Exploring the business logic behind CSR certifications

Peter Dahlin, Peter Ekman, Jimmie Röndell and Ossi Pesämaa

Journal of Business Research, 2020, vol. 112, issue C, 521-530

Abstract: Research shows that CSR certification motives span from being symbolic to substantive. Prior studies have mainly focused on the differences between firms that hold and do not hold CSR certificates. This study explores if the extent of CSR certification is related to different business logic amongst firms who hold CSR certificates. The study utilizes full sample data from the Swedish commercial real estate industry to analyze the variance in motives and performance among firms with CSR certificates. The results indicate that firms that have a substantive CSR commitment have a business logic that entails a holistic and long-term perspective on both financial and CSR performance. However, substantive CSR commitment comes with greater staffing costs and lower financial returns as opposed to those of firms that obtain CSR certificates based on symbolic motives.

Keywords: CSR; Certification; Sustainability; Business logic; Real estate industry (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0148296319307210
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:112:y:2020:i:c:p:521-530

DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.11.046

Access Statistics for this article

Journal of Business Research is currently edited by A. G. Woodside

More articles in Journal of Business Research from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().