CSR Research: Corporate Citizenship

Researchers examined 35 earlier reputation studies to understand what factors affect the building and repairing of company reputations. Understanding the foundations of a reputation is critical to its successful restoration after a damaging event.

In a study of consumer and employee responses to corporate citizenship initiatives, researchers found that consumers and employees go through similar processes in understanding corporate citizenship and need to understand different aspects of the firm’s citizenship commitments. It also finds that employees often have a low awareness of a firm’s programs, making it difficult for the company to harness them as ambassadors for their companies’ efforts. As consumers learn about initiatives, the study finds, they tend to look for transparency about company motives.

This Stanford Social Innovation Review opinion piece argues that the ideal civil society would blend the best of an American entrepreneurial style with an approach that leaves governing to government, business to business, and advocates for all sectors to “cooperate for the greater benefit of all.”

During a major economic downturn firms that can maintain or improve favorable reputations across many stakeholder groups are better able to maintain or increase value and are more attractive to investors, according to research findings presented in an article in the Journal of Product and Brand Management.

The CSR debate continues with prominent management academics exploring the issues. The California Management Review featured an article by Aneel Karnani and another co-authored by Sandra Waddock and Pietra Rivoli in its Winter 2011 issue.

This study found that cause related marketing allows firms to link philanthropy with strategic marketing goals, however, strong relationships need to both illustrate a compatible partnership between brand and cause and be long-term commitments to be most effective. Strong CRM initiatives that have both these traits can contribute to favorable consumer attitudes, more positive word of mouth associations, and higher consumer purchase intent.

A study of corporate citizenship communications by large companies in the BRIC nations (Brazil, Russia, India and China) indicates that the approach and focus of corporate citizenship in these large emerging economies differs from country to country. Researchers found communications by the companies demonstrate varied motives, processes, and stakeholder issue priorities.

A study of the effect of tangible and intangible attributes on purchasing decisions found that social attributes can play as important a role as the intangible attributes of brand or country of origin. The role of social attributes was greatest in purchases of products that required higher consumer involvement.

This study looked at the effect of stakeholder response and political access in China on the relationship between corporate philanthropy and financial performance. Results show that the positive relationship between corporate philanthropy and financial performance is contingent on the extent to which stakeholders positively respond to philanthropic giving and on whether the firm is in need of political access.

This study looked at the effectiveness of appeals to consumers to participate in pro-social and pro-environmental initiatives. Researchers found the appeals were most effective when participation was identified as the dominant behavior, and when the subjects of the appeal shared similarities with those already participating.

Researchers in this study looked at the inclination of consumers to purchase products tied to efforts at redressing injustices. The study found that a consumer’s intent to purchase is influenced by how much he or she perceives the initiative behind an ethical product could make an impact.

Through an online survey of 28,000 people from 56 countries, researchers examined preferences of the socially conscious consumer. Study results reveal the importance of selecting the most effective communication channels and matching cause marketing efforts to the issues that appeal to socially conscious consumers.