Drivers & barriers of CSR authenticity

: an analysis across various industries

Abstract

The importance of Corporate Social Responsibility grows because various stakeholders increasingly consider a company’s CSR initiatives when they decide to purchase, collaborate, work or invest. High awareness pressures organizations to be authentic about their CSR efforts because it influences a company’s success. Despite the research on the customer perspective, the concept of CSR authenticity lacks regarding the organization’s viewpoint. This dissertation aims to analyze the drivers and barriers of CSR authenticity across various industries to identify implications that can increase a company’s success through CSR authenticity. Based on the literature, 17 interviews with experts in the CSR departments of companies across different industries were conducted and analyzed. The results reveal the importance of aligning CSR initiatives with the firm’s core competence and engaging stakeholders through a committed leadership team and long-term relationships. Furthermore, measuring the impact of CSR activities improves transparent communication. The absence of the mentioned drivers of CSR authenticity can turn into barriers to CSR authenticity and a lack of understanding and resources can also hinder CSR authenticity. The companies use different approaches to attain CSR authenticity because it is a claim that needs to be validated by its stakeholders who hold different expectations depending on the industry.

Date of Award	28 Jun 2023
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Sérgio Moreira (Supervisor)