Social responsibility of Russian business during economic crisis

• Format: Article
• Language: Russian
• Published: Federal Center of Theoretical and Applied Sociology of the Russian Academy of Sciences 2017-03-01
• Series: Вестник Института социологии
• Subjects: the social responsibility of business; the social responsibility of government; solidarity social responsibility; responsibility before external and internal stakeholders; the social irresponsibility of the business
• Online Access: http:///files/File/Vestnik_2017_20/Vittenberg.pdf

This article is dedicated to analyzing the social responsibility of business (SRB) during the current historical stage, which is characterized by economic crisis. SRB is examined in tight connection with social responsibility of government officials and civic society. According to the author, developing a solidary responsibility among all of its subjects is one of the most important conditions for overcoming the crisis as quickly as possible. In this article considerable attention is paid to analyzing the efforts of the government when it comes to improving the business climate in such aspects as eliminating bureaucratic obstacles which hamper the functioning of businesses, a certain decrease in the tax burden for several categories of small businesses, providing access to infrastructure, etc. The article highlights certain achievements of the government when it comes to these matters, which are reflected in international ratings that evaluate entrepreneurial climate. Meanwhile the article marks certain difficulties and contradictory trends when it comes to improving the business climate in Russia. Cited among them is poor property protection as a result of extensive corporate raiding, unequal relations between business and government, corruptive pressure on businesses. The article examines SRB during crisis based on such key issues as tax payment, relations with internal stakeholders, producing quality products, charity, not to mention that it analyzes the reasons for business’ social irresponsibility. In conclusion, the article states that business’ behavior during crisis is controversial. The leading businesses show socially responsible behavior: they pay taxes, maintain jobs, produce quality products, and implement ecological and charitable projects. Irresponsible business “hides in the shadow”, decreases the net cost of products at the expense of quality, and abandons charitable campaigns. It is concluded that socially responsible behavior of businesses is the key to helping them stay afloat, as well as ushering the country towards stable development.