Abstract
Empirical research on corporate social responsibility assurance (CSRA) has been rapidly increasing with regard to the enhanced stakeholder information awareness. In view of the current relevance of this topic, our review of 53 empirical CSRA studies provides insights into this emerging research area. On the one hand, we concentrate on factors that might influence the decision to conduct CSRA (input variables, e.g. corporate governance). On the other hand, we analyse the consequences of CSRA (output factors as stakeholder reactions). Furthermore, we gain further information about the CSRA decision itself (context factors, e.g. CSRA provider). After providing a detailed analysis of the current research on three different levels (market, organizational and individual/group-decision-making level), we describe the limitations of the studies and provide recommendations for future research.
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Acknowledgements
The authors thank two anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments, which greatly improved the literature review. We are also grateful to the session participants at the “Financial Reporting and Business Communication 18th Annual Conference 2015” at the University of Bristol, “Herbsttagung der Kommission Nachhaltigkeitsmanagement des Verbands der Hochschullehrer für Betriebswirtschaft e.V. 2015” at the University of Ulm and “International Conference 2015 Corporate Governance, Accounting and Audit: Crisis Challenges” at the Leuphana University of Lüneburg for their helpful comments and suggestions.
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Velte, P., Stawinoga, M. Empirical research on corporate social responsibility assurance (CSRA): A literature review. J Bus Econ 87, 1017–1066 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11573-016-0844-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11573-016-0844-2
Keywords
- CSR assurance
- CSR reporting
- Stakeholder management
- Corporate governance
- Assurance level
- Assurance provider