Ogrean Claudia

“Lucian Blaga” University of Sibiu

Romania

claudia.ogrean@ulbsibiu.ro

Perceptions on the strategic value of corporate social responsibility – some evidences from global rankings 

Received: May, 2014

1st Revision: September, 2014

Accepted: October, 2014

ABSTRACT. Due to the tremendous challenges of nowadays, most of the global companies behave (or, at least, declare to behave) as responsible global citizens. But, the real bat- tle on the field of CSR seems now to be played in terms of perceived legitimacy of companies – through the lens of their stakeholders. As CSR increasingly become a ba- rometer reflecting a company’s relationships with its stakeholders, the paper aims to identify, based on a comparative analysis: the companies that have the best perceived images (in terms of admiration, reputation and brand value) as reflection of their ap- proaches towards CSR; the strategic value of the global winners’ CSR involvement as perceived through external lens – consumers, executives, directors and analysts. The results will enable a better understanding of the real role CSR plays within the global companies, while the conclusions are making suggestions on the better capitalization of the strategic value of CSR.

DOI: 10.14254/2071-8330.2014/7-2/11

JEL Classification:  F01; L14; M14.

Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility; Stakeholders; World’s Most Admired Companies for Social Responsibility; Global CSR Reputation Winners; Best Global Green Brands.