What do we know about corporate social responsibility research? a content analysis

Using content analysis, the objectives of the current study are: (1) to provide a systematic review of the corporate social responsibility (CSR) literature, (2) to examine underlying trends in CSR research, (3) to identify milestones in the development of CSR research, and (4) to clarify and categorise the structure of CSR studies. An examination of 774 selected CSR articles shows a significant upward trend in the volume of CSR publications, particularly in the 2000s. Among these articles, 122 papers from leading academic journals are further analysed to classify and label the development stages of CSR research as: incubation, exploration, adolescent development and relative maturity stages. Our findings also reveal five major CSR research themes: concepts and reviews, corporate context, CSR-related strategy, corporate reputation and the linkage between corporate social performance (CSP) and corporate financial performance (CFP). The paper concludes with suggestions for future CSR research.