THE FIVE TIERS OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY: NAVIGATING FROM RISK MANAGEMENT TO SUSTAINABILITY LEADERSHIP

Abstract

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has become not only a marginal practice but also a strategic necessity that needs models that portray its dynamic development that outgrows conventional typologies. This paper will create a five-level CSR maturity model, which will chart the journey of organizations in the basic compliance to leadership in sustainability. Based on a conceptual analysis of CSR literature, maturity models and current corporate cases, patterns of organization behaviour, governance and value generation are synthesized between CSR stages. The ensuing framework indicates a continuum Risk Management, Operational Efficiency, Stakeholder Integration, Strategic Transformation, and Sustainability Leadership, with each of the concerned being characterized by different logics, capabilities, KPIs and transition issues. It states that the maturity of CSR demands changes in the approach, culture, supply chain interactions, and financing arrangements. The model redefines CSR as a living strategic process, which provides organizations with a diagnostic practice and a roadmap towards becoming regenerative and purpose-driven leadership.