report of findings prepared for: fgi research, inc. may 2007 the impact of csr on the general public...

Report of findings prepared for:

FGI Research, Inc.

May 2007

The Impact of CSR The Impact of CSR on the General Publicon the General PublicA Nationwide Poll on A Nationwide Poll on Corporate Social ResponsibilityCorporate Social Responsibility

2Corporate Social Responsibility Poll

Poll Purpose

Purpose: A nationwide poll to determine, in the minds of the general public :

Which business drivers affect corporate reputation?

How big a driver is corporate social responsibility?

Should companies pay attention to Corporate Social Responsibility?

What action should they take?


Does corporate America need to pay attention to Corporate Social Responsibility? Yes, because it influences purchases…

It is not the biggest purchase influence—corporate reputation and the actual product/service itself are bigger.

But 49% say CSR issues have dissuaded them from buying from a particular company.

Consumers don’t think corporate America is doing a particularly good job with CSR—only 18% say they are very satisfied or satisfied.

Your opportunity is among the “undecided.” Fifty-six percent say they are neither satisfied nor dissatisfied with corporate CSR performance. The opportunity is to make them “Satisfied.”

Executive Summary


CSR is becoming more important—50% say that their concern has increased “over the last several years.”

What should the prudent manager do about CSR? According to our respondents… Assess your company/industry vulnerability. For example, industries that concern consumers most are health insurance, energy, and

pharmaceutical.

Formalize a stance—given consumers’ increasing interest, someday someone is going to ask about your CSR philosophy.

Use your usual channels to get your message out. Consumers say they look at, for example, company websites for CSR information.

But actions speak louder than words. Consumers say that maintaining good employee relations, acting environmentally responsible and offering safe products are more influential than brochures.

Executive Summary


Data Collection

Respondents were initially contacted via email invitation to take an online poll.

1001 10-minute interviews were conducted between May 16 and May 22, 2007.

The sample was derived from the FGI SmartPanel and consisted of U.S. adults, ages 18 or older.

Methodology

Detailed Findings


47%

50%

40%

50%

53%

52%

61%

68%

68%

70%

72%

75%

Purchasing consumer products

Selecting a home builder

Choosing a cell phone provider

Choosing an insurance company

Choosing a bank/financial servicescompany

Purchasing a car or major appliance

CSR is an influence on consumers…

…but not as big as a company’s overall reputation.

Ex. Three-quarters said that when purchasing a car or major appliance, they were influenced by a company’s reputation; half were influenced by a company’s CSR.

Q1. Please rate how likely your decisions are to be influenced by a company’s reputation when doing any of these following activities. Q7. How likely are your purchasing decisions to be influenced by a company’s corporate social responsibility when doing any of the following activities?

Company’s reputation

Company’s CSR


CSR also influences corporate reputation…

27%

33%

52%

53%

83%

84%

Company TVadvertising

Company Website

Environmentresponsibility

Company participatesin giving back in my

local community

Reliable products

Good customerservice

Customer Interaction

CSR

Corporate Communications

Q2. Please rate how likely each of the following statements influence your perception of a company’s reputation.

…but not as much as a company’s goods and services.


Impressed you enough to actively buy or do business with them? (Q4)

Discouraged you from doing business with them? (Q5)

Has a corporation’s corporate social responsibility ever…

CSR affects consumers’ purchase of goods and services…

34%49%


And CSR has other influences on the public…

Q6. How much of an influence is CSR when you are considering whether you will:

34%

48%

54%

Buy their stocksor bonds

Seekemployment

there

Want them tolocate in your

community


Consumers aren’t satisfied with corporate CSR efforts…

2%

16%

46%

29%

8%

Very satisfied Somewhatsatisfied

Neither satisfiednor dissatisfied

Somewhatdissatisfied

Very dissatisfied

Satisfaction with CSR Performance

The opportunity is among the “neutrals.”

Be proactive to move them to the “satisfied” camp.

Dissatisfaction outweighs

satisfaction.


…and they're getting more concerned:

16%

34%

47%

2% 1%

Increased a greatdeal

Increased some Neitherincreased ordecreased

Decreased some Decreased agreat deal

Change in Concern

Q9. How much would you say your level of concern regarding corporate social responsibility has increased over the past few years?


Incidentally, they don’t object to the government stepping in…

6%

9%

12%

29%

29%

14%

I do not at all want thegovernment to set guidelines

I am mildly against thegovernment setting guidelines

I prefer the companies to settheir own standards

I am neutral about thegovernment setting guidelines

I somewhat want thegovernment to set guidelines

I strongly want the governmentto set guidelines


Certain Industries are more at risk…

21%

22%

25%

28%

30%

36%

38%

39%

40%

40%

44%

46%

Financial services

Construction

Manufacturing

Transportation

Automotive

News media

Chemical

Healthcare

Pharmaceutical

Mining

Energy companies

Health insurance

Note: The percentages shown are Bottom-2-Box,

or the combined percentage of respondents who said they were “somewhat” or

“not at all satisfied.”

