9/25/13
Summary of the Business Case for Corporate Community
Involvement
by Bea Boccalandro (bea@veraworks.com 717-414-2885)
Corporate Community Involvement (CCI), or company efforts to support societal causes, is on
the rise. A CR Magazine and NYSE-Euronext survey of over 300 companies, for example, found
that 72 percent of respondents have CCI or other corporate responsibility programs and that 77
percent say these programs will expand over the next three years.1 One reason for the popularity
of CCI is that its business value is becoming increasingly evident. Even noted Harvard Business
School business strategist Michael Porter considers CCI an effective way to increase a
company’s competitive advantage.2 Similarly, the Boston College Center for Corporate
Citizenship collaborated with McKinsey & Company on research that lays out the paths by
which CCI, adds value to business.3 More specifically, there is evidence that CCI affects both
external and internal stakeholder attitudes and behaviors, presented below.
External stakeholder attitudes and behaviors: Reputation, sales, investor
actions, license to operate and other external stakeholder behaviors
 Harvard Business School research found that companies with more corporate social
responsibility practices significantly outperform their counterparts over the long-term, both
in terms of stock market and accounting performance.4
 An academic study that investigated the market reaction to corporate press releases
announcing donations to the relief effort following the December, 2004, tsunami in
Southeast Asia indicated a statistically significant positive 5-day cumulative above-normal
return in companies that donated. The larger the donations, the greater the increase in
return.5
 Academic research has uncovered evidence that, for firms in industries that are highly
sensitive to consumer perception, corporate giving is associated with subsequent sales
growth.6
 Market research found that 59 percent of Americans are more likely to buy a product
associated with a corporate-nonprofit partnership.7
1
CR Magazine, NYSE-Euronext and Corproate Responsibility Officer Association. Corporate Responsibility Best
Practices Among Global Corporations Research Summary. December, 2011. Sustainable Business Forum.
http://sustainablebusinessforum.com/rjcrespin/58364/building-our-body-cr-knowledge. Accessed July 1, 2012.
2
Porter, Michael E., and Mark R. Kramer. “Strategy and Society: The Link Between Competitive Advantage and
Corporate Social Responsibility” in Harvard Business Review, 2006.
3
McKinsey & Company and Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship. How Virtue Creates Value for
Business and Society: Investigating the Value of Environmental. Social and Governance Activities. 2009.
4
Eccles, Robert G., Ioannis Ioannou and George Serafeim. “The Impact of a Corporate Culture of Sustainability on
Corporate Behavior and Performance." Harvard Business School Working Paper, 2011.
5
"Does the Market Value Corporate Philanthropy? Evidence from the Response to the 2004 Tsunami Relief Effort.
Journal of Business Ethics. Dordrecht: Sep 2008.
6
Baruch, Lev, Christine Petrovitis and Suresh Radhakrishnan. "Is doing good good for you? How corporate
charitable contributions enhance revenue growth" in Strategic Management Journal, Sep., 2009.
7
Cone, Inc. "More than three-quarters of Americans say a nonprofit-corporate partnership makes a cause stand out"
in Trend Tracker, March, 2010.
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 Market research has uncovered that 56 percent of Americans will travel an extra 10 minutes
out of their way to purchase a product that supports a cause they care about and that 71
percent are willing to pay at least $2.28 more for such a $10 product.8
Employee attitudes and behaviors: recruitment, teamwork, morale,
engagement, retention, skills and performance
 A Deloitte survey revealed that millennials are twice as likely to be very satisfied with the
progression of their career when they have the opportunity to volunteer through their
employer.9
 The same Deloitte survey revealed that millennials are 24% more likely to recommend their
company with strong CCI to a friend.10
 Academic research finds that employees of companies with CCI initiatives are more proud
of and committed to their employers.11
 Center for Creative Leadership research finds that the higher an employee rates their
organization’s corporate citizenship, the more committed they are to the organization.12
 GolinHarris found that employees’ view of a company’s corporate citizenship affects team
member morale, spirit, and pride; trust in their employer; and willingness to recommend
their employer as a good place to work.13
 Several companies have found statistically significant correlations between employee
community engagement participation/awareness and morale including Aetna, Bank of
America and HP.14
 UL (Underwriters Laboratories) found that participation in signature volunteering correlated
with a 7 percent increase in the number of employees who were engaged and that an
estimated 5 percent who had higher engagement due to this volunteering and, since research
data on employee engagement suggest that engaged employees generate between 15 and 40
percent more revenue, UL was able to conclude (using the conservative 15 percent figure
and company cost and revenue data) that the signature programs generated a 56 percent
ROI.15
 Manulife Financial found that employees who participate in the CCI program are three
times more likely to stay with the company.16
 Barclays found a correlation between employee participation in CCI and job performance.17
 Academic research suggests that when employees participate in corporate volunteering, they
8
Do Well Do Good. The Do Well Do Good Second Annual Public Opinion Survey Report on Cause Marketing,
2012.
