Abstract

"The Tata Group as the Pioneer of the Values of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)"

Abhijit Roy, University of Scranton (roya2@scranton.edu)

I trace the history of the evolution of corporate social responsibility (CSR) as a domain in business and then demonstrate how the founder, Jamshetji Tata focused on CSR even before many of his Western counterparts. The evolution of CSR practices in Tata Group over the last century are addressed from the company's founding through the end of the twentieth century. The Tata's position in the contemporary global business environment is also discussed followed by implications for the future of the company.

The Tata Corporation in India begun by Jamshetji Tata in the 1860s had the inscription, Humata, Hukta, Huvarsta, the simple essence of Zoroastrianism which meant “good thoughts, good words, and good deeds,” as the motto on the crest of the railing of the headquarters of the company. He ensured that his employees and customers were treated well. Later, in the twentieth century, under the stewardship of J.R.D. Tata, and later Ratan Tata the concept of social responsibilities was expanded beyond serving people to the environment. He felt that industrial ventures such as theirs had to extend support not just to the human beings, but also to the land, the forests, the waters and to the creatures that inhabit them.
The earliest corporations of the 19th century such as the Carnegie, the Rockefeller’s and the J.P. Morgan’s paid very little attention to social responsibility issues. This research uses a historical research to track the evolution of CSR programs with the growth of this business house.