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Considering the influence of corporate social responsibility (CSR) drivers in corporate behavior and, ultimately, in business and society relationships, this study aims to investigate the CSR drivers in Nepal.

The study employs an exploratory qualitative research design. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 22 executives and managers of listed companies in Nepal. A reflexive thematic analysis approach was used to analyze the data.

Strategic imperatives, coercive factors and moral considerations characterize the major drivers of firms’ CSR practices in Nepal. Specifically, a firm’s reputation, publicity, legal requirements, enlightened shared values and cultural tradition are the main drivers of CSR. Strategic imperatives are the main drivers of CSR for banking and financial institutions, whereas external institutional pressures are the main drivers for other sectors.

Managers can make institutional arrangements for CSR to fulfill their strategic needs and better respond to formal (e.g. legal requirements) and informal (e.g. cultural tradition) institutional factors. Policymakers can incorporate fiscal-economic instruments, such as CSR awards, in CSR-related legal provisions to simultaneously fulfill the strategic needs of the business and social goals of the government.

This study uncovers vivid CSR drivers in a distinct socioeconomic context of Nepal. Likewise, this is perhaps the first research regarding the drivers of CSR, exploring the views from different managerial levels and covering diverse industry sectors in the least developed country contexts like Nepal.

Considering the ongoing debate regarding the roles of business in society, this paper aims to examine the managerial understanding of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in Nepal.

This study uses explanatory sequential design under mixed methods of research. First, the questionnaire survey method was used to collect data from 168 managers of listed companies in Nepal. Second, semistructured interviews were conducted with 20 senior-level managers of listed companies to verify the results obtained from the survey and to gain a deeper understanding of the phenomena.

The survey results show that managerial understanding of CSR is mainly guided by the notions of corporate philanthropy, stakeholder approach and political CSR, respectively. However, the managerial understanding vis-à-vis political CSR and corporate philanthropy were found to be remarkably positively influenced by the firm’s size, whereas the stakeholder perspective was widely held by the managers regardless of their firm’s size. The interview results largely substantiated questionnaire survey findings and further revealed vivid dimensions within the philanthropic approach, stakeholder approach and political CSR.

Given the recent legal provisions vis-à-vis mandatory CSR spending in Nepal, the policymakers may devise and update common core and firm-size-specific informational, fiscal-economic, legal and partnering instruments based on the findings of this study. Besides, companies may go for appropriate institutional arrangements for CSR as needed.

The reaffirmation of conventionally accepted roles and the approval of relatively nascent political roles of business in a distinct socio–political–legal–economic context of Nepal can be an important contribution to the literature.

Contemplating the concerns often expressed by skeptics about the value generated by corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices, this study aims to examine the effects of CSR practices on the firm's reputation and profitability in the distinct socio-economic context of Nepal.

The study used a simple random sampling method in collecting data from 168 listed companies in Nepal. The data were collected using structured questionnaires. Then, hierarchical multiple regression analyses were used to test the stated hypotheses.

Results showed that all types of CSR practices positively affect the firm's reputation and profitability. However, a firm's reputation was better explained by the external CSR practices, and profitability was better explained by the internal CSR practices. Moreover, CSR practices were more strongly linked with the firm's reputation than profitability.

Perceptual data on profitability may be seen as a limitation although it can capture the current profitability situation as well as a future prospect within a single construct.

Practicing managers can consider CSR as an important strategic issue to stay ahead in competition rather than simply a response to regulatory requirements or stakeholder pressures.

Perhaps this is the first study to examine the effects of internal CSR practices, external CSR practices, and aggregated CSR practices separately on the firm's reputation and profitability in the unique socio-economic context of Nepal.

The purpose of this paper is to problematize authenticity and integrity in the context of tourist-based interventions in historic cities through a case study of skewed strategies in urban conservation programs. The paper aims to explore the paradoxes of tourists’ requisites against the heritage management imperatives.

The methodology is a mix of case study and analytical study of theories, literature, and principles related to authenticity and integrity in urban conservation with a focus on tourism.

In the context of historic areas, while tourism is essential for generating the economic support necessary for conserving and managing a heritage site, lopsided strategies challenge the “authenticity” and “integrity” of the place.

Bringing forth the point of the authentic or curated identity, the paper argues for a framework grounded in authenticity and integrity for achieving balance in the management of historic cities.

The paper brings together the subject of authenticity and integrity in the context of tourist-based strategies in historic cities. It highlights the gap in current practices, which often gets into inadvertent consequences of tourists appreciating the intervention that appear to be against the fundamentals of heritage conservation.