Social Responsibility JournalFrom altruistic to strategic CSR: how social value affected CSR development – a case study of ThailandPatnaree Srisuphaolarn

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From altruistic to strategic CSR: how socialvalue affected CSR development – a casestudy of Thailand

Patnaree Srisuphaolarn

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the adoption and evolution of corporate socialresponsibility (CSR) in Thailand and to scrutinize the mechanisms that drove the direction of CSRactivities to their current forms.

Design/methodology/approach – Qualitative data were collected through in-depth interviews with

executives of 14 companies, and open-ended questionnaires filled out by three organizations, all of which

the public perceives as highly socially responsible. Additional data were collected from two CSR

seminars, official company web sites, and a database provided by the Stock Exchange of Thailand’s

library.

Findings – The study reveals two key findings. One is the pattern of CSR development in Thailand thatemphasizes social and environmental issues, which are less relevant to the business’ core activities. Theother is that Thai social and religious values are important antecedents of CSR strategy andimplementation. Corporations communicate CSR implicitly and execute a two-stage public relationsstrategy indirectly.

Originality/value – This paper reveals a unique interpretation of CSR in developing economies whereagrarian social values and informal networks still dominate. Most extant literature assumes that CSR indeveloping countries mimics western patterns. This paper asserts that it is instead an adaptation ofwestern concepts to local culture in the case of Thailand, which affected the whole CSR process – ideageneration, implementation, and communication.

Keywords Social values, CSR pattern, Implicit CSR, Public relations strategy, Public relations,Social responsibility, Thailand

Paper type Research paper

Introduction

Although the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) is not new, it was not until

recently that CSR became an important concept in many organisations. The concept has

been promoted to wider audiences by governments and international organisations such as

Hong Kong Special Administration Region, International Finance Corporation (IFC), United

Nations Development Programme (UNDP), CSR Europe, and World Business Council for

Sustainable Development (WBCSD). Key players that helped introduce the concept in

emerging countries were multinational enterprises (MNEs), whose missions include being

good corporate citizens in host countries (Jamali and Mirshak, 2007; Perrini, 2006). MNEs

relate local CSR activities to corporate CSR policies in home countries (Husted and Allen,

2006).

Empirical studies on CSR activities suggest that different patterns and factors influence

appropriate CSR activities in each country, both developed and less developed. Factors

influenced by CSR activities and communications include national business systems, levels

of economic development, economic freedoms, and levels of corruption (Chapple and

Moon, 2005; Baughn et al., 2007). Matten and Moon (2008) found that business systems in

Europe make communication of CSR less explicit in comparison to American companies.

PAGE 56 j SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY JOURNAL j VOL. 9 NO. 1 2013, pp. 56-75, Q Emerald Group Publishing Limited, ISSN 1747-1117 DOI 10.1108/17471111311307813

Patnaree Srisuphaolarn is

based at the Department of

Commerce and

Accountancy, Thammasat

University, Bangkok,

Thailand.

Received 10 October 2011Accepted 11 October 2011

This research was conductedunder the research grants bythe Center of Excellence,Kasetsart University for the firstphase and the BusinessResearch Center of ThammasatBusiness School for the secondphase of study. The authorwould like to express her thanksto two anonymous reviewers fortheir constructive commentsthat improve the worktremendously. She would alsolike to thank Assistant ProfessorDr Nuttapol Assarut for hisvaluable comments that helpclarify the author’s thoughts.

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This is because many activities regarded as at a company’s discretion to express

responsibility to society in the US are actions that comply with laws and regulations in

Europe. Similar phenomena are found in China. Conversely, studies of CSR activities in

Nigeria reveal that economic development stages relate to patterns of CSR (Amaeshi et al.,

2006; Baughn et al., 2007). Economic development stages reflect the different needs of

people in the country. Government’s failure to fulfill basic infrastructure needs offers MNEs

the opportunity to fill the gaps to express good corporate citizenship (Eweje, 2006). In short,

different social needs lead to different interpretations of CSR definitions, CSR contents, and

the ways to communicate them.

Among numerous empirical studies that support country-specific CSR, few elaborate on the

mechanisms that explain why and how CSR developed into its modern form (Haslam, 2007;

Welford, 2005; Maignan and Ralston, 2002; O’Neil, 1986). This is essential to understand

how society’s expectations lead to better CSR strategy, especially the public relations

strategy of how to report CSR. In defining CSR, Dahlsrud (2008) concludes that:. . .the

challenge for business is not so much to define CSR, as it is to understand how CSR is

socially constructed in a specific context and how to take into account when business

strategies are developed (p. 6).It is worth investigating the interpretation of CSR, the

phenomena that affect the changes in CSR patterns, and the key players that influence the

changes. Understanding better the mechanisms that shape present CSR patterns in

emerging markets leads to appropriate CSR strategies of MNEs for the benefit of both

companies and host countries. Thailand was chosen as a case study for this paper because

the country is a representative of emerging markets with high MNE presences. Since the first

National Economic and Social Development Plan was launched in 1954, Thailand relies

heavily on direct foreign investment and international trade, especially exportation. In

Thailand, CSR is embraced well such that within a few years after formal introduction from an

affiliated organization of the Stock Exchange in 2007, CSR became part of the mission in

most companies. Recently, there are movements to include small and medium enterprises

into the CSR developing program via ISO 26000, introduced by Thailand’s Ministry of

Industry. A study of CSR in Asia regarding the penetration of CSR by domestic and

international companies suggests that among seven countries, only Thailand showed a

prominent lead of domestic companies in CSR activities (Chapple and Moon, 2005). In other

words, local companies are active in this matter.

In addition, CSR in Thailand reflects a striking characteristic. Thai CSR is gearing toward

social and environmental issues with little attention given to CSR influences on employees

and the marketplace (Chapple and Moon, 2005). Employees and the marketplace are two

major stakeholders among others in western CSR standards (e.g. CSR in Europe). Amaeshi

et al. (2006) ask whether CSR is western mimicry or an indigenous influence. This paper

scrutinizes further the mechanisms that underlie the development of CSR patterns as they

are today, specifically to what extent western standards influence and to what extent

indigenous forces influence CSR.

