Social Responsibility Journal

Purpose – The purpose of this research is to understand the attitudes of individuals towards corporate social responsibility (CSR) in Kazakhstan and identify the benefits that CSR activities may bring to business and its stakeholders.

Design/methodology/approach – Theoretical underpinnings for the research are drawn from existent literature on CSR. A total of 120 questionnaires were collected, 68 percent of which were filled in online, the rest were answered manually by the respondents.

Findings – The results suggest that environmental friendliness, legal responsibility and stewardship principle are considered to be very important in Kazakhstan. The attitudes towards economic responsibility are significantly affected by age and working experience. The application of Carroll's Pyramid of CSR identified that the hierarchy of responsibilities in Kazakhstan exists in the following order: legal, ethical, economic, and philanthropic. The primary payback of CSR is improved company image and reputation.

Research limitations/implications – As the concept of CSR is relatively new in Kazakhstan misunderstanding of CSR principles might have led to wrong perceptions and attitudes and distortion of the research results. The sample is not representative of the population as a whole and cannot be generalized.

Practical implications – The paper is a valuable contribution to the development and promotion of CSR principles in Kazakhstan which provides an insight into the current situation in the country. Managers and policy makers may revise their strategies and policies with the expectations of the general public.

Originality/value – The paper contributes to the limited scope of literature on the attitudes towards CSR in Kazakhstan.