Purpose : Extant literature on corporate social responsibility (CSR) provided insights into its antecedents and outcomes; however, more scholarly attention must be given to CSR implementation. India was the first country in the world to adopt the CSR law in 2014; firms coming under the preview of the law were expected first to choose a CSR implementation mode for every CSR project and further report it as part of the yearly reporting. Therefore, the need to understand the various CSR implementation modes increased. This paper addressed this gap first by defining the various CSR implementation modes and then by comparing these modes. This knowledge of CSR implementation modes could help firms choose the right one.

Methodology : Using literature findings and the secondary data from the Indian firm’s annual CSR reporting, we argued that firms mainly use direct, foundation, and collaboration modes to implement their CSR initiatives. Furthermore, we interviewed the CSR leaders of seven publically listed firms to gain more insights into comparing these modes.

Findings : We uncovered the characteristics of various CSR implementation modes. We found these modes differ in governance, CSR focus, control over outcomes, resource availability, and organizational structure. Furthermore, this paper contributed to the domain of CSR implementation by proposing a few research-worthy propositions for scholars to pursue in future research.

Practical Implications : Firms would like to choose a suitable mode of implementation to execute their CSR implementation effectively. Knowledge about key characteristics of these modes could help firms choose suitable CSR implementation modes.

Originality : Unlike prior research on corporate social responsibility implementation, the current work clearly defined the CSR implementation modes with key characteristics.