Abstract :
Milton Friedman’s often cited pronouncement that the “social responsibility of business begins and
ends with increasing profits” implies that social issues are best left for anyone but business. Since the
international and national organizations have decreased their impact on human development and
consequently their funds reduced, it is logical; therefore, in the absence of public funds, or even in
partnership with existing institutions, that business must play a greater role in human development
issues than ever before. The present paper aims at providing a comprehensive interpretation of the
corporate social responsibility (CSR) within the specifics of the Bulgarian legislation and how it finds
its practical implementation among companies operating in the market.
The first part formalizes on the specific areas with practical examples for social responsibility in doing
business. In the second part a concept is proposed of the institutional framework within which the
characteristics of the socially responsible businesses find real support and application. The paper
corroborates the necessity for detailed analysis of the relationship between a social model and practices
of the socially responsible business in Bulgaria and definition of how the Bulgarian legislation
stimulates the entrepreneurial solutions to social challenges. At the same time, both excessive idealism
and formal simplification of its use can be discerned in this concept. In practice, however, socially
responsible business is not only a good idea, but also the presence of some circumstances that could
materialize it into concrete results.
