CSR in Clusters: Cluster Social Responsibility

Abstract

The aim of the article is to identify factors promoting and hindering the implementation of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in a cluster. The analysis is based on the literature of the subject and desk research on clusters, as well as studies by the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development (PARP), the European Commission, selected clusters and the ECCP platform. Factors promoting and hindering the implementation of the CSR concept were analysed at three levels: macro – focusing on the cluster-society relationship; meso – at the level of relations between cluster members; and micro in relation to individual enterprises. The research shows that favourable and unfavourable factors co-exist, which limits the possibilities of implementing the CSR concept in a cluster. Moreover, the concept of CSR at the macro level, in overloaded clusters, requires further elaboration and well-established cooperation of the dominant stakeholders in order to eliminate social problems.