Corporate Philanthropy in the Czech Republic

AbstractLarge corporations make only 0.2% of the total number of companies in the Czech Republic. On the other hand their influence on the society is enormous. This paper deals mainly with large companies that were able to incorporate the philanthropic activities in their business strategy. Based on the analysis of secondary data provided by the companies the aim of this paper is to identify the key areas of corporate philanthropy these companies focus on, describe the common characteristics and find the ways of corporate philanthropy that could be used by small and medium sized companies in the Czech Republic. SMEs have 99.8% in the total amount of companies in the Czech Republic and they employ 68.5% of employees. This fact makes them important and it is necessary to ensure their future competitiveness. Large companies usually focus on a long-term partnership with a certain NGO. The second most often activity is establishment of their own corporate foundation or endowment fund. Most often supported areas are children, family and young people. Large companies also support education. The three areas that were not supported (or just minimally) by the analyzed large companies were animals, homeless and old people. This could be a gap where the small and medium sized companies may fit in. There are two options how to do it. Individually by direct support or individual cooperation, and the second option is to cooperate with other companies from the same field, region or branch in the form of association, joint fund etc. The second way could be more beneficial for both parts – profit and non-profit organizations. These results could serve as a pre-research for the next more extensive study of philanthropy in the Czech Republic

Business Ethics and CSR in Pharmaceutical Industry in the Czech Republic and Hungary?

How do business ethics and CSR form part of pharmaceutical business in the Czech Republic and Hungary? The question was analyzed through empirical studies where surveys were the main tool. The research investigated business ethics, CSR, ethical code, ethical involvement of employees as factors that might be important to achieve ethical behaviour in the pharmaceutical industry. Results showed that, with 69.4% response rate, that Czech and Hungarian original companies are more towards ethical behaviour and the employees know more about the organization they work for. The data were compared with parametric statistical analysis based on Mann-Whitney U calculator

Organic Production as a Key for Sustainable Development in Wine Industry in the Czech Republic

The paper describes the environment sector of organic winery in the Czech Republic and finds opportunities for Czech winegrowers to sustain the industry and contribute to its future development. Organic viticulture has changed dramatically. Organically farmed vineyards formed 4.9% share of the total area of vineyards in the Czech Republic in 2011 and 6.1% in 2012. Czech organic wines have much to offer to consumers. They have received many prestigious awards at international competitions; however the foreknowledge of customers about such wines is very low as these are drunk mostly by regular consumers. That is why a change should be made. The popularity of organic wine is expected to grow mainly in the foreign markets. Although the Czech organic wines have already found their consumers, the need for additional marketing activities that will result in expansion of its portfolio of consumers, are required

SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IN HIGH EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS: EVIDENCE FROM PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES IN CZECH REPUBLIC

The present paper shows results of a qualitative survey of corporate social responsibility in the tertiary sector. An example of faculties of economics of public universities in the Czech Republic has been used for assessment of engagement of HEIs in corporate social responsibility activities in the key area covered by ISO 26 000 standard. HEIs in the Czech Republic are engaged in many CSR activities but these activities are often untargeted and representing by-products of other activities. The main drawbacks of all assessed faculties were discovered in the key area KO-5 – environment. The results for the first key area KO-1- organisation governance show that integration of the CSR concept in HEI strategy substantially defines the level of their overall engagement in corporate socially responsible activities

Millennials’ Awareness and Approach to Social Responsibility and Investment—Case Study of the Czech Republic

We live in a new era with contradictory views on society, industries, and the whole world. Raising consumerism is compensated by raising the responsibility of the new generation, the so-called Millennials. The paper deals with the awareness of Millennials of corporate social responsibility (CSR), and their attitude to sustainable and responsible investment (SRI). The research is focused specifically on students of economically oriented higher education institutions (HEI), studying in the Czech Republic. For the purpose of general awareness of the term CSR, a sample of 1073 HEI students from different institutions was analyzed and evaluated. For the evaluation of their attitude to SRI, 213 respondents from Mendel University in Brno were interviewed. The research brought surprising results—bachelor’s degree students have a better awareness of the term than master’s degree students. This surprising fact can be explained by the fact that CSR courses have been incorporated into studies in recent years. Another important finding from the second research is that 57% of respondents are willing to sacrifice part of their return in the case of an investment in socially responsible instruments. This fact can be used for the design of an investment strategy offered by investment institutions