Corporate social responsibility practices in the pharmaceutical industry

2008 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 306-315 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan D. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Pharmaceutical Industry ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Corporate Social

scholarly journals Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) of Innovative Pharmaceutical Corporations. The Case of BIOGEN

2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 45-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janina Witkowska
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Pharmaceutical Industry ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Corporate Philanthropy ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Orphan Drugs ◽  
Pharmaceutical Firms ◽  
Life Saving ◽  
Corporate Social

The aim of this paper is to discuss the common features and specificity of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) practices of innovative transnational corporations (TNCs) acting in the pharmaceutical industry. The innovativeness of pharmaceutical firms is understood here as their ability to make a breakthrough in the treatment of rare, incurable diseases. The examination of the issue leads to the conclusion that the specificity of CSR in this industry is related to the contradiction between the economic and social/ethical aspects of innovation processes in this field. A key issue of CSR in the innovative pharmaceutical industry seems to be the pricing of drugs, especially orphan and ultra‑orphan drugs, resulting in patients from less developed countries having limited access to life‑saving medicines or those that improve the quality of life. Corporations use their monopolistic position to set extremely high prices. However, without the market/marketing exclusivity offered to pharmaceutical firms by the law, orphan drugs would probably not be developed, produced and commercialized. Traditional CSR practices (corporate philanthropy, community and neighborhood programs, volunteerism etc.) cannot be treated as sufficient ‘compensation’ for the high prices of medicines. Real, true CSR in the innovative pharmaceutical industry requires either abandoning or reducing extreme monopolistic privileges and offering medicines for rare diseases at lower prices.

Consistencies and discrepancies in corporate social responsibility reporting in the pharmaceutical industry

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 333-364 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mert Demir ◽  
Maung Min
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Pharmaceutical Industry ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Accurate Information ◽  
Pharmaceutical Companies ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Reporting Practices ◽  
Csr Reporting ◽  
Corporate Social

Purpose This paper aims to examine the consistencies and discrepancies in corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting by analyzing the CSR reports of pharmaceutical companies. Despite the major role pharmaceutical companies play in the CSR field, our knowledge of the extent to which their disclosures provide comprehensive, material, credible and accurate information on their actual performances is limited because of a lack of sufficient literature on the CSR reporting practices of pharmaceutical companies. Design/methodology/approach The authors present a literature review that serves as the basis to develop the two key research questions: Do pharmaceutical companies publish comprehensive CSR reports? Are company reports that cover more material issues more comprehensive? Using the information on material CSR topics provided by the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) and CSR reporting quality scores by the CSR-Sustainability Monitor®, the authors analyzed the CSR reports of the world’s 15 leading pharmaceutical companies. A total of 11 material topics from SASB were mapped onto the corresponding contextual elements in the CSR-Sustainability Monitor. The Monitor evaluates CSR reports published by the world’s largest companies in terms of the degree of transparency and external verification of reporting. Findings The analyses revealed that while the pharmaceutical industry outperforms other industries in terms of the overall comprehensiveness of reporting, certain discrepancies exist among these companies in the content of their disclosures. Specifically, pharmaceutical companies beat the averages on multiple key CSR topics. However, while disclosures on mature areas such as environment and labor relations show some level of standardization, those focusing particularly on sensitive areas such as human rights and supply chain are far from being standardized. The authors also find that CSR reports that do not include all of SASB’s material topics are just as comprehensive as those that do. A detailed analysis of US and non-US companies separately further revealed that this result is valid for both groups of companies. Research limitations/implications Considering the voluntary nature of CSR reporting, pharmaceutical companies still resort to selective disclosure techniques to highlight their achievements in areas where they feel more confident while leaving out others that can have potential negative consequences on the company. These results underscore the evolving nature of CSR reporting in the pharmaceutical industry and call for more attention and further investigation from managers and researchers alike. Originality/value The originality and value of the research show that despite its rapid growth and wide recognition by different segments of society and business as an effective and promising concept, CSR reporting has not yet reached a point where its expected benefits are realized. Focusing on the disclosure side of the story, this paper tries to identify the extent to which the pharmaceutical industry appropriately addresses increasing societal demand for enhanced transparency on its sustainable business policies and practices.

FEATURES

2013 ◽  
Vol 17 (06) ◽  
pp. 35-52
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Pharmaceutical Industry ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
International Research ◽  
Access To Medicines ◽  
Social Responsibilities ◽  
Community Benefits ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
Corporate Social Responsibilities

Hospitals' Community Benefits. The Question of Fair Benefits in International Research. Access to Medicines and Corporate Social Responsibilities of the Pharmaceutical Industry. Corporate Social Responsibility of the Pharmaceutical Industry in Solidaristic Terms.

scholarly journals Cultural Influences on Corporate Social Responsibility

2010 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-60
Author(s):  
Jain Mathew ◽  
Jyothi Kumar
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Pharmaceutical Industry ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Cultural Influences ◽  
The West ◽  
Pharmaceutical Industries ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
Policies And Practices

To date, research that demonstrates what Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) actually means in terms of policies and practices in the pharmaceutical industries is scarce. Similarly, research that shows understanding or compares the cultural influences of the East and the West on CSR in the pharmaceutical industry is also scarce.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document