CSR development

The CSR concept developed from two sources at different times but converged as a

business norm after the millennium. One source was CSR as business ethics and the other

was CSR as part of sustainable development programs promoted by the United Nation

(United Nations, 1992). The idea that a company should take responsibility rather than

simply achieve economic goals was raised through discussions on business ethics since the

1950s (Carroll, 1999). An assumption underlying this argument emphasises proper means

to make and manage profits so that the company gains legitimacy for existence in society

(Wood, 1991). Puntasen (2008) and Collier and Esteban (2007) argue that Adam Smith

describes morality in his Wealth of Nations but it was omitted when mathematical tools were

introduced to verify economic theories. Most economists were induced into a world of

measuring. Ethics, which are not measured easily, became less prioritised. One of the

representative models of this CSR-as-business-ethics concept is the CSR Pyramid, which

demonstrates that a company has four responsibilities beyond the three basic

responsibilities toward economic outcomes of legal compliance, business practices, and

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responsibility (Carroll, 1999). It is the forth responsibility that Carroll states is at the discretion

of the company to do what is good for society, such as philanthropic CSR (see development

of CSR and corporate social performance in Wartick and Cochran, 1985; Wood, 1991).

Business ethics reflect the owners’ or executives’ personal values toward society (see more

in Zsolnai, 2007; Fassin, 2008).

CSR as part of sustainable development programs started in the early 1990s, initiated by a

Swiss industrialist shortly prior to the Earth Summit held by the United Nation. The

conference called for co-operation to reduce environmental destruction and pursue

business growth while considering environmental impacts (United Nations, 1992). This

concept focuses more on a commitment from the manufacturing sector. Thus, it led to

attempts to set the new industrial standard of ISO 26000, due for enforcement in 2010. This

view is relatively closed to the continuous improvement concept – kaizen, which focuses

more on the production process (Visser, 2010).

Later research suggests that CSR should not be an extra expense unless it generates

benefits for the business. Porter and Kramer (2006) propose that integrating CSR into the

value chain is a source of competitive advantage. Kotler and Lee (2005) propose six CSR

initiatives that include socially responsible business practices as a way to do well by doing

good. In line with this doing-well-by-doing-good concept, empirical research explores the

effects of CSR on financial performance. They aim to increase the motivation of business

practitioners to get involved in CSR activities and justify resource allocations to activities

less related to the main objectives of the business (Balabanis et al., 1998; McWilliams and

Siegel, 2001; Amaeshi and Adi, 2007).

Different CSR development paths in different contexts

After a series of business scandals in US and European industries, companies are under

pressure to pay more attention to corporate governance and CSR. In short, it is necessary to

increase the public’s trust in corporations and increase operational transparency and

availability, especially in the US (Auger et al., 2007). This leads to the necessity of increasing

communication with the public about company decision-making via annual reports and web

sites. Corporate governance focuses on transparency of business processes and

performance while CSR focuses on extra business activities. Currently, separation of

annual and CSR reporting is the norm for large international corporations. CSR specialists

are hired, CSR departments are established, and CSR communication strategies are

planned.

The situation is different in Europe. Matten andMoon (2008) found that European companies

tend to communicate CSR less explicitly than US counterparts. They argue that business

systems explain the difference. In Europe, CSR is part of legislation; there is no need to

communicate activities as extensively as American corporations do. In addition, research

regarding CSR in Africa suggests that stages of economic development contribute to CSR

activities in developing countries like Nigeria (Amaeshi et al., 2006). However, a survey of

CSR activities in Asia showed no single pattern of CSR in seven Asian countries – India,

South Korea, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Indonesia. One

explanation lays in national factors such as national business systems rather than

economic development, economic sectors, or social development (Chapple and Moon,

2005). Baughn et al. (2007) suggest that economic development, economic freedom, and

level of corruption have positive relationships with CSR. This implies that a society has

specific expectations different from one society to another, and cultures, historical

backgrounds and business practices influence these expectations (Lorenzo-Molo, 2009).

Multinational corporations wanting to express responsibility as good corporate citizens in

host countries should have a thorough understanding of what determines CSR activities that

a specific society embraces.

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Corporate social responsibility in Thailand

The term Corporate Social Responsibility first appeared in Thai media in 2003 described as

a new trend of global standard (Prachachart Turakij, 2005). Three years later, the Thailand

Research Fund published a report concerning CSR development in business organisation

management processes (Yodprutikarn et al., 2006). Using CSR forerunners as sources of

qualitative data, the report describes how a company could become socially responsible

and points out that there are two types of CSRs: the in-process type integrates CSR into

every production process and activity used to make a profit; the after-process type deals

with how to manage the profit gained for the sake of society. This in-process and

after-process CSR, later on, become influential concepts for companies that would like to

catch up on CSR. Inspired by the 2004 Tsunami in the southern part of Thailand, the Stock

Exchange of Thailand established the Corporate Social Responsibility Institute (CSRI) in

2007. Since a tsunami is evidence of environmental destruction, institute executives

asserted that a business should extend operations to link with community, society, and the

environment (Assawapiriyanon, 2007). In the same month, Thai Industrial Standard Institute

and Kenan Institute Asia published a working draft of ISO 26000, discussing guidelines for

manufacturers to respond with new industrial standards for CSR (Kenan Institute Asia,

2008). These are some examples of attempts made by the formal public sector to transplant

CSR from the west to Thailand, forces both from International and domestic organisations to

introduce and diffuse CSR to Thai businesses and push them toward implementation. Since

then, the term CSR is heavily visible and audible to the public.

As corporate image-building activities via donations and other societal marketing programs

were commonly found in daily mass media in Thailand during the 1990s, critics questioned

whether Thai companies could distinguish between CSR and public relations/societal

marketing, and whether Thai CSR is related to sustainability (Business Thai, 2007; Business

Thai, 2008; Prachachart Turakij, 2005). Thailand is no exception to experiencing diversity in

interpreting the imported concept of CSR and thus, diversity in materialisation of the

concept. There are confusions about how to measure CSR performance, how to report

performance formally, and other issues because Thai companies tried to catch up with

American standards, which were developed under different contexts and public

expectations.

Research questions

After reviewing the literature, the present author developed two main research questions:

what are the specific characteristics of Thai CSR? and how has the concept of CSR

developed in Thailand? The former question addresses how business practitioners interpret

CSR, and the key factors influencing such interpretation; the latter investigates key

phenomena and the responses of the key players to those phenomena that shape CSR

development. A discussion of the results answers whether there is a prominent difference

between CSR patterns in Thailand and western counterparts. In doing so, multinational

companies benefit from a deeper understanding of the Thai context so that they can serve

this emerging market better.

Methods and results

The study consisted of two phases to trace the development path of the CSR concept, and

add companies with international presences to recheck the CSR pattern found earlier. The

first was conducted in 2009 and the second in 2011. In the first phase, the author chose a list

of 30 companies considered highly socially responsible using a questionnaire survey and a

review of CSR award winners during a 2005 to 2008 competition. A total of 512 open-ended

questionnaires were distributed in Bangkok metropolitan areas asking respondents to give

the names of companies that they perceive as highly socially responsible and the reasons

supporting their choices. These companies were approached for an in-depth interview

session based on semi-structured question lists sent to the companies prior to the interview.

