The Financial Impacts of Corporate Social Responsibility

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is probably one of the most current and evolving issues within the business world today. There is extensive research in to the financial impacts that CSR has upon a business, yet the outcome remains inconclusive due to contradicting findings. This Independent Learning Project presents many of these contentious financial impacts through a literature review. The primary research then focuses on attempts to contribute to current research by questioning employees at a company with a high level of environmental CSR, to discover if it is a determining factor in terms of their recruitment. An online questionnaire has been used to gain information from 66 respondents regarding their opinions and experiences upon environmental aspects when seeking a new job. The research concludes that employees deem environmental aspects of a business to be relevant when applying for a role, yet the majority do not actively seek to find information regarding it, thus overstating its importance through their opinions. Furthermore, the research indicates that utilitarian aspects are rated of higher importance. This may be a result of difficult financial times.