Corporate Social Responsibility Beyond Ethics? The Case of Investor-State Contracts in Albania

Effective Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) can foster mutual benefits, enhance local community well-being, and promote responsible investment, thus contributing to sustainable development. A continuous question that arises in the academic community is the extent to which CSR should go beyond its traditional ethical boundaries to ensure its effectiveness. Economies in transition, which often suffer the need to balance economic growth with social welfare and environmental protection offer an interesting landscape for further research on this question. This paper explores the CSR dimensions beyond ethical considerations in the context of selected Albanian investor-state contracts. While CSR has historically been linked to ethical practices and corporate morality, this research explores whether and, if so, how CSR investor commitments in certain strategic sectors of the Albanian economy extend into binding obligations vis-à-vis the Albanian state and the local communities. It does so by examining specific investor-state agreements, to the extent they are publicly available, as well as by navigating the broader domestic legal framework where such contracts are anchored. This article highlights a progressive normative approach regarding CSR commitments in the Albanian multilayered legislative and contractual context.