Our research program

This book brings together a series of studies that we have conducted over a period of about ten years. Our research program has examined stakeholder responses to CR in numerous stakeholder realms, across a wide range of settings, and utilizing a variety of research methods. The breadth of our research agenda enables us to triangulate our findings, examining the issue from multiple standpoints. This substantially increases the validity and generalizability of our framework. Below we describe a number of the studies that are profiled frequently in the chapters above; additional information about the studies is available from the authors.

General CR Insights Study

Multiple methods were used to assess consumer responses to CR. About 100 respondents took part in a series of focus groups and interviews conducted with the general population of the US. The studies covered all major aspects of the framework. The central objective of the studies was to understand how CR inputs lead to Understanding, Usefulness, and Unity, and how these initial internal outcomes (i.e., outcomes that occur in the mind of the consumer) lead in turn to business value and social value. Findings established these linkages and identified a number of context factors that influence the linkages.