Research Briefs

A recent study of German consumers found that customers are likely to hold a firm responsible for unsustainable activity, regardless of where it occurs within its supply chain, resulting in anger, as well as the possible boycotting of the product.

KPMG studied the 250 largest companies globally, in addition to the largest 100 companies in 41 countries, and found that that the majority of companies are creating reports, and industry sectors that were once lagging are closing the gap.

Researchers found that company support of corporate citizenship increases employee identification with their employer and their customers, especially when corporate citizenship is valued by the employee.

Research suggests that older workers are—on the whole—more engaged than their younger colleagues; however, certain factors can increase employee engagement in workers of all ages—and the level of engagement varies based on the age of the employee.

Researchers examined the link between executive pay and environmental performance in polluting industries and found that CEOs leading firms with good environmental performance received higher pay. This is particularly the case when CEOs lead pollution prevention strategies, as opposed to end-of-pipe pollution control.

A recent study investigated what factors affect a firm’s likelihood of creating an integrated report—one report providing information on company strategy, corporate governance, performance and prospects in such a way as to reflect its commercial, social, and environment context—and found that size, profitability, concentration and the adoption of reporting guidelines all play a role.

Leaders at all levels who seek to get employees on board with environmental sustainability practices within their organizations should lead with an emphasis on exhibiting support of environmentally friendly behaviors and demonstrate through their actions passion for and support of environmentally sustainable practices and behaviors.

A recent study by GRI analyzed data gathered from Bloomberg Terminal, The KPMG Survey of Corporate Responsibility Reporting 2013 and its own Sustainability Disclosure Database to garner insights into external assurance activity. Researchers found that there is growth in the rate of companies seeking external assurance for their sustainability reports across the globe.

Environmental innovation can be a positive response to activist pressure from regulators and non-governmental activists.

A study of consumer perceptions of company motives for corporate citizenship reveals that when efforts are perceived as something the company wants to do, rather than something it is pressured to do, consumer response is the most positive. Researchers also found that corporate citizenship perceived as responsive to stakeholders without a link to business strategy, was not perceived positively.

Corporate practitioners working to develop their diversity and inclusion programs must ensure that their efforts include management professionals, as a diverse leadership may lead to better firm performance. Racially diverse firms perform better than homogenous firms because they can launch new competitive actions more frequently. Compared to firms led by homogenous management, firms with racially diverse management can create more competitive advantages and increase market share and profits.

Those in the corporate citizenship field are always looking for ways to illustrate how their efforts contribute to business value in addition to social value. A recent study found that financially sound firms in industries with a higher likelihood of litigation should invest in corporate citizenship to mitigate risk. Those that do can potentially add 2 to 4 percent to firm value.