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The purpose of this paper is to analyse the citations of scientific research on the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) from 1970 to 2014. In particular, several interconnected research questions were investigated: How did the conceptualisation of CSR change from 1970 to 2014? What is the general direction of the change? How does Islamic CSR emerge?

An in-depth analysis was performed with the use of the data analysis tool available in the Web of Science. The study categorises CSR into four areas: business ethics and corporate governance; management; marketing; and others. The first three categories were based on the Chartered Association of Business Schools’ Academic Journal Guide 2010 and 2015 (UK).

The findings reveal that 67.19 per cent articles have been published based on the ranked journals of Academic Journal Guide 2010 and 2015. The findings of the study will help to inform future areas of CSR. The top journals which published most articles from Academic Journal Guide 2015 are Journal of Business Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management.

The findings suggest that the remit of sustainability from Islamic perspective is wider. Islamic marketing, as an area, remains largely in need of empirical research. The business communities should successfully integrate Muslim communities into their marketing strategies.

To the best of the knowledge, this is the first study to explore citation analysis of general CSR literature and Islamic CSR. The study finds that there has been an increase in interest in this subject of CSR and Islam in the recent years. Future research is needed on theory and methodological analysis of general CSR field and Islamic CSR field.

In response to the scarcity of research on Islamic corporate social responsibility (CSR), the purpose of this paper is to explore how young Saudi consumers perceive CSR from an Islamic perspective. The study is focused on Saudi Arabia, a Muslim country, and the largest exporter of petroleum in the world.

The present study uses a qualitative methodology with 34 in-depth interviews undertaken in two major Saudi cities (Tabouk and Riyadh).

Utilising social contract theory, this study contributes to the literature by developing an Islamic “CSR Tree” model (which consists of three parts: “roots”, “trunk”, and “crown”) to increase the understanding of Islamic CSR (i-CSR) and consumer behaviour. The roots are hidden, while the trunk and crown are visible. In particular, private social responsibility (the roots of the CSR Tree) incorporating Sadaqa, or values and intention, is the fundamental component on which organisations should base their CSR strategy from an Islamic perspective. The study also reveals that internal, external, and private social responsibilities are connected, and all are dependent on each other. The higher the level of private social responsibility exhibited, the higher the level of external social responsibility.

According to the CSR Tree model presented in this study, an organisation should avoid Riya (showing off) as this would represent shirk or idolatry, which is the opposite of Tawhid. The findings are particularly relevant for advancing the concept of i-CSR and for considering complex perspectives less travelled in the CSR literature. The study suggests that the best strategy for an organisation wishing to pursue an i-CSR agenda would be to balance internal and external responsibilities, and to bear in mind that private responsibility should be the motivation for action, and that CSR should be applied for the benefit of society.