CSR activities in the banking sector in Poland

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) may be analyzed according to various approaches. Stakeholder theory is one of them, focusing on corporate relationships with stakeholders. The CSR priorities are influenced by the characteristics of the examined economic activity. Banking serves an important social function, and its specificity causes some stakeholder groups to be more preferred than others. The objective of the paper is to analyze the activities within the frame of CSR in the banking sector from the perspective of stakeholder theory. In the paper, a research hypothesis is stated that the companies functioning in the Polish banking sector, in terms of CSR strategy, treat shareholders, customers and employees as a priority. The paper is based on the analysis of data published by 11 banks on their primary websites. The examined banks are listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. The basis for answering the question of whether the hypothesis may be positively verified involves a number of indications concerning the area of activities embedded in CSR, directed to 6 groups of stakeholders, as well as the precision of their presentation (description). The following research methods were used: document analysis, morphological analysis and descriptive analysis. The analysis of source documents enables confirmation of the stated hypothesis. However, it does not allow for determining to what extent the CSR activities declared are fulfilled. The results of analyses may serve as a benchmark for other companies, leading to the introduction of CSR guidelines, both in the banking sector and in other sectors.