Corporate Social Responsibility and Access to Finance 

The modern level of development of the world economy predetermines the perspective development of entrepreneurship, an integral part of which is the special philosophy of business, interpreted as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

CSR itself - is a company strategy that takes into account the interests of its own employees and business in general, as well as contributing to the socio-economic development of society and aimed at improving the ecological environment, also called corporate sustainability, sustainable business, corporate citizenship, responsible business or corporate conscience.

Being involved in CSR means that in the ordinary course of business, the company works in a way that improves society and the environment, and does not make a negative contribution to society and environment. CSR is a very broad concept that addresses many and diverse topics, such as human rights, corporate governance, health and safety, environmental impact, working conditions, and contributions to economic development. The main goal of CSR is to promote change towards sustainability.

More and more investors include environmental and social considerations in their investment decisions. Growing attention on corporate social responsibility on the part of investors raised the question of its financial influence. There are many arguments in the scientific literature confirming that the effectiveness of CSR will affect the market value of firms. Good CSR performance can improve productivity and financial performance, because implies good relations with the main stakeholders of the firm. Moreover, Hart, Porter and Linde and Rousseau and Fouts explain in their works shows that good CSR indicators can provide a competitive advantage by increasing innovation potential. The effectiveness of CSR can also create value by developing intangible assets. Satisfying the expectations of interested parties, driven by growing awareness of CSR, firms create reputational capital and increase their social legitimacy, which can help improve sales and increase customer loyalty or allow better quality employees to be attracted.

Link between corporate social responsibility and access to finance

Among scientists and practitioners, there is a growing interest in the policies and practices of companies in the field of CSR. Some researchers also suggested that by investing in corporate social initiatives, firms tend to expand their access to external financing, such as bank loans, debt, and equity. A study conducted by Sustainability Limited has shown that companies investing in corporate social responsibility initiatives in less developed communities have several opportunities to generate income, both in traditional markets and in emerging economies, as this leads to access to resources.

Researching stakeholder engagement can affect the relationship between CSR and access to finance among publicly registered companies. success in the field of CSR will depend on the management of the firm’s relations with its key stakeholders, because the creation and development of such relationships help firms gain access to external resources. Other researchers, based on the risk reduction theory, argued that the improvement of social indicators minimizes the risks of business operations by creating positive moral capital among stakeholders.

A stakeholder in an organization is any group or individual who can influence or depend on the achievement of the goals of the organization.

The study is motivated by the fact that Small and Medium- sized Enterprises (SME) growth, which is necessary for the prosperity of both developed and developing countries, is hindered by access to external financing. SMEs recognized as worldwide an important source of employment because they make up a large part of business around the world .

Social responsible firms or organizations less volatile and risky because they in good position to avoid burden of negative financial consequences. For example, taxes, fines or damages. Also they can easier access to funds.

Here another reason to get access to finance by CSR. Nowadays, Socially Responsible (SR) investment is popular by as an appropriate substitute and complement to usual investments. Socially responsible investments are the philosophy and practice of making strategic investment decisions by integrating financial and non- financial considerations, which includes personal values, environmental concepts, social requirements and corporate governance issues. Hence, it is hypothesized that:

-Corporate social responsibility practices are positively related to access to finance.

-There is a significant positive relationship between stakeholder engagement and access to finance.

-Stakeholder engagement mediates the relationship between CSR and access to finance.

-Corporate social responsibility: a study of Kazakhstan corporate sector.

In Kazakhstan corporate social responsibility also plays important role. I found research where Kazakh?British Technical University students do analyze. Main purpose was to analyze the opinions of Kazakh employees, customers and the general public about their companies' socially responsible actions.

They carefully reviewed relevant literature on corporate social responsibility, using well-structured questionnaires and informal face-to-face interviews with 50 Kazakhstan companies from officials working in both the manufacturing and services sectors, the study analyzed CSR for Kazakhstani owners or shareholders, employees, customers, lenders and suppliers, the general public or the community as a whole, and the government. For cross-checking, a separate study was also conducted in the document to collect the opinions of 100 employees, 100 clients and 100 members of the public. These collected data were analyzed using the SPSS and Microsoft Excel software packages.

In result Kazakhstani companies have expressed disagreements in almost all areas of the stakeholders' activities due to the current economic crisis. As for consumers, only 68 percent of companies recognized the provision of efficient after-sales service, and 62 percent promised to only extend friendly service. Most importantly, only 58 percent of Kazakhstan’s business community admitted that they adhere to fair trade policies. As for cross-checking, a scant 8.57% of employees were not satisfied with the policies of the companies, 12.86% of customers thought they were being exploited, and another 11.20% of the general public were not satisfied with the social actions of Kazakhstani companies.

Conclusion

In general CSR initiatives are able to attract funding regardless of whether these actions are directed through stakeholders. Firms or business organizations which pursuing CSR also tend to involve their stakeholders in the work. This is clearly implies that CSR initiatives provide a platform for broader networking opportunities with company stakeholders. Although only CSR efforts had a positive relationship with access to finance, mediation analysis clearly showed that stakeholder engagement partially mediates the relationship between CSR and access to finance.

In business sphere an increasing number of CEOS consider Corporate Social Responsibility to be strategically important, and where the general public increasingly values or even requires transparency. Here managers plays important role, managers capable of developing successful strategies and expanding CSR, productively interacting with key stakeholders can bring benefits to their companies in the long time. Such benefits in the form of improved access to finance can be the basis for the long term win strategy and sustainable competitive advantage.     

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