Eight companies responded to our request and the interviews took place during the last

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week of June to early August, 2009. In the second phase, nine companies responded to a

request for interview and to fill out the open-ended questionnaires. Six interviews took place

and three questionnaires were completed in July. Each interview took approximately one and

a half hours except for one company that took three hours. The data were transcribed and

analysed by a content analysis method. A list of the companies and details are shown in

Table I. Respondent companies included a British-based, multinational company, a joint

venture between Norwegian and Thai companies, listed and non-listed local companies

serving both local and international market, and Thai conglomerates serving foreign markets

with a production base outside of Thailand.

To understand the key players, key phenomena, and key factors that shaped the

distinguished pattern of Thai CSR and how it developed, additional data were collected from

three sources: three CSR seminars, official company web sites of both listed and non-listed

companies highly engaged in CSR, and a database provided by the Stock Exchange of

Thailand’s library regarding company profiles, rules, and regulations of governed-listed

companies. The 27 members of the CSR club (some of who were respondents) publishing

data under Form 56-1 – as required by the Stock Exchange of Thailand as an official report

of company performance for investors and the base for Annual Reports of most companies

– were investigated carefully[1].

Table I List of respondent companies

Company name Business area Year founded Business form

Electronic Generating Authority ofThailand (EGAT)

Utility provider 1898 SOE

Port Authority of Thailand Port management 1951 SOE

Government Housing Bank (GHB) Banking Service, specialized inhousing loan

1953 SOE

PTT (Petroleum Authority of Thailand) Petroleum refinery and distribution 1978 SOE turned PLC in 2001

Bangchak Petroleum Petroleum refinery and distribution 1985 SOE turned PLC in 1992

Siam Cement Group (SCG) Conglomerate business 1913 PCL

Krungthai Bank (KTB) Banking service 1966 SOE turned PLC in 1994

Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) Banking service 1907 PCL

Bangkok Bank Banking service 1944 PCL

Thai Life Assurance (Thai Life) Insurance service 1942 LTD

Advanced Info System (AIS) Telecommunication (mobile phoneservice provider)

1990 PCL

True Corporation (True) Telecommunication and contents providers 1990 PCL

Total Access Communication (DTAC) Telecommunication (mobile phoneservice provider)

1989 PCL (JV of Telenor, Norwayin 2000)

BEC Tero Entertainment service 1994 PCL

Tesco-Lotus Large-scale retailer 1998 (British-based) LTDCharoen Pokphand (CPF) Conglomerate (based on agricultural product) 1978 PCLBetagro Meat, poultry production 1960 PCL

Notes: SOE ¼ State-owned Enterprise; PCL ¼ Public Company Limited; LTD ¼ Limited CompanySource: Complied from companies’ official web sites by author

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Initial findings

The link between Business Ethics, Corporate Governance and CSR. Reviewing secondary

data of rules and regulation announced by the Stock Exchange of Thailand, the author found

a development of concept of CSR from business ethics and corporate governance.

As one of the key influences that drive contemporary CSR, the Stock Exchange of Thailand is

active in raising the bar for listed companies to meet international standards. It initiated the

Internal Control measure in 1995 to ensure transparency in reporting and to protect

stockholders, and appointed a committee in 2001 to study corporate governance and

communicate with the public (Stock Exchange of Thailand Corporate Governance Center,

2002). Corporate Governance has been the urgent agenda for the nation after the 1997

financial crisis. Experts assert that weak governance was the cause; there was ‘‘reckless

lending by financial institutions, overusing short-term foreign currency denominated loans to

finance long-term investments, expropriation of company funds by directors, managers or

large shareholders, shady and risky business deals, and poor financial reporting and

audits’’ (Persons, 2006).

Supported by the foundation of the National Corporate Governance Committee in 2002, the

Stock Exchange of Thailand issued the Corporate Governance Principle and set up the

Corporate Governance Centre to support implementation of Corporate Governance by

listed companies in July of the same year. Four years later, the Stock Exchange of Thailand

revised the Corporate Governance Principle to comply with the 2004 OECD Principle of CG,

and the World Bank CG-ROSC (Report on the Observance of Standards and Codes).

According to the revised principle, listed companies must reveal a clear policy toward

society and the environment; they must report clearly rights of shareholders, a policy to treat

shareholders equally, roles of company toward stakeholders, disclosure of company

performance and transparency, and the extent of the committee’s responsibilities. It also

suggests that companies clarify who the stakeholders are and their legal rights.

Stakeholders include customers, employees, suppliers, shareholders and investors,

creditors, community within which the organisation is situated, government and

governmental bodies, and society (Stock Exchange of Thailand Corporate Governance

Center, 2006).

Prior to promotion of corporate governance, the Stock Exchange of Thailand issued a Code

of Conduct in 1995 and revised it in 2000 and 2008 accordingly. The code emphasises

company responsibility toward stakeholders, including society and the environment; it

suggests laws and regulation compliance and employee responsibilities to society and the

environment (Stock Exchange of Thailand, 2008).

Besides the Stock Exchange of Thailand, the author found the name of international

organisations or industrial standards introduced as benchmarking or guiding principles

regarding social and environmental responsibility, business ethics and codes of conduct,

and sustainable development in many companies’ Forms 56-1; they include Global

Compact, the World Business Council of Sustainable Development, Dow Jones

Sustainability Index, CSR-DIW (Corporate Social Responsibility-Department of Industrial

Work), SHE (Safety, Health, and Environment), and the US Foreign Corrupt Practices.

The Thai companies and the CSR concept prior to the 2007 boom. Reviewing Form 56-1 as

early as 2004, the author found the phrases ‘‘responsibility to society and environment,’’

‘‘carry business with responsibility to society and environment,’’ and similar phrases in

corporate governance reports and in mission and vision statements under the section of

business ethics or codes of conduct[2]. Companies in the early 2000s placed social

responsibility as a part of good corporate citizenship.

Though many companies reported activities related to present-day social responsibility

activities, the term ‘‘social responsibility’’ was first printed as a separate section on Form

56-1 later in 2006. Some companies like Unique Mining, Banpu Corporation, Siam Cement

Group (SCG), PTT (the former Petroleum Authority of Thailand), and Bangchak Petroleum,

published CSR reports or Sustainability Reports in 2007 to publicize CSR activities. Some

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companies like Phatara Securities set up separate units to explore CSR since 2005. The

period between 2005 and 2007 enjoyed a significant leap for CSR in annual reports.

