Corporate Social Responsibility: What is it, and Why Does it Matter?

In an increasingly competitive business environment, employers are also competing to attract the right talent. Many of these employers are also promoting their company’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts and achievements. This study sought to understand if such efforts affected their ability to attract young talent. Gaining an understanding of what job attributes are most important to graduating college students and how CSR impacts their decisions to work for a particular company is important for recruiters in attracting the right talent. To achieve this understanding and insight, I used a quasi-experimental survey methodology to conduct my research. Survey participants were randomly given a hypothetical job offer scenario with varying CSR and salary dimensions. My survey was distributed to undergraduate business students. Results from the survey suggest that CSR does, in fact, influence job offer acceptance decisions. There was a higher mean score for the likelihood of accepting a job offer from a company that demonstrated a commitment to CSR despite a lower salary offering compared to a job offer with little indication of CSR and a higher salary offering.