RESEARCH BRIEF - Researchers explored how consumers would respond to CSR messaging from non-CSR-themed social media influencers.
CSR Research by Topic

Browse Environmental, Social & Governance Research
Here at the BCCCC, our ongoing work with member companies helps us understand the issues today's corporate citizenship professionals are facing. With this audience in mind, we curate and summarize the latest CSR research studies each month. Use the briefs below to better integrate corporate citizenship into your business strategy and/or develop new solutions for pressing social challenges. For your convenience, the briefs are sorted into several prominent categories, all under the umbrella of corporate social responsibility.
Corporate Citizenship
view CSR research on this topicRESEARCH BRIEF - Communicating CSR commitments and results within the context of stories (vs. bulleted list or other stripped down forms) can improve attitudes toward the company and thereby encourage positive attitudes and intentions with the company.
RESEARCH BRIEF - CSR activities that align with the strategic vision and risk preferences of the firm can deliver better performance.
RESEARCH BRIEF - Consumers are more engaged in and believing of corporate citizenship communications that have a narrative style and focus on individuals—and are therefore less skeptical toward the initiatives they convey.
Engaging Employees
view CSR research on this topicRESEARCH BRIEF - Companies looking to create and promote gender-egalitarian parental leave policies are more successful in doing so when women’s representation in politics at the national level is greater.
RESEARCH BRIEF - Firms implementing CSR practices that align with their market strategies increase employee engagement, which can ultimately enhance financial performance.
Do GHG Emissions and/or Green Innovation Affect Financial Results for Corporate Venture Investments?
RESEARCH BRIEF - GHG-emission reduction and green innovation have a significant positive effect on the financial performance of corporations making venture capital investments.
RESEARCH BRIEF - Active job seekers were asked to measure the impact of public acknowledgment of diversity practices in recruitment of both LGBTQ jobseekers and non-LGBTQ prospects.
Community Involvement
view csr research on this topicRESEARCH BRIEF - Engaging in corporate philanthropy increases consumer purchase intention and participation in corporate philanthropic activities.
RESEARCH BRIEF - Researchers examined how varying the way in which donations are solicited (e.g., requesting a specific amount vs. requesting an open-ended donation) affects donation amount and total number of donations.
RESEARCH BRIEF - To explore how a greater number of donors might be induced to give money, researchers conducted a series of seven studies with nearly 2,800 participants...
RESEARCH BRIEF - Researchers examined survey responses from 242 nonprofit organizations that received funding from foundations. They analyzed how non-monetary factors in the grantee-grantor relationship are linked to...
Sustainablity Reporting
view CSR research on this topicRESEARCH BRIEF - Using explanatory descriptive and longitudinal analyses, researchers examined global assurance practices for sustainability reports at both the institutional level (e.g., country and industry) and the firm level (e.g., organization type and listed status).
RESEARCH BRIEF - Researchers studied 600 publicly listed firms across 17 European countries from 2015 to 2020. They collected on financials, ESG metrics, and board characteristics along with additional variables.
RESEARCH BRIEF - To investigate the relationship between ESG disclosure and future earnings risk, researchers studied disclosure scores and analyst forecast data for 1,004 S&P Global 1200 firms
RESEARCH BRIEF - Researchers studied firm ESG reporting across 36 countries with both developed and developing economies to understand what factors might influence whether a firm would report ESG metrics in alignment with SDGs.
Responsible Corporate Leadership
view csr research on this topicRESEARCH BRIEF - Globalization of firm activities raises the bar for ESG disclosure.
RESEARCH BRIEF - To examine the relationship between women board directors and corporate social performance including how national culture may affect this relationship—researchers looked at nearly 3,200 public firms across 38 countries over 7 years.
RESEARCH BRIEF - To understand what effect the age of top management team members has on a firm’s environmental management strategies, researchers analyzed data from over 500 U.S. firms over eight years.
RESEARCH BRIEF - Researchers looked at the ratio of women directors on the boards of 3,175 global firms alongside the firms’ corporate social performance scores.
Environmental Sustainability
view CSR research on this topicDo GHG Emissions and/or Green Innovation Affect Financial Results for Corporate Venture Investments?
RESEARCH BRIEF - GHG-emission reduction and green innovation have a significant positive effect on the financial performance of corporations making venture capital investments.
RESEARCH BRIEF - Sharing information about a company’s environmental efforts at the point of purchase can increase a consumer’s reported willingness to buy a given product.
RESEARCH BRIEF - Investor demand for climate-related information leads to greater corporate climate disclosure and lower carbon emissions from firms.
RESEARCH BRIEF - The purpose of this study was to understand how a country's culture and legal system, as well as internal governance mechanisms, influence a company's commitment to addressing climate change.
The Value of Corporate Citizenship
view csr research on this topicRESEARCH BRIEF - To examine whether CSR Activities affect Long-term Stock Returns, researchers studied 6971 observations of common stock of Japanese firms operating globally, along with accounting data and ownership data.
RESEARCH BRIEF - The study utilized a dataset of 28 globally listed airlines with 420 firm-year observations of ESG data over time.
RESEARCH BRIEF - Across all measured societies, ESG performance contributed to financial performance. There are cultural attributes, however, that both strengthen and weaken this relationship.
RESEARCH BRIEF - Companies generally benefit financially from engaging in CSR activities. See where national characteristics make a difference...
Supply Chain Management
view csr research on this topicRESEARCH BRIEF - To understand the relationship between different types of corporate social responsibility (CSR) messages and consumer trust, researchers surveyed participants about the CSR reputation of a specific unnamed company.
RESEARCH BRIEF - To understand whether an increase in available CSR information affects supplier contracting decisions, researchers gathered over 3,500 supplier-year observations.
RESEARCH BRIEF - Can companies increase worker compensation for employees earning low wages without a negative impact to the bottom line?
RESEARCH BRIEF - To understand how mandatory ESG disclosures might affect firms’ supply chain due diligence, researchers analyzed 1,500 firms from 2005-2016, reviewing nearly 10,000 firm year observations.