It is clear that the CSR concept is not foreign to Thai companies. Before CSR was widely

known in 2007, there were already some forerunners that conducted strategic CSR by

integrating CSR into every process of their business activities. (Yodprutikarn et al., 2006; The

Stock Exchange of Thailand Database, 2011). Some companies like SGC, PTT, Bangchak,

and CPF (Charoen Pokphand Foods) even placed corporate social responsibility or likewise

statements into company philosophies since the foundation period. Others like Kasikorn

Bank, Bangkok Bank, Siam Commercial Bank put CSR into mission and vision statements.

However, they treated the concept as taken-for-granted, and did not promote it to outsiders.

Putting these forerunners aside, most of the companies were engaging in donation-based

CSR. Setting a so-called ‘‘social tax budget’’ is common practice for Thai enterprises.

Donations to religious causes, offering scholarships, fund-raising for hospitals,

help-the-victims-of-disasters donation programs, and similar donations are demanded

implicitly from big corporations by the surrounding communities, if not the public. This

reflects the social values of an agrarian society where bilateral patronage is crucial in a

relatively collectivist society. Thus, CSR existed but was not planned or reported

systematically. CSR activities could be found within Human Resources Departments,

Public Relations, or elsewhere in the organisation, but were not company-wide.

The CSR boom and CSR concept development. The 2007 CSR boom enacted dramatic

change from a focus on donations to higher involvement. Business media introduced CSR

as a new global business practice, with the perception that CSR is related to corporate

governance, business ethics, and sustainable development. Every company was eager to

know about the concept and how to implement it. This raised the level of awareness among

practitioners that a mere donation could be regarded as pseudo-CSR. Those inactive in CSR

were in the stages of catching up and revision, looking for best practices from domestic

forerunners in CSR such as SCG, PTT, and international consulting companies. Those

involved in CSR started sharing experiences to revise their communication strategy to

include a wider audience. Consequently, this increased awareness – if not pressure – to

develop a CSR project.

The big corporations that embraced the concept became more active in turning CSR from

vision to action; they incorporated it into corporate long-term policy. Supported by in-house

research, rounds of meetings were conducted to ensure clear directions. Internal public

relations tools were used to assure awareness and approval of instituting CSR

organisation-wide. High-ranking executives, consumers, and shareholders were active in

endorsing CSR plans. One company stated that every new employee learned and practiced

CSR until it became a part of the company’s DNA, with the first lessons learned from the

company CEO. Almost all respondents emphasised employee involvement and tried to set a

social contribution mindset as a corporate value.

The decision to be more active in CSR could take a top-down approach from the Board of

Directors, or a bottom-up approach by the Corporate Communication Department. The

Board of Directors could also be influenced by a higher authority such as the Ministry of

Finance, who is the biggest shareholder of the specific companies, or could be inspired by

the goal to catch up with international standards, an engagement with World Business

Council of Sustainable Development, for example. As demonstrated in the initial findings,

companies in Thailand have been seeking legitimacy to operate in society as a good

corporate citizen. Thus, there is at least one distinguishing project to represent their CSR

position in society by carrying that project on a long-term basis. With a code of conduct set

by the Stock Exchange of Thailand to have a clear policy regarding the role of business

toward society and environment, most CSR activities deal with social and environmental

issues (see Table II).

The pattern of CSR in Thailand. Figure 1 illustrates how patterns developed since the CSR

Boom.

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Reactive CSR. As mentioned previously, most respondents revealed that before 2007 they

conducted CSR mostly in the form of donations and contributions to nearby communities,

although in a relatively passive manner. The companies responded to requests for donations

to the extent that the annual budget provided for them. In some companies, projects initiated

Table II Characteristics of Thai CSR

Characteristics/CSRpattern Reactive CSR Turn-key CSR Issue-based CSR

Recipient-basedCSR Integrated CSR

Company’s role Be timely responsiveto request ofdonation

Reduce/reliefimmediate socialproblems

Reduce/relief socialproblems

Improve standard ofliving, environments

Improve standard ofliving,environments

Means Things/money Company’sresources,especially implicitassets – knowledge,expertise, andcompetency

Company initiated,independentproject(s)

Company andcommunitycollaboration

Company productsand process

Outcome Short-term needfulfillment

Moreeffective/efficientproject management

Well-being, betterstandard of living

Further areadevelopment bycommunity initiatives

Greener product/process; productthat contribute tobetter society

Company’s role Donor/giver Assistant to theproject

Project initiator andmanager

Coach/supporter Producer andcontributors viaproducts

Parties involved Representatives ofthe twoorganizations(receiver/donor)

Benefit recipientgroup and companywith company asmain actor

Benefit recipientgroup and companywith company asmain actor

Group and companywith high interaction

Company andsociety as a whole

Source: Summarized by author

Figure 1 The development and direction of CSR patterns in Thailand

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by individuals were conducted to serve communities but were limited to small-scale,

regional, or branch-specific projects. The motives at this CSR stage were for ethical reasons

if not self-actualisations. The former was the case where a large business was perceived as

a high-income earner; thus, it was expected to help less privileged people. The latter was the

case where individuals had special skills or knowledge; thus, he/she desired to share them

with the community (e.g. skills in traditional musical instruments, sports, computer

operations, etc.). Activities were receiver-initiated; the author names this stage ‘reactive

CSR’, where main activities centred on donations and societal marketing.

Turn-key CSR. During the era of responsive CSR, some companies started to engage in

turnkey CSR. Instead of giving away money or goods, companies pursued CSR strategies

that relied on utilisation of company competencies to increase CSR involvement and ensure

higher efficiency of project implementation; in most cases, non-profit organisations that run

good-cause activities lack management skills and tend to rely on altruistic appeal. They

generally do not treat their units as cost-centres, relying too heavily on incoming revenue, not

operational efficiency. Businesses could fill this gap. For example, Thai Life, a life insurance

company, used its integrated marketing communication competencies to assist the Thai

Red Cross to achieve a target number of organ donors. In Thailand, there are people who

believe that donating organs results in being reborn without that specific organ. Thus, the

target was far from attainable. The company helped to turn the audience’s perceptions away

from negative attitudes and toward a better understanding of the necessity of becoming

donors.

A CSR club member, Phatara Securities reported in its Form 56-1 that it helped manage the

Andaman Coast Coral Restoration Project by utilizing its managing skills in project operation,

accounting and bookkeeping, and fund raising. PTT also revealed the key success factors

for its forest restoration project; its primary input was managing skills, matching experts to

the local community and monitoring project outcomes for continuous improvement. CPF and

Krungthai Bank (KTB) pursued similar strategies contributing to community and education

development.

