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Corporate Social Responsibility: An Empirical Investigation of U.S. Organizations

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Abstract

Organizations that believe they should “give something back” to the society have embraced the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR). Although the theoretical underpinnings of CSR have been frequently debated, empirical studies often involve only limited aspects, implying that theory may not be congruent with actual practices and may impede understanding and further development of CSR. The authors investigate actual CSR practices related to five different stakeholder groups, develop an instrument to measure those CSR practices, and apply it to a survey of 401 U.S. organizations. Four different clusters of organizations emerge, depending on the CSR practice focus. The distinctive features of each cluster relate to organizational demographics, perceived influence of stakeholders, managers’ perceptions of the influence of CSR on performance, and organizational performance.

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Acknowledgments

This article was written when Adam Lindgreen was a visiting professor at Georgia State University and Valérie Swaen was an assistant professor at IESEG. The authors thank the Center for Business and Industrial Marketing at Georgia State University and the Institute for the Study of Business Markets at Pennsylvania State University for financial support. They also thank Jacques Angot, Michael Antioco, Ruben Chumpitaz, François Maon, Tim Lyons, Nathalie Symoens, Joëlle Vanhamme, and Xavier Vermeire for critical comments on the survey instrument and a previous draft of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Marketing and Business Strategy, Hull University Business School, Cottingham Road, Hull, HU6 7RX, U.K.

    Adam Lindgreen

  2. IAG-Louvain School of Management, Université catholique de Louvain, Place des Doyens 1, 1348, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium

    Valérie Swaen

  3. J. Mack Robinson College of Business, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, 30303-3083, U.S.A.

    Wesley J. Johnston

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  1. Adam Lindgreen
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  2. Valérie Swaen
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Correspondence to Adam Lindgreen.

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Lindgreen, A., Swaen, V. & Johnston, W.J. Corporate Social Responsibility: An Empirical Investigation of U.S. Organizations. J Bus Ethics 85 (Suppl 2), 303–323 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-008-9738-8

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