Levels of dissatisfaction with selected industries…


Here’s what CSR is important to them…

3%

4%

5%

10%

15%

25%

29%

Act as responsibly in othercountries as they do in the U.S.

Contribute to the economichealth and sustainable

development of the communitiesin which they operate

Go beyond the law to protect theenvironment

Ensure that all workers are paida living wage

Offer employees healthy, safe,and rewarding work conditions

Is responsive to customers'needs

Offer quality, safe products andservices

What is the ONE most important aspect of CSR…


A considerable group is unhappy with the amount of available info on CSR…

3%

16%

58%

19%

5%

Very satisfied Somewhatsatisfied

Neither satisfiednor dissatisfied

Somewhatdissatisfied

Very dissatisfied

Satisfaction With Amount of CSR Information Available


And a notable percentage is unhappy that it is hard to find info on CSR…

3%

15%

46%

31%

5%

Very easy to find Somewhat easy tofind

Neither difficultnor easy to find

Somewhat difficultto find

Very difficult tofind

Ease of Finding Information


Incidentally, here’s where they’ll look:

43%

35%

34%

33%

27%

22%

19%

7%

5%

3%

29%

Newspapers/Magazines

TV or radio

Friends/family

Company website

Internet search engines

Company's annual report

Info from advocacy groups

Online discussion groups

Libraries

Other

None

Q13. Which of the following have you used to learn about a company’s social responsibility?


Does corporate America need to pay attention to Corporate Social Responsibility? Yes, because it influences purchases… It is not the biggest purchase influence—corporate reputation and the actual product/service itself are bigger.

But 49% say CSR issues have dissuaded them from buying from a particular company.

Consumers don’t think corporate America is doing a particularly good job with CSR—only 18% say they are very satisfied or satisfied. Your opportunity is among the “undecided.” Fifty-six percent say they are neither satisfied nor dissatisfied with corporate CSR performance. The opportunity is to make them “Satisfied.”

CSR is becoming more important—50% say that their concern has increased “over the last several years.”

What should the prudent manager do about CSR? According to our respondents… Assess your company/industry vulnerability. For example, industries that concern consumers most are health insurance, energy, and pharmaceutical.

Formalize a stance—given consumers’ increasing interest, someday someone is going to ask about your CSR philosophy.

Use your usual channels to get your message out. Consumers say they look at, for example, company websites for CSR information.

But actions speak louder than words. Consumers say that maintaining good employee relations, acting environmentally responsible and offering safe products are more influential than brochures.

Summary

Appendix: Demographics


Respondent DemographicsMarital Status Total Sample Employment Status Total Sample

Married 56% Full-time 39%Living with partner 6% Part-time 11%Single, never married 19% Self-employed 8%Widowed 6% Student 3%Divorced/separated 13% Retired 22%

Gender Homemaker 13%Male 40% Unemployed 5%

Female 60% Total Household IncomeAdults in Household Less than $25K 19%1 25% $25K - $49,999 28%2 53% $50K - $74,999 22%3 13% $75K - $99,999 14%4 6% $100K - $124,999 9%5 1% $125K - $149,999 4%6-9 1% $150K or more 5%

10+ - Ethnic BackgroundHighest Level of Education American Indian or Alaska Native <1%Some high school 2% Asian 3%High school graduate 17% Black/African American 7%Trade/Vocational/Technical school 7% Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander <1%Some college 34% White/Caucasian 86%Four-year college degree 21% Other 3%

Some graduate school 6% Hispanic/Latino: Specific Nationality (N=63)

Graduate school degree 15% Mexican, Mexican American, Chicano 46%

Children in Household Puerto Rican 24%Yes 36% Cuban 5%No 64% Central or South American 10%

Other Spanish/Hispanic/Latino 16%N=1001 unless otherwise noted.


Respondent Demographics, continued

2 or Under 3 - 6 7 - 12 13 - 17 18 and over1 83% 84% 70% 71% 59%2 16% 16% 27% 26% 20%3 1% - 3% 3% 16%4 - - - - 4%5 - - - - 1%

N= 107 96 151 131 95

Age GroupsNumber of Children in Household

report of findings prepared for: fgi research, inc. may 2007 the impact of csr on the general public...

Documents

corporate csr performance

corporate america

csr information

impact of csr

csr issues

csr philosophy

nationwide poll

online poll