Measuring the business and societal benefits of corporate responsibility

Purpose – The economic crisis has more than ever revealed the necessity for companies to extend their focus from the maximization of shareholder returns to the management of their complex stakeholder relationships including societal stakeholders. Although companies and scholars alike have been searching for adequate performance measurement systems that allow them to evaluate their relations with society, practical approaches to measure the benefits of CSR are still missing. This paper aims at filling this research gap. It proposes a measurement and a governance model to evaluate and manage the business as well as the societal benefits of CSR.Design/methodology/approach – The research follows a two‐step approach. First, a measurement model is developed based on a sound theoretical analysis. It is then applied in an in‐depth case study to test its applicability to business practice.Findings – The research finds that current measurement approaches fail to provide a practicable measurement framework, especial...