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This paper aims to understand how Italian banks are supporting their local economies in facing the current financial crisis through corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategies.

This paper is the result of research conducted through multiple case studies to identify best practices in the Italian financial sector.

The research shows that banks are working in the CSR field, not only with a compliance approach, but trying also to support the local economies where they operate.

Only a limited number of banks were studied and the research relied on banks' web sites and documentation – which may be affected by self‐reporting bias.

The paper presents an example of how banks can integrate societal need in their daily business, improving the context and by that improving also their reputation.

The paper illustrates that the current financial crisis offers banks the possibility to rethink their societal role and move from a compliance approach to CSR to a more strategic one.

This paper aims to understand which strategies a multinational can adopt in emerging countries where it operates towards local communities, in terms of sustainability.

This paper is the result of a two‐year research, conducted through multiple case studies, with a special focus on emerging markets (Brazil, South Africa, Pakistan, India, Argentina), and the professional experience of the author as international stakeholder engagement manager in ENI.

The research identified a 2×2 matrix with four possible strategies coming from the multiple case study analysis and depending on the internal focus of CSR and the external perception of business through local communities. The research also shows how a company can adopt a portfolio of those strategies.

This paper presents a model to be adopted by multinationals both to have the picture of their situation at a certain date and to plan their interventions in emerging countries.

In the literature of CSR there is still an area to be developed, which is the application of CSR concept in emerging countries.