9
Deloitte, 2011 Deloitte Volunteer IMPACT Survey, 2011.
10
Deloitte, 2011 Deloitte Volunteer IMPACT Survey, 2011.
11
Brammer, S., Millington, A. & Rayton, B. "The contribution of corporate social responsibility to organizational
commitment." Int. Journal of Human Resource Management, 18, 1701-1719. 2007
12
Stawiski, Sarah, Jennifer J. Deal, and William Gentry. Employee Perceptions of Corporate Social Responsibility
and the Implications for Your Organization. Center for Creative Leadership. 2010.
13
GolinHarris. The GolinHarris Change Corporate Citizenship Survey: Doing Well By Doing Good 2006; and
GolinHarris, Doing Well by Doing Good 2005: The Trajectory of Corporate Citizenship in American Business.
14
VeraWorks, unpublished internal company research, 2009-2013.
15
VeraWorks, unpublished internal company research, 2009-2013.
16
Habitat for Humanity Canada, blog: "Is Volunteering Good for Business? - Sarah Saso Can Prove It!" April 15,
2011.
17
VeraWorks, unpublished internal company research, 2009-2013.
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more strongly identify with and become more committed to their employers.18
In a survey conducted in the United Kingdom, the majority of respondents reported that
participating in CCI developed their skills and competencies across a broad range of
business relevant areas, including communications and teamwork. Their line managers
corroborated these findings.19
Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz credited CCI with the successful improvement of the
company's performance over a two-year period.20
A Net Impact and Rutgers University survey found that respondents who are able to make a
social or environmental impact while on the job are more satisfied with their jobs by a 2:1
ratio.21
A Net Impact and Rutgers University Study found that 45 percent of employees who have
volunteered with their company or co-workers report that they are very satisfied with their
jobs, compared to 30 percent who haven't. 22
A Net Impact and Rutgers University survey revealed that that 65 percent of student
respondents entering the job market today expect to make a social and environmental impact
through their work and 44 percent indicated they would be willing to take a pay cut to do
so.23
An academic study found that engaging in workplace volunteering appears to ‘switch on’ a
salient social identity in employees through which they identify with the volunteering group
and recognize shared values with the employer as demonstrated through the ECI initiative.
This, in turn, leads to feeling more positive about the company.24
18
Grant, A. M., Dutton, J. E., & Rosso, B. 2008. "Giving commitment: Employee support programs and the
prosocial sensemaking process." Academy of Management Journal,51: 898–918.
19
Corporate Citizenship. Volunteering: the Business Case: The Benefits of Corporate Volunteering Programmes in
Education. 2010.
20
Liepmann, Erica. "Starbucks' Howard Schultz Shares How Volunteer Service Saved The Company." Huffington
Post. July 17, 2010.
21
Net Impact and Rutgers University. Talent Report:What Workers Want in 2012. May, 2012.
22
Net Impact and Rutgers University. Talent Report:What Workers Want in 2012. May, 2012.
23
Net Impact and Rutgers University. Talent Report:What Workers Want in 2012. May, 2012.
24
Turner, Ann. “The Buy-in to Corporate Culture: Creating Internal Emotional Capital Through Work-based
Volunteering Schemes”, Proceedings of the 2nd European Conference on Intellectual Capital, ISCTE Lisbon
University Institute, Lisbon, Portugal and Polytechnic Institute of Leiria, Portugal, March 2010.
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