Assessing CSR initiatives: towards the development of a net benefits scorecard

Firms face increasing transparency and accountability as to how they operate and manage their brands in the marketplace. Much attention has been placed on if – and in what ways – brand owners are providing benefits to individuals, communities and society. Firms, in turn, are embracing corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives designed to enhance the social welfare of those whose lives are affected by a firm’s operations and to produce positive social outcomes. The success of a CSR initiative depends in large part on the benefits delivered to four key constituent groups: (1) beneficiary organizations; (2) the sponsoring firm engaged in CSR; (3) customers of the sponsoring firm; and (4) employees of the sponsoring firm. We incorporate insights from different disciplines to put forth a Net Benefits Scorecard (NBS) for CSR initiatives to suggest a means by which decision-makers can comprehensively assess both current and potential benefits from a CSR initiative for these four – and potentially other – important types of constituents. Such a quantitative assessment can help companies better understand the relative benefits of both existing and potential CSR initiatives to improve their selection, design, monitoring, implementation and ultimate impact, including on brand equity with stakeholders.