Corporate Social Responsibility of Commercial Banks in Serbia: Reporting Practice, Implemented Activities and Perception of Stakeholders
Korporativna društvena odgovornost poslovnih banaka u Srbiji: praksa izveštavanja, sprovedene aktivnosti i percepcija stejkholdera
Abstract
The contemporary phase of marketing development emphasizes the increasingly important role of economic entities as an integral part of society and a catalyst for positive changes. Researchers mainly focus their attention on large companies and sectors that significantly impact the local community and society. In that sense, this article addresses the Serbian banking sector. The authors analyzed the corporate social responsibility activities of 24 banks and their reporting practices. The analysis included a study of the content of publicly available documents and reports and news published on banks‘ websites and Facebook profiles. In addition, the authors explored stakeholders‘ perceptions of socially responsible banking activities. A survey of 30 banks stakeholder representatives showed: what are the critical issues in local communities; what are the respondents‘ attitudes about banks and the way they operate in Serbia; to what extent have stakeholders noticed the social marketing activities of commercial banks; what is the attitude of stakeholders regarding the issue of rewarding banks for socially responsible behavior. After reviewing and discussing the main findings, the authors provide key recommendations and possible directions for further research.
Apstrakt
Savremena faza razvoja marketinga naglašava sve značajniju ulogu privrednih subjekata kao sastavnog dela društva i katalizatora pozitivnih promena. Naročito se pažnja istraživača usmerava na velike kompanije, kao i na one iz sektora koji imaju veći uticaj na lokalnu zajednicu i društvo u celini. U tom smislu rad je fokusiran na bankarski sektor u Srbiji. Autori su analizirali aktivnosti 24 banke na polju društvene odgovornosti i njihovu praksu izveštavanja o tome. Analiza je uključivala proučavanje sadržaja javno dostupnih dokumenata i izveštaja, kao i vesti objavljenih na veb sajtovima i Fejsbuk profilima banaka. Osim toga, autori su istraživali percepciju stejkholdera o društveno odgovornim aktivnostima banaka. Intervjuisanje 30 predstavnika stejkholdera banaka, pokazalo je: koji su ključni problemi u lokalnim zajednicama; kakvi su stavovi ispitanika o bankama i načinu na koji posluju u Srbiji; u kojoj meri su stejkholderi primetili aktivnosti društvenog marketinga poslovnih banaka; kakav je stav stejkholdera po pitanju nagrađivanja banaka za društveno odgovorno ponašanje. Nakon prikaza i diskusije rezultata, date su ključne preporuke i pravci daljih istraživanja.
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