When Doing Good, What Good to Do?: Examining Whether and Why Firms Benefit From Their CSR Initiatives

Consumers are increasingly mindful of CSR when making purchase and consumption decisions, but evidence of the impact of CSR initiatives on actual purchase decisions is lacking. This paper introduces a novel, brand accountability-based framework of consumer response to CSR initiatives, which categorizes CSR efforts as “Corrective,” “Compensating,” or “Cultivating goodwill” actions. Leveraging a database of CSR press releases by leading CPG...