Standalone CSR Reports: A Canadian Analysis

Abstract

This research examines whether firms who issue these reports are really more socially responsible or if they are merely trying to convince stakeholders that they are. We use the CSID index as an independent evaluation of firms’ level of CSR and find that firms that issue standalone CSR reports every year do have significantly higher Total CSR, CSR Strengths and CSR Weaknesses than firms that never issue these reports. Additionally, we find that firms that issue standalone CSR reports in some years have higher Total CSR and CSR Strengths scores than firms that never issue standalone CSR reports. Our results provide support for the explanation that firms who issue standalone CSR reports do so as a signal of their superior commitment to social responsibility actions. We found minimal support for the argument that firms who issue standalone CSR reports are more profitable.