Lab42’s 10 Year Data Retrospective – CONSUMER PERCEPTION OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY [2014]

According to our 2014 study on corporate social responsibility (CSR), 80% of Americans believed companies should strive to be more socially responsible. Further demonstrating the importance of social responsibility, 84% of respondents indicated they would be willing to pay a premium for goods and services from companies that demonstrated social responsibility.

Interestingly, however, the top 25 largest companies in the US (by revenue) do not include any of the 300 most socially responsible companies nationwide (*1, *2). Conversely, when looking at their socially responsible counterparts, the largest company (by revenue) among them only places 27th nationwide - and it’s still an outlier. The socially responsible companies that do show up on the list of the largest companies (by revenue), primarily rank between 40-80th place, but most of them are not even on it.

This contradiction between consumer belief and reality is thought provoking. Do consumers find the idea of CSR appealing just because it fuels their desire to feel good about themselves? When it’s time to take some extra steps, like paying more real, not just hypothetical, money, do they find themselves searching for excuses to not act according to their previously asserted beliefs? The reasons for this inconsistency may be many  (misinformation, insufficient transparency…). Nevertheless, the consequence is obvious; ultimately, convenience and price often have greater influence than conscience.