CSR Research: The Value of Corporate Citizenship

Companies that invest more in employee benefits require fewer financial restatements.

Companies with inclusive policies for LGBT employees have higher stock returns, market valuation, and employee productivity.

In countries where market-supporting institutions are weak, corporate citizenship or CSR initiatives improve a firm’s competitive advantages by reducing transaction costs and facilitating access to resources.

Investments in corporate citizenship and the improved reputation that can come with such investments can help companies inoculate against the most severe effects of boycotts.

Firms that take a long-term view and invest in corporate citizenship are rewarded with lower equity costs.

Companies earning high ratings on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) indicators deemed material to their business financially outperform those with poor ratings on the same issues.

Companies with strong corporate citizenship performance are less affected by risks and are more likely to hold onto cash.

To retain customers, companies should invest in corporate citizenship programs and communication about such programs.

RESEARCH BRIEF - Investors assign a premium to firms with strong corporate citizenship performance during a crisis of trust.

RESEARCH BRIEF - Consumers have more favorable perceptions of a company’s reputation when they know more about its corporate citizenship efforts, and prefer to receive corporate citizenship communications that are informative, transparent, relevant to their lives, and factual in tone.

RESEARCH BRIEF - Companies that cross-list in the United States have stronger corporate citizenship performance than those that do not.