting correlated social impact. This new integrated approach involves an ample effort to ensure and monitor the performance of the organization throughout its life cycle, across the different social dimensions, with the management processes complying with the economic, social and environmental principles.

Currently, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) reporting is a major challenge for the management of organizations in the context where truth, transparency, business ethics are values shared by the whole community. The parties involved in corporate social responsibility processes must outline their own strategies, adapted to their field of activity and the needs of the communities, building and promoting their long-term ideas, approaches and projects, assuming a real role to inform and educate in order to support the performance level.

CSR reporting was subject to an accelerated assimilation process. While initially it was imposed as a trending phenomenon, it results now from the awareness for the need to perform at the level of any organization. In this dynamic economic, social and political context, but also difficult to predict, corporate social responsibility was valued in the business environment more for its commercial valences than for the ethical ones. In a highly competitive market, the organizations quickly discovered the potential of this dimension, in the process of image building and reputation strengthening, as a prerequisite for a performant management.

Generally, the approaches in the specific literature provide a broader dimension when assuming the concept of CSR reporting as a guarantee for the success of an organization’s business and for improving the performance of the management system. However, corporate social responsibility is not only an instrument of maximizing the value of the image, but also an essential element in the long-term success of the business, directly linked to the economic, social and environmental performance as well as the proper use of the reporting instruments (Li, Kim, Wu & Yu 2019).

Integrating an organization into the evolving environment and the use of CSR reporting instruments may generate value and contribute to strengthening the links with the stakeholders, and finally, generate a sustainable competitive edge based on elements of differentiation from the competition.

Organizations should be aware that a proactive approach to CSR reporting may generate benefits by creating and promoting a positive image on the market, which argues for the inclusion of appropriate reporting systems as priority instruments to ensure business sustainability.

The assessment of each of the criteria defining the measure of Social Responsibility and, finally, the sustainability of a business, may be carried out by different methods, which also allow to identify options for improvement. Also, the existing instruments enable the definition of the ways wherein the performance concerned organizations have to take into account all the economic, social and environmental impacts, while taking into account the importance of the communication process with the various stakeholders in order to raise the level of awareness of employees, suppliers, customers, consumers and the community with respect to issues of corporate social responsibility and sustainable development.