Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Board members, corporate social responsiveness and profitability: Are tradeoffs necessary?

  • Published:
Journal of Business Ethics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The relationship between corporate social responsiveness and profitability is investigated in a sample of corporate directors. The findings show there is no relationship between the level of director social responsiveness and corporate profitability. The implications of these results are discussed, especially as they relate to concerns about corporate governance.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abbott, W. F. and J. R. Monsen: 1979, ‘On the measurement of corporate social responsibility’, Academy of Management Journal 22: 501–515.

    Google Scholar 

  • Alexander, G. J. and R. A. Buchholz: 1978, ‘Corporate social responsibility and stock market performance’, Academy of Management Journal 21: 479–486.

    Google Scholar 

  • Andrews, K. R.: 1973, ‘Can the best corporations be made moral?’, Harvard Business Review, May–June, 137–144.

  • Arlow, P. and M. J. Gannon: 1982, ‘Social responsiveness, corporate structure, and economic performance’, Academy of Management Review 7: 235–241.

    Google Scholar 

  • Aupperle, K. E., A. B. Carroll, and J. D. Hatfield: 1985, ‘An empirical examination of the relationship between corporate social responsibility and profitability’, Academy of Management Journal 28: 446–463.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berle, A. A. and G. C. Means: 1968, The Modern Corporation and Private Property, New York: Harcourt, Brace and World. (Originally published in 1932.)

    Google Scholar 

  • Bettis, R. A. and W. K. Hall: 1982, ‘Diversification strategy, accounting determined risk, and accounting determined return’, Academy of Management Journal 25: 254–264.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carroll, A. B.: 1979, ‘A three-dimensional conceptual model of corporate social performance’, Academy of Management Review 4: 497–505.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hosmer, L. T.: 1987, ‘The institutionalization of unethical behavior’, Journal of Business Ethics 6: 439–448.

    Google Scholar 

  • Molz, R.: 1985, ‘The role of the board of directors: Typologies of interaction’, The Journal of Business Strategy 5 (Spring): 86–93.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moskowitz, M.: 1972, ‘Choosing socially responsible stocks’, Business and Society Review 1: 71–75.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nader, R., R. K. Mueller, and K. R. Andrews: 1983, ‘The role of corporate boards in institutionalizing ethical responsibility’, Bently College's Fifth National Conference on Business Ethics, 7–8.

  • Norburn, D.: 1986, ‘Gogos, yoyos, and dodos: Company directors and industry performance’, Strategic Management Journal 7: 101–117.

    Google Scholar 

  • Norburn, D. and P. Grinyer: 1974, ‘Directors without direction’, Journal of General Management 1(2):37–48.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sellers, P.: 1985, ‘America's most admired corporations’, Fortune January 7, 18–30.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spencer, B. A. and J. K. Butler, Jr.: 1987, ‘Measuring the relative importance of social responsibility components: a decision modeling approach’, Journal of Business Ethics 6: 573–578.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stigler, G. J. and C. Friedland: 1983, ‘The literature of economics: The case of Berle and Means’, Journal of Law and Economics, 237–269.

  • Ullman, A. A.: 1985, ‘Data in search of a theory: A critical examination of the relationship among social performance, social disclosure, and economic performance of U.S. firms’, Academy of Management Review 10: 540–557.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vance, S. C.: 1978, ‘Corporate governance: assessing corporate performance by boardroom attributes’, Journal of Business Research 6: 203–220.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zahra, S. A. and M. S. LaTour: 1987, ‘Corporate social responsibility and organizational effectiveness: A multivariate approach’, Journal of Business Ethics 6: 459–468.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Connecticut, U-41B, 368 Fairfield Road, 06268, Storrs, CT, USA

    Hugh M. O'Neill, Charles B. Saunders & Anne Derwinski McCarthy

Authors
  1. Hugh M. O'Neill
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Charles B. Saunders
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Anne Derwinski McCarthy
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Additional information

Hugh M. O'Neill is an Associate Professor of Strategic Management at the University of Connecticut. He has published studies on corporate strategies and on worker alienation.

Charles Saunders is Professor of Strategic Management at the University of Connecticut, and Director of the Ph.D. Program. He has written numerous articles for a wide variety of business journals.

Anne McCarthy is a doctoral student in Strategic Management at the Krannert Graduate School of Management, Purdue University. She has an MBA from the University of Connecticut and an AB in Economics from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. Her research interests include strategy and entrepreneurship as well as business ethics.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

O'Neill, H.M., Saunders, C.B. & McCarthy, A.D. Board members, corporate social responsiveness and profitability: Are tradeoffs necessary?. J Bus Ethics 8, 353–357 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00381726

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00381726

Keywords

Search

Navigation