HR & organizational behavior
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) scale: how to measure
- Concept
- Perceived Corporate Social Responsibility
- Field
- HR & organizational behavior
- Scales in the library
- 4
- Items
- 17
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) refers to activities a company undertakes for the benefit of stakeholders beyond profit. Turker (2009) built a scale for employees to rate how much their company does CSR, in four groups: society and environment, employees, customers, and government. Schulze, Heinitz and Lorenz (2018) re-tested the factor structure on five samples from the US, Germany and India. In Vietnam, the concept fits topics on CSR and employee engagement, commitment or green behavior, or CSR and reputation or business performance.
Comparing the scales
| Scale | Author (year) | Items | Response format | When to use it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CSR to Social and Non-social Stakeholders (SOC) Perceived CSR scale | Turker (2009) | 7 | Likert 5-point | CSR toward society and the environment, 7 items. |
| CSR to Employees (EMP) Perceived CSR scale | Turker (2009) | 5 | Likert 5-point | CSR toward employees, 5 items. |
| CSR to Customers (CUS) Perceived CSR scale | Turker (2009) | 3 | Likert 5-point | CSR toward customers, 3 items. |
| CSR to Government (GOV) Perceived CSR scale | Turker (2009) | 2 | Likert 5-point | CSR toward government, 2 items. |
Items of each scale
Original English wording from the published source. Replace placeholders such as [system] or
[brand] with what your study is about, and pilot the questionnaire with 20 to 30 respondents first.
CSR to Social and Non-social Stakeholders (SOC) · Perceived CSR scale
| Code | Item |
|---|---|
| SOC1 | Our company participates to the activities which aim to protect and improve the quality of the natural environment |
| SOC2 | Our company makes investments to create a better life for future generations |
| SOC3 | Our company implements special programs to minimize its negative impact on the natural environment. |
| SOC4 | Our company targets sustainable growth which considers the future generations. |
| SOC5 | Our company supports non-governmental organizations working in problematic areas. |
| SOC6 | Our company contributes to the campaigns and projects that promote the well-being of society |
| SOC7 | Our company encourages its employees to participate to the voluntary activities |
Source: Turker (2009). Response scale, licence and APA reference: Perceived CSR scale.
CSR to Employees (EMP) · Perceived CSR scale
| Code | Item |
|---|---|
| EMP1 | Our company policies encourage the employees to develop their skills and careers |
| EMP2 | The management of our company primarily concerns with employees' needs and wants |
| EMP3 | Our company implements flexible policies to provide good work and life balance for its employees. |
| EMP4 | The managerial decisions related to the employees are usually fair. |
| EMP5 | Our company supports employees who want to acquire additional education. |
Source: Turker (2009). Response scale, licence and APA reference: Perceived CSR scale.
CSR to Customers (CUS) · Perceived CSR scale
| Code | Item |
|---|---|
| CUS1 | Our company protects consumer rights beyond legal requirements. |
| CUS2 | Our company provides full and accurate information about its products or services to its customers. |
| CUS3 | Customer satisfaction is highly important for our company |
Source: Turker (2009). Response scale, licence and APA reference: Perceived CSR scale.
CSR to Government (GOV) · Perceived CSR scale
| Code | Item |
|---|---|
| GOV1 | Our company always pays its taxes on a regular and continuing basis. |
| GOV2 | Our company complies with legal regulations completely and promptly. |
Source: Turker (2009). Response scale, licence and APA reference: Perceived CSR scale.
Tips
- The scale measures employees' perceptions of their own company; do not use it for customers rating a brand.
- CSR toward government has only 2 items; report the correlation between the two items if alpha is low.
- You can model CSR as a second-order construct with 4 components in PLS-SEM.
- The scale works with 5 or 7 points.
Once you have a scale, put the concept in the research model drawer to state your hypotheses, work out the minimum sample size, and after data collection check reliability with the Cronbach's alpha calculator.
Frequently asked questions
What components does CSR have?
According to Turker (2009): CSR toward society and the environment, toward employees, toward customers, and toward government.
Which employee variables does CSR usually affect?
Organizational commitment, work engagement, satisfaction, organizational citizenship behavior, and green behavior at work.
Which scale measures CSR from the customer perspective?
Turker's scale is for employees. For customers you need a consumer-perceived CSR scale; state the source and respondents clearly in chapter 3.
References
- Turker, D. (2009). Measuring corporate social responsibility: A scale development study. Journal of Business Ethics, 85(4), 411–427. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-008-9780-6
- Schulze, D., Heinitz, K., & Lorenz, T. (2018). Comparative organizational research starts with sound measurement: Validity and invariance of Turker's corporate social responsibility scale in five cross-cultural samples. PLOS ONE, 13(11), e0207331. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0207331