During the time of CSR Boom, companies entered a trial-and-error period to fine tune their

CSR direction. After restructuring policy and organisation, directions were clearer in each

company. The different directions of the CSR movement in each company were based on

historical background, experiences in conducting CSR, business impacts on environments,

reach to sources of knowledge outside the companies, and levels of collaboration with third

parties, private companies, governmental bodies, and communities.

According to most of extant literature, CSR is discretionary. The problem was deciding in

what direction companies shaken by the CSR Boom opted to further CSR strategies.

Analyzing the content of the interviews, the author found three distinguished patterns of CSR

development. Possible are combinations of multiple CSR patterns in a single company (see

Table III).

Issue-based CSR. Issue-based CSR suggests strategies in which companies develop

special projects fully dedicated to help solve or preempt social/environmental problems. In

this stage, the companies do not merely donate but become involved in extending their

business competencies to help solve social/environmental problems.

These projects target underprivileged children, strengthen family bonding, promote

education (scholarships, building schools, opportunities to use student capabilities, etc.),

increase forest areas, sponsor research on energy-saving products, and many others. While

the companies initiate specific units to drive these projects, co-operation from government

and non-government entities is prominent; however, it is a company-initiated activity. Hence,

the companies are still the givers and communities are the receivers. Since companies focus

on a specific social/environmental issue and run projects long-term, the author names this

pattern of social contribution as ‘‘issue-based CSR’’.

Examples of issue-based CSR include the following cases: TRUE, a cable channel operator,

worked with content providers so modern programming could be broadcast for free into rural

schools, supporting their primary project ‘‘Plook Panya – enhancing knowledge.’’ BEC, an

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Table III Examples of company CSR activities in each pattern

Company/CSR

pattern Reactive Turn-key Issue-based Recipient-base Integrated

EGAT Scholarship,

contest, donation

Community

development–basically

forestry restoration

Creek-spy (to monitor

discharged water quality),

bird-watching and eco

tourism

Process innovation

catching up, product

innovation initiated

Port Authority

of Thailand

Scholarship,

contest, donation

Clean port at Laem

Chabang and ASEAN

GHB Scholarship,

contest, donation,

support

House building for disaster

victims and

underprivileged

Housing for Elderly

PTT Scholarship,

contest, donation

Forestry-restoration Forestry-restoration Education development Process innovation

catching up, product

innovation initiated

Bangchak Scholarship,

contest, donation

Over-supplied seasonal

produce as sales

premium, Royal project on

substitute energy, Lemon

Farm to support local

farmers

Community relationship

management,

forestry-restoration,

recycling of used cooking

oil

‘‘Find your solution’’

Project system

Process innovation

catching up, production

innovation initiated

SCG Scholarship,

contest, donation

Community development Community relationship

management,

forestry-restoration

Forestry and water sources

preservation; eco tourism

Eco-value products

KTB Scholarship,

contest, donation

KTB lecture series,

education standard

upgrading

School development,

education

SCB Scholarship,

contest, donation

Primary to high school

students skill development

Bangkok Bank Scholarship,

contest, donation

Art museum, Thai

traditional music

promotion

Loan for environmental

friendly innovation

Thai Life Scholarship,

contest, donation

Thai Red-Cross organ

donation Project

Awareness of family bond Life insurance plan for

specific occupationa,

awareness of family bond

BEC TERO Scholarship,

contest, donation

Disaster relief, e.g. flood,

tsunami, etc.

AIS Scholarship,

contest, donation

Awareness of family bond

TRUE Scholarship,

contest, donation

Rural area education

development

DTAC Scholarship,

contest, donation

Epidemic alert via mobile

network project (for

international

implementation)

Agricultural news hotlines,

‘‘Every day doing good’’

‘‘Every doing good’’ Agricultural news hotlines,

epidemic alert via mobile

network project

Tesco Scholarship,

contest, donation

Research and

Development fund on T-5

electric bulb

CPF Scholarship,

contest, donation

Royal project rural area

occupation development

Contract-farming,

community development,

Process innovation

catching up, production

innovation in-process

Betagro Scholarship,

contest, donation

Contract-farming,

community development,

education development

Process innovation

catching up, production

innovation initiated

Note: aTraffic police, soldier working in highly dangerous areas, and doctors in rural areas

Source: Summarized by author

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entertainment company, provided opportunities to orphans and underprivileged children to

enjoy world-class shows; teenagers engaged in the world-class sporting events. By using

special computer-assisted programs, AIS, a mobile phone company, hired employees with

hearing and sight disabilities to work as call-centre staff, making those people feel

self-sufficient and economically independent in addition to their primary project of ‘‘Sarn Rak –

enhance the family bond.’’ Another mobile phone service provider, DTAC, used its mobile

network to initiate hotlines for agricultures and aquacultures. DTAC sent short messages

regarding crops andmarketing tips on three areas – rice growing, farming, andmarine farming

– to its members for free. It provided two-way communication via local radio stations that

volunteered as partners. For this program on agriculture tips clinic, disk jockeys were former

scholarship recipients funded by the company. CPF and Betagro used their technologies to

raise poultry and meat production efficiency. KTB used financial expertise to initiate a KTB

lecture series to increase public financial literacy. GHB initiated a project to build homes for

disaster victims and underprivileged people via Habitat for Community Thailand, a

non-government organisation. SCB enhanced pre-college student skill development in

creativity and teamwork. EGAT (Electric Generating Authority of Thailand) and KTB sponsored

schools in local areas and created a role model school for benchmarking.

Recipient-based CSR. Recipient-based CSR suggests strategies in which the company

assists communities initiate projects to solve problems and increase well-being. In this

stage, companies function as assistants or coaches while the communities are the project

initiators and drivers. Examples include SCG’s mini-dam building and water source

preservation project, PTT 84’s sub-district community development, Bangchak’s project

system ‘‘find your solution’’ community development, and KTB’s community school

development. These are extended projects from prior issue-based projects. All of these

companies reached the same conclusion after a period of involvement in prior projects. The

best way to reach the goal of social and economic development is to enhance community

realisation of its own ability to change; it is better if companies position themselves as

supporters and coaches.

To solve a drought problem in summers and a flood problem during rainy seasons, SCG

initiated a project to build a series of small dams along small creeks in a village where the

company plant was located. Instead of flowing down the hill quickly and drying up, the water

was stored shortly at each step to increase accumulation. As a result, small plants grew and

the eco-system was restored. This is still an issue-based CSR. However, when the

community realized that this could help increase their well being, they approach SCG to

extend the project to other villages. This is the start point of recipient-based CSR. Another

project involved making natural water resources, cannels and rivers, cleaner by educating

people who live near the water resources. The company started the project but community

members who became change agents carried it out. Village meetings resumed, products

and services that supported sustainable development were created, and community

members started to be confident and proud. Again, this project has been extended to other

villages. On top of that, new related projects have been initiated by the community. This is an

excellent example in Thailand because economic and social development strategies have

been especially centralized and hierarchical since the 1950s. People in rural areas generally

hold prejudices that they are inferior to educated people in Bangkok and other large cities.

