Corporate Social Responsibility Measures: A Brief Review

Studies are being conducted to measure the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on different dimensions of performance of the firm. Therefore, it becomes imperative to measure CSR activities undertaken by the firms. The measures used to assess CSR range from quantitative to perceptual; hence, the study proposes to present an analytical profile of various methods used to measure CSR. The article reviews studies that span over the time period from the 1980s to 2016 to determine the relationship between CSR and performance of the firm. Various measures of CSR used in studies are broadly categorized as rating-based measures, financial measures, perceptual measures, and disclosure-based measures. The study revealed that perceptual and rating-based measures are the most commonly used measures. Also, it has been found that the operationalization of CSR using these two measures has been used in the studies that are conducted mainly in developed countries. However, disclosure of CSR and expenditure made on social responsibility can be more comprehensive measures as they are more objective in nature and are not influenced by the biases. Also, expenditure on CSR can be a useful measure while conducting a cost-benefit analysis of CSR activities performed by the organizations.