Corporate Responsibility: A Business Driver or an Ethical Obligation?

If you look up “CSR” on Google you will be directed to more that 24 million pages while the corresponding figure in 2006 was 16 million and in 2000 just under one million. This does not mean that CR is new (in fact it has existed for as long as corporations have) but it certainly indicates that the term is attracting increased attention.

So what is the reason for this exponential increase? Is it simply increasing pressure from NGOs, the escalating importance of CR to the public, the anticipated involvement of government or the hesitant interest of investors?