The gap between preaching-and-practice is not limited to the clergy, congress, or corporate titans/financiers. It is also notable when it comes to corporate social responsibility (CSR).
On the supply side, the Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship’s biennial survey of U.S. business finds that most executives believe in CSR, see its reputational benefits, and think it contributes significantly to their bottom-line. But when the Center compared company practices versus the public’s expectations of business some notable gaps emerged. Granted there was some alignment on business’s responsibilities to provide equal treatment for employees and to support charities and community projects. But on questions of whether or not corporations should apply high (US or European) standards to their operations in the developing world, or produce goods and services in a socially and environmentally responsible way, or help to reduce the rich-poor gap, public expectations far exceed corporate commitments.
Takeaway Message: Business has to “catch up” to reduce the gap. But there’s more to it than this….
On the demand side, there is evidence aplenty that while many consumers say they want to purchase “sustainable” or “cause-related” products, they opt for price, convenience, or for a product’s functional rather than ethical benefits. Now, a new study by Reputation Institute and Boston College finds there is a gap between the people’s views of CSR and how they rate corporate reputation in the U.S.
In our analysis of views of CSR and reputation in twenty-seven countries, we found that consumers give American firms comparatively high marks on CSR (e.g., corporate ethics, social-and-environmental practices, and treatment of employees). But, when compared to other nations, American consumers discounted the importance of CSR in judgments about a company’s overall reputation.
Some Hypotheses: 1) A credibility gap for business—PR; Greenwashing; Who can trust what corporations say about CSR? 2) Heightened cynicism among the public—Bailouts; BS; You just can’t trust companies no matter what they say or do! 3) What do you think?
Takeway Message: The public has to “connect the dots” for good CSR performance to payoff in reputational benefits for firms.
