Perceptions and expectations of corporate social responsibility: Theoretical issues and empirical findings

This paper focuses on the issue of differences in individual perceptions and expectations of corporate social performance (CSP). Business research has indicated, somewhat equivocally, that there is evidence to support possible causal relationships between CSP, corporate reputation (CR) and financial performance (CFP). The paper analyses these relationships with regard to various causal explanatory models delineated by Carroll and Buchholtz (2000). Specifically, the paper considers the theoretical possibility of CR being a moderating variable in the relationship between CSP and CFP.The paper reports the findings of an empirical study of University students’ perceptions regarding CSP in South Africa, which show that significant differences between black and white student expectations of CSP exist. The findings are discussed with regard to building a tentative theoretical model of CR.