The study applies a novel two-dimensional model, in the context of an alternative philosophical perspective of corporate social responsibility (CSR), to investigate the nature of CSR as perceived by 199 retail banking consumers in rural Australia. Based on a factor and cluster analysis of the levels of contentment/discontentment of banking organisations' social responsibility as perceived by consumers, the results indicate that the model is useful in capturing the two most important philosophical positions of CSR ('the business of business is business' and 'corporate social responsibility is the business of business'). The results have important implications for banking organisations in relation to their social responsibilities to rural customers, which are highlighted in the paper.