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Ensuring Validity in the Measurement of Corporate Social Performance: Lessons from Corporate United Way and PAC Campaigns

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Abstract

Building on philosophy of science literature and two original studies, this paper argues for the necessity of incorporating all three portions of Wood's (1991) theoretical model of corporate social performance (CSP) into its measurement. It begins by describing the two studies of an organizational phenomenon not commonly studied – internal fund drives to employees. Insights from these studies of corporate PAC and United Way campaigns are then used to illustrate how important it is to incorporate all three portions of Wood's model into the measurement of CSP to prevent drawing faulty conclusions. The paper concludes by providing a matrix for use in testing the validity of CSP measures.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Katz Graduate School of Business, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 15260, U.S.A.

    Bradley R. Agle

  2. School of Business, University of Washington, Bothell, WA, U.S.A.

    Patricia C. Kelley

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  1. Bradley R. Agle
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  2. Patricia C. Kelley
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Agle, B.R., Kelley, P.C. Ensuring Validity in the Measurement of Corporate Social Performance: Lessons from Corporate United Way and PAC Campaigns. Journal of Business Ethics 31, 271–284 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1010797011622

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