Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainable Business Development in Germany

Due to the increasing market globalization and public concerns over the effects of businesses' activities the interest in the principles of sustainable business development is growing all over the world. Therefore, the possibility of achieving the managerial effectiveness while maintaining high standards of corporate social responsibility (CSR) has nowadays become a priority for many entrepreneurs. The implementation of CSR programs brings benefits to all stakeholders of a business, strengthens a company's competitive position on the market and improves it's image. Despite the fact that most Western companies started to implement the principles of CSR quite recently, at the end of the 20th century, this strategy has become an essential component of the German economy and has been raised to a rank of a nation idea.