Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has recently assumed strategic significance in the industrial world for companies and governments alike. In emerging countries that seek to build vital economies, CSR has taken on an added value. Increasingly, there is the understanding that national development and CSR are characteristically intertwined. Indeed, it has become clear that developing nations will not be able to move forward without the purposeful engagement of corporations in societal affairs and their active contribution to capacity building. The underlying reasoning is that the competitive position and the national standing of a country and the well being of its citizens are inextricably linked to environmental, technological and competency challenges. These mounting challenges can only be managed through corporate initiatives in partnership with government.

The Arab countries are no exception. Governments in the Arab world have in recent decades espoused certain tenets of CSR. In particular, there has been increasing emphasis on environmental sustainability, water conservation and healthy living. The Arab Forum for Environment and Development (AFED) has underscored the major challenges that Arab countries face. In a 2011 report, it concluded that, given mounting challenges, "transitioning to the Green Economy is not only an option for the Arab region; rather it is an obligation to secure a proper path to sustainable development."3 The report identified Saudi Arabia as one of the pioneering countries on issues related to urban planning, organic agriculture and water conservation, among others.

This study is designed to examine the nature of CSR and how this evolving concept is taking root in an emerging oil-rich country like Saudi Arabia. The study explores managers' and non-traditional students' (employees) perception of CSR. The findings will shed light on how companies in the private sector understand CSR and its dimensions. The results and analysis will enable both policy makers and researchers to tackle issues that are essential for development, while clarifying the role of the private sector socially and economically in the country. Indeed, no business issue other than CSR bridges the divide between the government and the business community. After years of depending heavily on the government to accelerate economic growth, the private sector has begun to evaluate its social and development roles...

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