Though the project was started as issue-based community development CSR, it turned out

to be a total human development program; CSR is related to social innovation.

Integrated CSR. Since most respondent companies engage in international marketing or

production, they learned how to integrate CSR and company competitiveness. In this stage,

companies pursue CSR via international standard process innovation catch-up and product

innovation to introduce more environmental or user-friendly products. Example is SCG

eco-value product. SCG develops products that are ecologically and user friendly. Some

examples of these products include radiant-reducing paper for industrial and home uses

and home-building materials that reduce temperatures in buildings and lower energy needs

for air conditioners. PTT, Bangchak, CPF (Chareon Pokaphand Foods), Betagro, and

Bangkok Bank are representatives of the manufacturing sector from which clear examples

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could be raised. Thai Life created a new product to serve under-protected traffic police and

soldiers on duty; the company offers these policies for free. As part of corporate

governance, the company takes production processes seriously, complying strictly to laws

and paving new ways for greener production processes.

In this stage, company views their operation as a means to enhance their CSR to achieve the

‘‘better society creation’’, integrating CSR into their daily operation.

Analysis and discussion

Interpretation and implementation of CSR

Analyzing the interviews and CSR patterns that emerged until 2011, companies interpret

CSR as the responsibility of a good corporate citizen to pay it forward to society via efficient

resource management, namely management tools. It is an extension of

Corporate Governance to create guidelines regarding company roles toward stakeholders

outside the company, rapidly gaining legitimacy to implement – if not strategize – CSR. A

CSR boom enhances greater involvement by employees, customers and shareholders in

generating and implementing CSR projects (see Table IV).

When CSR is interpreted in this way, doing good is accepted as the primary concept

underlining CSR. Since doing good is universal for Thai society, collaboration at multiple

levels and stages of CSR implementation is possible. Companies in the same industry, many

that are direct competitors, could collaborate to implement a CSR project initiated by the

principal company, as seen in the case of the DTAC agricultural hotline, which drew

co-operation from other mobile phone service providers such as TRUE and AIS. If the CSR

project is convincing as a project dedicated to social and environmental development, other

companies or organisations tend to join without the hesitation of ‘‘not-invented-here’’

syndrome. Since nationalism promoted since the 1950s announced Thais’ duties toward the

nation, religion, and the King, any activities dedicated to these three institutions are

regarded as good deeds and gain legitimacy for support automatically. Knowledge sharing

is also highly observed; companies put best practices as their CSR and are proud to be

society’s role model.

The author also found that although companies run various CSR projects, they secure a

remarkable one as a principal project and extend other projects from it. This secures CSR

positioning to communicate to a target audience. Since companies view CSR as a company

function or product, they do not mind outside participation; it is regarded as publicity and

promotion of the principal companies’ CSR.

In addition, high collaboration between businesses, government bodies, and

non-government bodies was observed in the same or different industries with the

principal business that initiated the project. Although most companies focus on education

and community development including environment restoration, these are generally not the

companies’ expertise. Thus, companies need to bring in expertise, which involve

government bodies such as the Office of Education Commission (pre-college education)

and Forestry Department (forest restoration process), and non-governmental bodies that

specialize in community development such as Population and Community Development

Association (PDA) and Habitat for Community Thailand. One respondent stated that CSR is

better use of existing scattered national resources via company management skills.

Most respondents revealed that CSR is a learning process. Getting involved in projects

rather than merely giving away money or material support, the company learns how the

entire process has been done inefficiently prior to involvement; they realize that what the

business could best contribute to the society is management skill – how to get things done

efficiently – which is every firm’s core competence. More involvement drew the company to

learn more about a project’s key success factors such as participant and target community

involvement. It is a matter of trust whether the project works and yields good results. Thus,

gaining community understanding and co-operation is essential. After the project yields a

positive outcome, more initiatives are proposed by people from the community; an inside-out

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development starts. They conclude that their primary CSR direction is to upgrade people’s

management skills and turn people toward efficiency, if not the locus of control over their own

destiny.

CSR is also an internal human resource development tool. Bangchak put engagement in

CSR activities as a performance index for each employee. Many respondents revealed that

incorporating CSR into company corporate values by getting people more engaged in CSR

activities enhances relationships among employees from different departments or divisions.

By extending hands to others, employees take part in company activities more readily. Many

respondents revealed they would like to vote for their own companies as highly socially

responsible ones since they are proud that the companies are devoted to society. This is

evidence that embedding the ‘‘extending a helping hand’’ ethic into every level of

organisational culture ensures success of CSR implementation, if not publicity by the

employees (Webley and Werner, 2008).

The nature of the business is related to how companies use resources for CSR projects.

Resource extract companies like petroleum or mining businesses focus on environmental

issues of nearby communities, especially forestry restoration; mobile phone companies use

their infrastructure and technology to pool and diffuse customized knowledge and general or

area-specific education. Entertainment businesses use their wide-audience reach to

Table IV Interpretation of CSR in Thai companies

Company Key words regarding CSR from Executive viewpoints

Electronic Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) Co-habitat (between business and society)

Port Authority of Thailand N/A

Government Housing Bank (GHB) Pay it forward to society, ability to share, accountability towards one’s own duty

PTT (Petroleum Authority of Thailand) Balance of economic, social and environmental management to achieve asustainable society. Company as a part of society need to fulfill this task

Bangchak Petroleum Social benefit

Siam Cement Group (SCG) Company credo, mission, DNA.

Krungthai Bank (KTB) ‘‘Investment’’ of social capital, not expenditure; co-habitat and sustainability

Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) Pay it forward to society

Bangkok Bank N/A

Thai Life Assurance Showing of gratitude to the society/country as a nation

Advanced Info System (AIS) Pay it forward to society

True Corporation Pay it forward to society

Total Access Communication (DTAC) ‘‘Thing that you can do everyday (doing good)’’

BEC Tero Corporate culture (doing good)

Tesco-Lotus A part of society (corporate citizenship)

Charoen Pokphand (CPF) ‘‘Everyday is CSR’’

Betagro Contribution to others for the sake of society sustainability

Source: Transcribed and paraphrased by author

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encourage public participation. Agricultural businesses use their knowledge and

technology to develop community skills career development. These cases could be

treated as examples of strategic CSR in a wider definition, rather than mere integration into

products. Most respondents emphasised that their CSR policy excludes relatedness to core

products to prevent misunderstandings that they are conducting pseudo-CSR; knowledge

sharing and catching up with international standards make the company learn more about

CSR in domestic and international domains. Explicit publication of CSR and adoption of

strategic CSR are increasingly acceptable.

