Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Links Between Corporate Social Responsibility Practices, Employee Engagement Levels, and Corporate Financial Results

Abstract

There is an increasing demand on corporations to play a stronger role in the society in which they operate. Many firms have already taken the initiative to declare and publish Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategies. Some of these initiatives and strategies are in reaction to customer and employee pressure. There are other firms, however, that do not see the advantage of operating in a socially responsible manner. In the hope of providing evidence of the advantages firms will gain by taking an active role in instituting CSR programs, this thesis is a meta-analysis that investigates the literature written that makes the connection between CSR practices, employee engagement levels and corporate financial results. The meta-analysis in this thesis reviewed fifteen pieces of literature to determine if there was a connection between CSR practices, employee engagement levels and corporate financial performance. While the findings of this meta-analysis were inconclusive, all fifteen studies did provide a correlation between CSR and corporate financial results. Nine of the studies, sixty percent, demonstrated a link between CSR and employee engagement and eight of the fifteen studies, fifty three percent, demonstrated a connection between all three, CSR practices, Employee Engagement levels and corporate financial results.