Corporate social responsibility application in the healthcare sector : a bibliometric analysis and synthesis

Abstract

This article reviews the literature to understand the current state of corporate social responsibility (CSR) application and communication in the healthcare sector. First, the authors provide a bibliometric analysis that quantifies the number of scientific publications regarding CSR in healthcare of the last ten years (2007-2016). Then, they present the theoretical framework. Starting from a brief summary of CSR literature, the authors explain peculiarities of the healthcare sector and contextualize the CSR debate in the healthcare context, identifying its current application and gaps. The authors review not only the application of CSR in healthcare but also analyze the topic of CSR communication, as well as the tools adopted by healthcare organizations to communicate their CSR activities in this sector.