The 2001 Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Monitor, which builds on our 1999 Millennium Poll on CSR, is based on surveys of representative samples of about 1,000 citizens in each of 20 countries across 5 continents. The field work in each country was conducted by respected social research organizations under license with Environics International.
The CSR Monitor provides companies with insights into the attitudinal context within which they operate in societies around the world, examines where companies are particularly vulnerable on social responsibility, and explores the business case for good corporate citizenship.
The findings from this year's research deliver critical insights and tools for developing corporate strategy and action, including:
Compelling elements of the business case for companies to emphasize social responsibility
A global perspective on the relative importance of CSR across countries
A predictive view from societal Opinion Leaders
A description of six segments of consumers who differ according to their social expectations of companies Significant numbers of investors take a company's social performance into consideration when making investment decisions.
Most of the world's investors live in North America and Europe, where there appears to be a significant socially responsible investment community. Indeed, appreciable proportions of investors BLOCK 4 - - FORUM 21 57
in these regions report having made investment decisions based on a company's social performance.
Consequently, a company's social performance is already considered an important component of shareholder value.
Social responsibility makes a greater contribution to corporate reputation today than brand image, especially in wealthy countries.
According to consumers inwealthy countries especially, a company's social performance (i.e., its commitment to labor practices, the environment, etc.) has a significant impact on their impression of the company. In contrast, brand quality outstrips social performance as the most important determinant of corporate reputation in the developing world.
Bought or Sold Shares Because of Company's Social Performamce Most Important Factor When Forming Impression of a Company: G20 Countries Surveyed 58 BLOCK 4 - - FORUM 21
Most Important Factor When Forming Impression of a Company: Most Important Factor By GDP per capita Punished Companies for Being Socially Irresponsible Staing Ahead of the Curve on CSR Companies that ignore social responsibility place market share at risk.
Not only are consumers worldwide increasingly paying attention to the ethical behavior of companies, many, particularly in