Corporate social responsibility and innovation in European companies. An empirical research.

Abstract

A growing number of European corporations now realize that their corporate goals are compatible with sustainability. Each corporation must strengthen corporate governance on condition that they focus on corporate social responsibility (CSR). These may constitute a strategic instrument, focused on improving the corporate reputation and image, or be aimed at the better management of available resources, among other possibilities. The latter aspect is examined in the present study. Adopting CSR principles involves taking into account environmental, economic and social factors, from an ethical viewpoint. In this paper, we suggest that such questions should be addressed with innovation in mind. CSR practices can require investments in innovation, and we examine whether the adoption of responsibility-oriented policies constitutes a strategic decision that may explain investment in research and development. The sample obtained is made up of data from 95 European corporations examined for the period 1998-2006. We identify a relation between R&D expenditure and practices of CSR.