What is it about?

Emerging consumer-oriented CSR rating systems, being utilized by millions of consumers in the Anglosphere, may represent some of the first alternatives for CSR and EC scholars, as well as for ethical consumers themselves. This research compares the four most popular consumer- oriented CSR measurement systems produced in the US (GoodGuide, Better World Shopper), UK (Ethical Consumer) and Australia (Shop Ethical). While thousands of companies are rated in each system, statistical analyses are focused on comparing the CSR ratings of the 106 companies common to all four systems.

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Why is it important?

This paper contributes to an ongoing effort by scholars to bridge the gap between the growing literatures on corporate social responsibility (CSR) and ethical consumerism (EC) by proposing that these phenomena be considered as two ends of an economic communication system linking companies and consumers.

Perspectives

Ethical consumers (EC) and researchers alike struggle to find good sources of CSR data on companies that will allow them to understand what companies are doing with consumer dollars. Very little research has been done on these consumer-oriented rating systems. I hope to add to our understanding of both CSR and EC with this research project.

Ellis Jones
College of the Holy Cross

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This page is a summary of: Bridging the Gap between Ethical Consumers and Corporate Social Responsibility: An International Comparison of Consumer-oriented CSR Rating Systems, Journal of Corporate Citizenship, March 2017, GSE Research Limited,
DOI: 10.9774/gleaf.4700.2017.ma.00005.
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