CONTINENTAL MODELS OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY: GENERAL AND SPECIAL

At present, corporate social responsibility (hereinafter referred to as “CSR”) is a deeply rooted and established element of the economic system as well as the institution of civil society. The models of CSR and the practices of socially responsible business, to the authors` opinion, explain the historical and conceptual features to CSR development in different countries and allow us to identify the most successful and applicable techniques in the field of social partnership between corporate sector and governmental one. Comparative analytical approach to the American, European and African implementation models of corporate social responsibility seems relevant according to the “state-business-society” link and the concept of “social investments”. The last one is a key pathway toward the innovative mechanisms of socially responsible practices around the world that provides output of appropriate codes of conduct. In the process of research the authors state the fact that the global challenges of humanity that increasingly have faced by top-managers are directly related to CSR standards. Moreover, today the corporation encompasses not only the economic point of view. Corporation is perceived as a political entity with specific functions and political resources that reflects the systematic presence of business in many areas of public life: economy, politics, social sphere including education, science, health, environmental protection. In these dimensions corporations play exceptional roles, adopt part of the governmental responsibility and have a special socio-political significance.