The Effect of Financial Crisis in Corporate Social Responsibility Performance

Abstract

The aim of the study is to evaluate the effect of financial crisis in Corp orate Social Responsibility (CSR) performance. An empirical analysis is co nducted, based on companies th at implement Global Report Initiatives (GRI) reporting guidelines modifyi ng the application level in a point sc ore system. Totally, 112 companies are included in the GRI report list in 2007, pre-financial crisis, 2008, 2009 and 2010. The Wilcoxon signed rank sum test is used in order to ascertain whether an econom ic downturn affects CSR pe rformance. Results indicate increased CSR performance before and during the fina ncial crisis except for the period 2009-2010. Companies increase their performance in orde r to regain the lost trust in businesses. The study also promotes a discussion with regards to a financial crisis and CSR performance and reporting.