An observation by a western author revealed that Thai businesses place heavy emphasis on

social and environmental issues but less emphasis on employees and business partners.

The role of business toward employees and business partners is governed by business

ethics and codes of conduct as seen from the revision of Form 56-1. Influenced by the Eighth

National Economic and Social Development (1997 to 2002), emphasising the importance of

human resources development, many listed companies reported lengthy descriptions of

policy and implementation regarding how to develop human resources, including setting up

employee-friendly working environments (e.g. AIS, DTAC). However, since most companies

treat this issue under business ethics or corporate governance, they only reported

employee-related activities as CSR recently.

When asked how each CSR project was initiated, most respondents revealed that the

starting point was analysis of real and contemporary social demands. DTAC asserted that

CSR is a human-related concept; basic human needs concerns food, shelter, medicine, and

clothes. Thailand has long been regarded as a primary rice exporter. Thus, the agricultural

sector was chosen as the primary target. Similar processes were found in KTB, True, and

SCB primary education projects.

CPF, SCB, PTT, Bangchak, Krungthai and Betagro are among many companies that started

the project inspired by the King’s speech or royal projects. In Thailand, King Bhumipol is an

influential figure; his ‘‘Sufficient Economy’’ philosophy diffused during the 1997 financial

crisis influenced the thinking processes of many respondents, especially concerning idea

generation and screening[3]. DTAC provides an example of using sufficiency economy

philosophy in both processes. DTAC executive stated that the philosophy announced in

Sufficient Economy serves as a good idea selection and idea initiative criterion. DTAC CSR

projects proved successful internationally; the company was approached and funded by the

World Bank and USAID to extend its Epidemic Alert project via mobile phone networks to

other parts of the world. At its business forum, DTAC shared its secret to success with other

Telenor partners in 14 countries.

Further analysis suggests that these companies realized various social and economic

development tasks that could not be fulfilled timely by governments with unstable

development policies. Almost all respondents deal with education, especially

youth development. Uneven income distribution still exists; it is perhaps even widening.

Education is viewed as the only means to upgrade economic and social status.

Respondents stated firmly that youths are the hope of the nation, and deserve full

opportunity support. Many emphasised the importance of emotional intelligences as well as

Thai values in educating the new generation.

While Thailand CSR is dedicated primarily to education and environment, CSR in Africa is

concerned with infrastructure construction. From these cases, one conclusion can be

reached: though a renowned economist insists that it is the job of government to deal with

social issues, where there is governmental failure, businesses as corporate citizens can take

part as an extended form of CSR to resolve that failure (see Table V).

The driving mechanism of Thai CSR

It is clear that CSR in Thailand is directed toward solving social problems, if not creating a

better society and dealing with environmental issue. Little relatedness is made to company

core businesses when it comes to implementing a CSR strategy. Many focus on how to

manage profits, returning a portion to society. Some integrate CSR into every business

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process, implying that CSR includes accountability such as developing products from which

consumers and society better benefit.

One factor that could explain this phenomenon is the social values in Thai society, based on

Buddhist values. In Thailand, there is a saying ‘‘Pid Thong Lang Pra’’ (putting the gold leave

at the back of the Lord Buddha Image). This means do good things even though nobody

sees. The implication of this saying is to do good things and do not announce them; doing

good is a personal virtue, not something to be advertised. Once advertised, it loses its virtue.

Since Thai businesses perceive CSR as Business Ethics, Codes of Conduct, and corporate

governance, they place CSR campaigns under doing ‘‘good.’’ With Thai CSR directed

toward social and environmental issues, CSR is interpreted as a helping hand from people in

a stronger position helping the weaker ones. This is why most of the companies in this study

emphasised that they carry the projects merely for the sake of a better standard of living and

select projects that have little or no direct relatedness to their products. The public could

perceive business-related CSR activities as an advertisement in disguise, which could

damage rather than build the corporate image. Thus, social value affects the interpretation of

CSR and hence the corporate value towards CSR implementation.

Table V Summary of specify characteristics of Thai CSR

Key concepts Description

The concept of CSR Corporate citizenship – pay it forward to society BusinessEthics – extend the helping hands to the weaker Efficiencyin resource management

Concept of doing good Doing good deed is a personal asset, and is not topronounce to the world

Concept of responsibility Corrective action to negative consequences caused by thecompany

Role of top leaders Role model and are socialized by employees and shapescorporate culture

CSR initiatives

Sources of inspiration Buddhism teachings, the King’s speech, the Royal Projects,current social problems from media, company value,company competences

Parties involved in idea generation Top executives, PR/CSR Dept., community members,employees, customers, and shareholders

Collaboration pattern

As source of information Government agencies, local communities, employees, andother companies

In planning process In-house CSR team, company executive board, third-partyconsultant institute (Thai Pat Institute)

In implementing process Employees, customers, suppliers/business partners,NGO/NPO (e.g. Habitat and PDA.), companies in the sameindustries/competitors, the general public

Role of public relations in CSR ‘‘Soft sales’’ rather than ‘‘hard sales’’ of the company CSRactivities

Source: Compiled from interview data by author

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In addition, high levels of collaborations among parties, including knowledge sharing, are

observed widely in Thai CSR. This contradicts normal business practices where commercial

secrets are involved. There is a tendency to hoard knowledge in collective societies. This

ensures Thai business practitioners interpret CSR as non-business efforts, social causes in

which everyone should take part, including competitors.

The other factor is interpretations of the term ‘‘responsibility.’’ Some respondents perceived

that responsibility carries a negative meaning and is used to show corrective measures after

a negative consequence. Thus, many companies use the term ‘‘for society or social

contribution’’ to represent the term ‘‘corporate social responsibility,’’ instead of directly

translating the term into Thai. Religious influences made born-to-be CSR people who have

positive attitudes about doing good. Revealed in the interviews were implicit messages that

they are less focused on maximizing profit without balancing social costs. In short, they opt

to optimize profit instead. As arguments in the west suggest, CSR should be repositioned as

an ethically-neutral concept to draw acceptance from business practitioners who are part of

the camps that support economic goals; this is not the case in Thailand (Amaeshi and Adi,

2007). There is no resistance to the concept of ‘‘doing well by doing good’’ in this Asian

country. As one respondent demonstrated, CSR trends offer new business opportunities.

