IntroductionThere has been a seismic shift in the way businesses market themselves and their respective goods and services. The main reason for this change appears to be the changing consumer base; one that integrates social, environmental and ethical issues into their purchasing decisions. Pressure from these more socially conscious consumers has pushed companies to adopt more robust corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategies in order to not only retain customers, but also attract new ones. It now seems that in almost every advertisement there is a mention of the company's CSR efforts. Over the past few decades, large corporations have shifted their focus from a primarily profit-driven orientation to one in which CSR has become integrated into their corporate culture. Although an increased emphasis on CSR will almost certainly improve a company's image in a positive way, whether this will equate to real success in terms of market share and/or profits remains speculative. Each company's CSR efforts will determine how the public perceives these efforts and whether they are simply attempts to generate more revenue or sincere efforts to make a difference. CSR has been defined in different ways. CSR is generally understood as the way in which a company manages to balance or integrate economic, environmental and social imperatives while meeting the expectations of shareholders and stakeholders. It is about meeting the needs of the present and ensuring that the needs of future generations are not compromised (Gupta and Sharma, 2009, p. 397). Also consider the following definitions of CSR (Schwartz & Saiia, 2012, p. 4): - The idea of ​​social responsibilities assumes that the company does not only have economic and financial responsibilities...... e and a positive reputation. But all of these programs are useless unless they serve the true purpose of a business and as stated earlier, that is to provide a return on investment (profit) to the owners/shareholders. Responsible companies will take a balanced approach; non-responsible people will go too far in one direction at their peril. References Gupta, S. and Sharma, N. (2009). CSR – A business opportunity. The Indian Journal of Industrial Relations, 44(3), 396-401. Retrieved from http://web.b.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=10&sid=635dc40f-c062-4efb-a6c9-0a58e82991e5%40sessionmgr114&hid=118&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=bth&AN=3 6 875566Schwartz, MS , & SAIIA, D. (2012). Should businesses go “beyond profits”? Milton Friedman v. Broad CSR. Review of Business and Society, 117(1)(1-31), 4. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8594.2011.00397.x