Phillip Morris International, Inc.: A Case of Difficulties in Justifying Corporate Social Responsibility

Abstract

In today’s global market environment, a prerequisite for a corporation to align with a practice of corporate social responsibility (CSR) is to have a social contract with its key stakeholders such as society, government, groups, individuals, and other interested parties (Crowther & Aras, 2008). However, there is no agreed-upon definition of CSR, but it can be articulated as a concept whereby commercial and non-commercial entities incorporate social, economic, ecological, and sustainability concerns in their business operations, and that these entities interact ethically with their stakeholders on a voluntary footing (Hamidu, Haron & Amran, 2015). Phillip Morris International (PMI) proclaims that its stance on CSR is strongly correlated with transparency, accountability, and sustainability (PMI, 2017). However, PMI is a corporation that promotes the production of harmful products for human enjoyment and is still seen by society as a controversial corporation (Cohen, 2007). Despite its good intentions, as long as PMI promotes the production of harmful products for consumers, their CSR proclamations will be addressed with skepticism.