Thus, doing well is not necessarily cannibalized by doing good in the case of Thai

companies. This explains why in the early 2000s there were few Thai companies engaged in

strategic CSR (Kraisornsuthasinee and Swierczek, 2009).

In summary, the mechanism that drove the direction of CSR in Thailand toward

society/community and environmental areas is social value. Since direct relatedness to

products is avoided, being a good corporate citizen could only materialize by doing good to

society and the environment. In addition, social value affects the companies’ public relations

strategies; each publicized only the CSR projects related to the company’s main theme of

CSR, reporting fewer activities than they had done. Companies tend to preserve their

budget to conduct CSR project rather than using that budget for promotion of their CSR.

Taking care of employees and business partners as well as customers was put under a

corporate governance frame of thinking. Hence, CSRs in Thailand are different from those in

Europe or the US because the focus of CSR is placed heavily on only the two areas of

society/community and environment; little emphasis is placed on the workplace and

marketplace in self-reports such as annual reports or official web sites. This finding supports

Matten and Moon’s (2008) that there is a difference in the communication styles between US

corporations and companies elsewhere. The ‘‘implicit CSR’’ in Thailand exists because of

religious virtues, not because it is embedded in law. It is discretionary rather than legal

obligation that expresses social responsibility.

Recent literature emphasises the importance of stakeholders and their involvement in

corporate governance and CSR (Zollo et al., 2009; Spitzeck and Hansen, 2010). This study

suggests a well-knit integration and collaboration among a broad set of stakeholders – local

communities, government agencies, the public, and the corporations – throughout the

entire CSR process (i.e. idea generation, implementation, and communication). Since the

conversation on mainstream CSR moves toward strategic CSR, this case study expresses a

similar direction, CSR as a source of innovation for both products and processes as well as

social innovation even though the initial concept was rather different (Porter and Kramer,

2006). The integrated CSR mentioned in this paper could be benchmarked with

corporate-shared values as proposed by Porter and Kramer (2011), where social rather

than economic needs should be addressed.

Conclusion, implication, limitation, and future research

The conclusion of this study is threefold. First, CSR in Thailand differs from American and

European CSR in that business ethics prevails; high levels of collaboration are prominent.

Second, though superficially, Thai CSR is directed toward social and environmental issues,

with the ultimate aim of human development. Third, though strongly based on business

ethics, Thai companies came to the same conclusion as western academia with regard to

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strategic CSR; however, Thai strategic CSR focuses on social innovation through company

products and services.

Therefore, implication from this study lies basically on communication strategy. Since Thai

social values do not support explicit CSR public relations strategies, MNEs from western

societies should be careful in planning CSR activities and communications. In accordance

with the respondent company’s policies, only activities carried out for a period of time and

whose benefits were obvious are publicized. The communities engaged in the project are

testimonials to the company’s sincerity to contribute to society. It can be more easily

understood as a ‘‘two-stage CSR’’ public relations strategy where a narrow range of public

relations was first made to the concerned community and a wider range followed once the

project was sustainable and substantial.

Companies with good CSR records could further integrate CSR without concern that the

public would perceive their ‘‘going green’’ as ‘‘image washing’’ (Ginberg and Bloom, 2004).

The responding companies generally insisted that they conduct CSR for the sake of social

contribution; the only business return is ‘‘immunity’’ that protects their businesses in times of

economic downturns. The companies could gain this positive and unintended consequence

through a strong grounding of recipient-based CSR records.

For MNEs that implement CSR in developing countries, a hybrid model demonstrated by

DTAC is an excellent example. While it preserves the general concept from its Norwegian

business partner, DTAC blends that guideline with local social values. Except Thailand,

countries in South East Asian share a similar historical background during the colonisation

period; hence, resistance to western ideas still exists (Higgins and Debroux, 2009). If CSR is

introduced as a western standard, it will not take hold in the host country without difficulties.

Considering social values as the primary factor in managing CSR reduces tensions and

gains more co-operation.

This study carries with it some limitations. Most of the respondent companies were

well-established with relatively long histories, which might not represent all corporations in

Thailand. Studies of small and medium enterprises could give a clearer picture of how Thai

companies developed the CSR pattern so that MNEs could better deal with supply chain

management when it comes to the CSR standard as a criterion to choose suppliers.

Notes

1. CSR Club was founded in September 2009 by active, listed companies (CSRI) extending the

concept of CSR to other listed companies and their supply chains. It was supported by the Stock

Exchange of Thailand, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Corporate Social

Responsibility Institute.

2. Comprehensive Listed Company Information Database, Stock Exchange of Thailand.

3. Sufficient Economy Philosophy origin is traced to Buddhism. King Bhumipol is known as a serious

practitioner of Buddhism, and has applied the teachings into practice, supporting all the royal

projects aimed to upgrade the standard of living of Thai people. For more details, see www.

sufficienteconomy.org

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Appendix

About the author

Patnaree Srisuphaolarn is teaching Introduction to International Business, Cross CulturalManagement and Comparative Business System at Thammasat Business School. Herresearch interests include internationalisation of services business (health care services),innovation in services and social innovation. She received her PhD from HitotsubashiUniversity, Tokyo, supported by the Japanese Government Scholarship. PatnareeSrisuphaolarn can be contacted at: patnaree@tbs.tu.ac.th

Table AI List of CSR club members

No. Company name Business area Notes

1 East Water Utility services2 Kasikorn Bank Banking services3 Siam Commercial Banka Banking services4 Total Access Communicationa Mobile phone services5 True Corporationa Mobile phone services Under CPF group6 Bangchak Petroluema Petroleum refinery and distribution President of the Club7 Thai Vegetable Oil Vegetable oil producer8 CPF (Charoen Pokphand Foods)a Ago-industrial conglomerate9 SE-Education Printing House and Retailing10 PTT Chemicals Petroleum-related products11 PTT Exploration and Production Petroleum exploration12 SCG* Conglomerate13 Siam City Cement Cement production and distribution14 Bangkok Metro Transportation service15 EGCO Electricity generating house EGAT as biggest shareholder16 Phatara Securities Securities trading house Kasikorn Bank’s group17 Somboon Advance Technology Automotive parts18 Muang Thai Life Assurance Life assurance Kasikorn Bank’s group19 Minor International Conglomerate20 Bumrungrad Hospital Health service provider21 Amata Industrial estate22 Unique Mining Services Coal mining23 Pranda Jewelry Jewelry production and export24 PTT* Petroleum refinery and distribution25 Banpu Coal mining26 Prachachart Turakij Business Newspaper27 Matichon Group Printing House and newspaper

Note: aCompanies that are this study’s respondents to interviews or questionnairesSource: Compiled by author

VOL. 9 NO. 1 2013 jSOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY JOURNALj PAGE 75

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