Title: Delineating philanthropy and responsibility in Parsi businesses: an analysis across timelines

Authors: Srushti Govilkar; Sarika Srivastava; Ruchi Tewari

Addresses: Gujarat Technological University Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India ' Graduate School of Management Studies, Gujarat Technological University, Gujarat, India ' MICA, Ahmedabad, India; GTU, Gujarat, India

Abstract: Acts to social welfare (read responsibility) have been integral to Indian ethos across different religion-cultural segments. This study focuses on Parsis, a minority community but highly active in business activities. It traces their historical and cultural lineage of philanthropy and social development and how it has contributed to nation-building. This paper identifies the motivators of responsibility in Parsi-owned business units. It also brings out the Indianness of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and elucidates the role of communication in promoting responsibility in businesses owned by members of the Parsi community. A systematic content analysis of biographies of leading Parsi entrepreneurs is made to bring out shreds of evidence. The paper discusses the current stance of mandatory CSR against the voluntariness of philanthropy and charity practiced earlier.

Keywords: responsibility; philanthropy; communication; Indian culture; Parsi; corporate social responsibility; CSR.

DOI: 10.1504/IJICBM.2025.150427

International Journal of Indian Culture and Business Management, 2025 Vol.36 No.4, pp.448 - 465

Received: 05 Jan 2023
Accepted: 28 Sep 2023
Published online: 13 Dec 2025 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article