Going beyond csr - what is pro-socialite for informal sector for business-people

Abstract

This research project explores the concept and practice of pro-social behavior among business owners in India, with a specific focus on the informal sector. While Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has become institutionalized in formal business discourse, it often excludes the everyday, spontaneous acts of social support enacted by small and informal entrepreneurs. Through a mixed-methods qualitative approach, including 24 semi-structured interviews with business owners in Ahmedabad, this study investigates how pro-sociality operates outside formal CSR frameworks and how personal, cultural, and contextual factors shape such behaviour. The findings reveal that informal entrepreneurs engage in a wide range of community-oriented actions, including providing credit to customers, mentoring youth, and donating during crises, often driven by intrinsic motivations, familial values, religious beliefs, and community norms. Formal sector business owners, too, demonstrated individual acts of pro-sociality beyond mandated CSR. Six key themes emerged: intrinsic motivation, reputation and trust, risk management, social learning, helping modes, and structural constraints. The study shows that pro-social behaviour in business is a complex and culturally embedded phenomenon that cannot be fully captured through formal CSR mechanisms. It argues for a broader and more inclusive understanding of ethical business conduct—one that recognizes informal sector practices as legitimate forms of social responsibility. The project contributes to the fields of business ethics, development studies, and CSR by bridging academic theory with lived entrepreneurial experience and by calling for policy, educational, and institutional frameworks that support bottom-up models of pro-social engagement.