Comparative study of methodologies for measuring corporate social responsibility

Abstract

The Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a current issue increasingly present in the strategic planning of the companies. Although managers of public or private organizations have turned their attention to social and environmental issues in their strategic actions, measuring the social responsibility of a company is not an easy task. This paper aims to observe the eight most relevant methodologies of CSR measurement and establish a comparative analysis among them by considering the scope and feasibility of each methodology. The most relevant CSR methodologies were selected. The main characteristics of each of the eight tools were observed and compared. The results demonstrated that although most methodologies have strong measuring characteristics the Ethos Indicators consist of the most effective tool for measuring CSR mainly regarding the institutional issues