Social Responsibility as a Key Competence for Ensuring Sustainable Development of Enterprises

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to substantiate the relevance of forming an effective partnership between business and public organizations to ensure sustainable development, using the concept of social responsibility (CSR) as a key competence. The competencies of modern companies allow shaping the strategic development of an enterprise as an open system, taking into account the impact of environmental, social and economic factors in compliance with the concept of social responsibility, which positively affects consumer loyalty, corporate reputation, satisfaction and trust of business partners, ensures the implementation of a sustainable development strategy. The study used general scientific and special methods of system-structural analysis and synthesis to determine the relationship between sustainable development, sustainable development strategy, social responsibility and CSR; method of comparison – to determine the motives of business in CSR and the factors that contribute to the attractiveness of public organizations (POs) in relation to business expectations; and systematization method – to determine the benefits that business receives from cooperation with POs. Based on the results of the literature review, the author distinguishes the levels of social responsibility (personal, enterprise, public, national, global); goals and objectives of corporate social responsibility and its relationship with the sustainable development strategy. It is found that the highest level of CSR is charitable activity. The research has shown the feasibility and necessity of partnership between business and public organizations. When selecting partners for cooperation in the implementation of socially important initiatives, it is advisable to rely on the research of the ESG transparency index of Ukrainian companies and choose partners with a higher level of information disclosure according to the criteria of «CSR Policy» and «Integration of Sustainable Development Goals into the CSR strategy/company goals (commitments)». Partnership cooperation between business and public organizations helps to speed up the decision-making process and gives more confidence that their support will be used properly. Prospects for further research include assessing the effectiveness of the implementation of the enterprise’s CSR strategy and adapting the use of ecological, social and governance (ESG) sustainability assessment indicators to the conditions of Ukraine.

Keywords

• competence
• social responsibility
• corporate social responsibility
• sustainable development
• sustainable development strategy
• public organization
• charity