Evaluating Barriers to CSR in Indian Service Organizations: A Fuzzy Dematel Based Approach

Abstract

Section 135 of the Indian Companies Act of 2014 legally mandated large corporates to implement and report on social development work as corporate social responsibility (CSR). The regulatory changes made CSR an integral part of Indian organizations’ business plans and an important metric to assess an organization’s goodwill. However, several barriers have been observed to act as a roadblock to successfully implementing CSR in Indian service organizations. The current study identified and prioritized a set of significant barriers to the implementation of CSR. The study used the MCDM of Fuzzy DEMATEL to prioritize the identified barriers. The findings of the study suggest that ‘lack of financial resources’, ‘support from the top management’ and ‘lack of skills and knowledge’ were the most significant barriers for the Indian services organizations. The study is expected to contribute to the literature on CSR by providing a list of barriers to implementation and their relative influence when regulatory compulsion leads to CSR. For CSR managers, it aids in the decision-making process by understanding and addressing the barriers, easing the process of successfully implementing CSR in Indian service organizations.