Thesis: Corporate Social Responsibility in International Expansion

Sample Thesis Paper

When considering Corporate Social Responsibility in light of international expansion, a commonly adopted approach is to determine the areas in which the society needs assistance from non-government sources or in which the government invites external assistance. An example can be found in Coca Cola’s expansion into Africa where Coca Cola gave employees special medical coverage for AIDS treatment while encouraging its contracted bottlers to do the same. Coca Cola formed the Coca Cola Africa Foundation as a major leap in CSR and worked with the UNAIDS to take part in AIDS prevention and treatment programs (Asongu 2007). Later in 2002, Coca Cola began to formally assist is bottlers in providing medical coverage for as many AIDS infected employees as rationally possible. In order to do so, Coca Cola formed alliances with pharmaceutical drug suppliers as well.

What merits highlighting in this regard is that Coca Cola came under heavy criticism from the general public for not playing its part in the fight against AIDS in Africa after it has reported significant profits. It was this protest that allowed Coca Cola to evolve into a prime example of the enactment of CSR in the case of an international expansion.

CSR plays a highly imperative role for a business considering international expansion. It highlights the concern that the business holds towards contribution to the region into which the expansion has occurred and actions taken in an attempt to fulfill CSR are generally evaluated very minutely by the host region. In this regard, CSR comes across a welcoming mat that the expanding business gives to the locals of the region. In the case of international business expansions, the commitment to CSR becomes all the more undeniable since consumers are not always fully aware of the businesses intentions or nature and engagement in CSR activities can serve to bring the expanding business forth in a positive light (Iyer 1999).

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