CSR Research: The Value of Corporate Citizenship

RESEARCH BRIEF - For firms based in liberal market economies such as United States and Hong Kong, the combination of strong polices promoting managerial control and corporate citizenship initiatives (such as policy changes and implementation practices) creates shareholder value.

RESEARCH BRIEF - Evidence suggests that firms maintain their overall corporate citizenship investments during financial crises, however the mix of investments may shift.

RESEARCH BRIEF - Societal norms around gender diversity in a company’s industry, country, and regulatory environment shape how gender diversity affects firm performance.

RESEARCH BRIEF - Customers are more likely to purchase sustainably marketed products when labeling includes traceability information.

RESEARCH BRIEF - Strategic alignment between a company’s core business and the type of corporate citizenship it engages in—community or environment—is more likely to benefit the financial bottom line, particularly during economic crises.

RESEARCH BRIEF - Firms that remove executive compensation at risk—such as equity-based incentives—are less likely to perform poorly on corporate citizenship. Firms that behave less responsibly also have a higher risk of stock price volatility.

RESEARCH BRIEF - Research suggests that private firms significantly reduce their number of negative environmental, social, or governance (ESG) incidents after signing onto the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC).

RESEARCH BRIEF - Researchers found that corporate citizenship impacts financial performance positively only after a threshold amount of investment has been made.

RESEARCH BRIEF - CSR-based incentives for executives improve corporate citizenship performance for all companies. However, a firm whose governance emphasizes stakeholders over shareholders is more likely to benefit financially from such executive compensation structures.

RESEARCH BRIEF - Firms with top CSR programs receive higher relative market valuations than their industry peers.

RESEARCH BRIEF - Consumers who learn about a brand’s environmental or social initiatives at point-of-sale are more likely to purchase its products. This effect is even more pronounced when the messaging focuses on responsible business practices and operations.

RESEARCH BRIEF - Multinational corporations with more independent directors on their boards are more likely to make environmental disclosures, but this relationship is impacted by the national cultural context.