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The purpose of this paper is to provide an integrated methodology for benchmarking the sustainability of organizations. The fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (FAHP) and technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) methods have been used for this purpose. The FAHP is used to determine the weights of the criteria by decision makers, and the rankings of the alternatives are determined by TOPSIS. The proposed instrument is used to calculate the Sustainable Business Excellence Index (SBEI) and its potential impact on the formulation of firm strategy. To demonstrate the applicability of the model, illustrative examples are presented.

After a careful literature review, a sustainable business excellence framework is created and a fuzzy system is developed to assess firms’ sustainability. Finally, the SBEI is computed.

The results indicate that the suggested fuzzy approach is feasible for benchmarking the sustainability of organizations. It allows the decision makers to express their opinion regarding the importance of criteria and evaluate each alternative and then have this input coordinated in a quantitative fashion.

Practitioners and consultants can use the instrument for conducting quality management benchmarking within and across organizations. Researchers can use the instrument in future studies for further theory development in this area.

As far as the authors are aware, no previous study research has assessed the SBEI of an organization with fuzzy sets. As such, it responds to a number of contemporary challenges in the business excellence theory, most importantly the broad need to identify agile organizations.

Research on corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities and consumer perception of CSR activities is increasing over the recent past. The purpose of this paper is to gain an understanding of the consumer perceptions of CSR activities of banks in India. It provides insights on whether consumers want their banks to take up CSR initiatives and would these perceptions influence their attitude towards the bank.

Self-report questionnaires were personally administered by the researchers and their team. Respondents’ responses were based on their awareness of their bank’s involvement in CSR initiatives. The study uses convenience sampling, given the resource limitations. The research was conducted in the city of Nashik, India during June–October 2015.

The results of the study show that consumer perception towards the CSR activities of the bank influenced their attitude and satisfaction. Though consumers expressed a need for their bank’s taking up CSR initiatives, this need did not influence their attitude towards the bank, contradicting studies in the past. Consumer perception of the bank’s involvement in the CSR activities was moderate, indicating that banks need to increase their communication about the CSR initiatives undertaken by them.

Unique contribution of current research is that the CSR reputation and CSR concern of consumers in the Indian context have been investigated for their influence on consumer attitude. Unlike previous studies, CSR concern does not influence consumer attitude or satisfaction. Findings provide important insights for practitioners and academicians focussing on the banking sector in India.

Little research is reported on consumer perception of CSR in banking sector. Current research tries to fill this gap.