Extract

Florina Guadalupe Arredondo Trapero, Verónica del Carmen Maldonado de Lozada† & Alfonso Benito Fraile‡

In recent years, very few topics have captured as much interest among corporations such as Corporate Social Responsibility, which is defined by the European Union as the acquired obligation of a business towards its environment. Even though CSR is not a new topic, more companies are supporting CSR initiatives, such as corporative philanthropy, cause marketing, minority support programs, socially responsible employment and manufacturing – all of which are being done with an important financial and marketing focus.

Since its inception, the Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and Mexico (EUMFTA), signed in 2002, has favored the presence of important European multinationals in Mexico. Furthermore, the progress of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) acquired a significant impulse among multinational companies. It is assumed that different venues of international companies should have different concretions of their CSR depending on the specific characteristics of the country or environment in which they are established.

ALIARSE (2009) and the Mexican Centre for Philanthropy (2009), two of the most important promoters of CSR in Mexico, define CSR as the conscious and congruent commitment to fulfill entirely with the company’s aims, both internal and external, considering the economic, social and environmental expectations of all the participants; denoting respect for people, ethical values, the community and the environment; and finally contributing to the common good (Cajiga, 2009).

The World Economic Forum (2009) has defined CSR as...