Customer Value Creation through Corporate Disclosure on Society-oriented Activities. Do CEO’s Characteristics Influence the Scope of Disclosure?

Abstract

Customer value creation (CVC) in contemporary companies is a complex process. It embraces customer service, physical evidence, and image associated with the company. The image of a company is now partially created by corporate society-oriented activities. The process of CVC and corporate social responsibility (CSR) fulfillment is conducted by a wide range of company employees. The aim of the paper is to answer the question whether management board characteristics influence the scope of CSR reporting, as a tool of the customer value creation process. In the current research, the authors examine CSR reports and websites of 20 companies in Poland, using two research methods, content analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis, and measuring the level of disclosure on the websites and CSR reports with the index of disclosure. The research reveals that the level of CSR disclosure depends on the characteristics of management boards (age and experience of a chairman/-person). At the same time, few companies disclose information about the impact of CSR activities on customer value creation. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.ss.81.3.5797