Abstract:

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability efforts are of increasing importance to consumers when making purchasing decisions. The telecommunications industry is one of the most heavily regulated industries in the DACH-countries (Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Liechtenstein), with only a few participating companies generating the highest revenues. This example will be used to examine the dynamics of CSR practice in an oligopolistic market. Despite the increasing importance, there are hardly any studies on the CSR practice of Mobile Network Operator (MNO) in the DACH-countries. Therefore, their CSR strategies and activities in practice shall be analysed and analysed for similarities, differences and trends. In the first step, a literature review was conducted to identify research on the topic and all Mobile Network Operator (MNO) in the DACH-countries were identified. Subsequently, the CSR reporting of the individual companies since 2017 was analysed concerning CSR activities. MNO in the DACH-countries take their social responsibility seriously and practice diverse and comprehensive CSR strategies. Health and mobile radiation exposure is an essential element in all CSR strategies. Furthermore, the topics of sustainability, energy efficiency, climate and environment protection, infrastructure development, diversity, occupational safety and health, data protection and security, protection of children and minors and digital literacy and digital inclusion are essential elements of CSR in MNO. The mobile phone industry in DACH-countries shows exemplarily how the dynamics of CSR practice in an oligopolistic market works.