Corporate social responsibility disclosures are a double-edged sword, new research suggests
Hoping to win over customers, businesses from Amazon to Zoom have taken to touting their good deeds in corporate social responsibility reports. CSR reports let companies spotlight what they’ve done for workers, consumers, communities and the environment – essentially all their goals beyond simply making a p
Businesses are leveraging the UN Sustainable Development Goals to gain political influence
Businesses can freely use the SDG framework, logos and colours in their communications without any external validation, meaning they can misuse them without needing to take them seriously. (Shutterstock) At first glance, the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) appear to be a rallying cry for
More and more, business schools want to show they’re making a positive impact on society. But how should they measure it?
Business schools shape more than just business. iStock/Getty Images Plus Back in 1970, the economist Milton Friedman famously argued that businesses have a single responsibility: to increase profit. For decades, the so-called “Friedman doctrine” amounted to dogma in certain circles, including at many busine
‘Social profit orientation’ can help companies and nonprofits alike do more good in the world
Companies and nonprofits can make the world a better or worse place. PeopleImages/iStock via Getty Images Plus Economist Milton Friedman’s influential maxim, that a company’s sole obligation is to maximize profits, is outdated. Many companies have voluntarily integrated social concerns into their business o
Should businesses consult shareholders before taking a stand on social issues?
In 2017 many businesses took a stand on the Australian marriage equality plebiscite. We saw a comparable trend in recent months, as corporate Australia declared its position on the Indigenous Voice to Parliament. This included everyone from the Big Four banks to Wesfarmers, Telstra and Rio Tinto. It was not onl
How to know if your employer is serious about helping you find purpose in your work
Gorodenkoff/Shutterstock Paychecks are important, of course, but many people also want their work to “matter”. Whether this means helping people in your local area, or contributing to a global cause like reducing waste and fighting the climate crisis, 70% of respondents to a 2020 survey said their personal
How Australian companies can fudge their numbers to show social and environmental progress
Shutterstock What’s the easiest way to improve a company’s social and environmental performance? The unfortunate answer, from our analysis of Australian public companies, is to change the way you measure it. In particular, by changing what you said last year to make this year’s performance look better. Re
Hypocrisy penalty: Investors especially hate companies that say they’re good then behave badly – unless the money is good
Investors don’t like it when companies do one thing and then say another. Adam Gault/Photodisc via Getty Images The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work. The big idea Stock investors punish companies caught doing something unethical a lot more when when these businesses also have
The ethical values and behaviours of CEOs play a crucial role in attracting new talent
New research has found that CEO ethics are more important to young job seekers than corporate social responsibility acts. (Shutterstock) In today’s job market, where highly skilled workers are scarce and specialized skills are in high demand, employers are facing the challenge of filling job positions. This s
Greenwashing: energy companies make false claims about sustainability – they should be held to account
A farmer walks on a marshy shore of a river polluted by oil spills in Nigeria’s Niger delta, region. Pius Utomi Ekpei/ AFP Companies implement corporate social responsibility (CSR) as a way to present an environmentally responsible image and therefore gain legitimacy in the eyes of their stakeholders. But som