Abstract:

This study aims to trace the evolution of philanthropy towards CSR and to reach an elucidating scheme about the current context and contemporary practices in Turkey. The evolution of the concept of philanthropy is evaluated regarding the period of Ottoman Empire, the Republic of Turkey, the development of the private sector, and finally the influence of globalization. Accordingly the paper concluded that the historical evolution of philanthropy in Turkey brings about a scheme in which corporate philanthropy and CSR perspectives coexist. The contemporary practices such as awarding, CSR reporting and the signing of CSR standards are claimed to be reflections of CSR perspective. On the other side, philanthropy carries on to be influential to some extent in a corporate character, in the practices of the companies.

Keywords: