An Empirical Analysis of the Strategic Use of Corporate Social Responsibility

Siegel, Donald S.; Vitaliano, Donald F.

doi:10.2139/ssrn.900521

An Empirical Analysis of the Strategic Use of Corporate Social Responsibility

25 Pages Posted: 11 May 2006

See all articles by Donald S. Siegel

Donald F. Vitaliano

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) - Department of Economics

There are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: April 2006

Abstract

Recent theories of the strategic use of corporate social responsibility (CSR) emphasize the role of information asymmetry and how CSR is likely to be matrixed into a firm's product differentiation strategy. A key empirical implication of these theories is that firms selling experience or credence goods and services are more likely to be socially responsible than firms selling search goods. Using firm-level data, we report evidence that is consistent with this hypothesis.

Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Search Goods, Experience Goods, Credence Goods

JEL Classification: M14, D21

Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation

Siegel, Donald S. and Vitaliano, Donald F., An Empirical Analysis of the Strategic Use of Corporate Social Responsibility (April 2006). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=900521 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.900521