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Abstract:

The concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become a vital topic for the most researches and scientific controversies, as CSR is a key component of sustainable development of not only industrialized but also of most of the developing countries. The Central Asian countries, as emerging markets, have just begun to take first steps towards perceiving the significance of and implementing the CSR concept. This paper focuses on investigation and identification of specificities of CSR implementation and development in five Central Asian countries: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The main research method used in the paper relies on a comparative analysis of CSR practices in these counties by studying their legal requirements and/or non-binding guidance on CSR as well as finding evidence of CSR implementation by local companies. Besides, the policies of the Central Asian governments on implementation of ESG and SDG principles by the local companies are investigated to evaluate their commitment to the sustainable development issues. We argue whether the governments of the Central Asian countries pursue a policy for CSR development, legally and institutionally, and the businesses follow any CSR best practices. The research findings show that despite the growing interest, the concept of CSR in Central Asia is still developing: only Kazakhstan is leading, but other countries of the region have poor CSR legal and institutional framework. Moreover, the CSR is mostly interpreted ambiguously, particularly it is associated with charity activity of the business. It demonstrates the weak perception of CSR principles among companies operating in Central Asia. The relevance of the findings lays on working out and presenting some policy recommendations as measures that should be undertaken for improvement of CSR practices in all the Central Asian countries.