Five Decades of CSR Research: Have We Really Learnt Anything about Value Perceptions since Nestlé?

• Main Author: Hunter, Elise (Author)
• Other Authors: Yap, Crystal (Contributor), Ingley, Coral (Contributor)
• Format: Others
• Published: Auckland University of Technology, 2018-11-06T02:55:20Z.
• Subjects: Corporate Social Responsibility; Perceptions; Value creation; Consumer expectations; Managerial expectations; Perceptual gaps; Dissertation
• Online Access: Get fulltext

 With an increase in the popularity of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) across the globe-from CSR consultancy firms to consumer ethical movements-there is a need to develop our understanding of this surge. The purpose of this research is to critically review and synthesise the past five decades of CSR research with specific focus on the gap between management and consumer value perceptions surrounding CSR. Using an integrative review of 89 articles from 1970 to 2018, this research had two objectives: first to understand the focus of CSR research in the respective decades, and secondly to analyse the extent to which past studies recognised perceptual gaps between consumers and managers. This information was then chronologically and thematically analysed. Overall, this research found while researchers had identified perceptual gaps, there was a consistent absence to investigate these gaps further. As a result, there remains a productive direction for future research into the value perceptions of consumers and what, if anything, companies should do about these. Implications for stakeholders are discussed and future research directions are offered based on the outcome of this integrative review.