مسئولیت اجتماعی شرکتی و سازگاری CSR به عنوان پیش بینی کننده شهرت شرکت ها : دیدگاه جهانی  Corporate social responsibility and CSR fit as predictors of corporate reputation: A global perspective

1. Introduction This study aims to understand which theoretical approaches have been used to understand the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and reputation. Corporate social responsibility is a challenge to define because it entails many different approaches and because it changes according to the context, era, and culture. Overall, CSR implies that companies have a moral obligation to the society in which they operate to behave ethically, beyond the limits of legal requirements and beyond their obligations to traditional stakeholders, such as employees, consumers, vendors, and the local community (Snider, Hill & Martin, 2003, p. 175). Consumers consider companies’ CSR efforts when making purchasing decisions or reputation attributions. Thus, for companies, CSR has become an important public relations strategy to define who they are and to attract consumers. For consumers, CSR has become a tool to determine reputable companies and then to develop relationships with them. Companies that are able to use the reputation advantage of a good CSR strategy may increase their sales and profitability by increasing their consumer base through strong relationships which is major purpose of public relations. Reputation has been defined as stakeholder perception about the organization. Fombrun, Gardberg, and Barnett (2000) refer to reputation as “a cognitive representation of a company’s actions and results that crystallizes the company’s ability to deliver valued outcomes to its stakeholders” (p. 87). Reputation affects all stakeholders in that it determines how an organization is perceived and plays a role in determining the company’s success or failure. This paper reviews the literature for articles thatinclude both the terms corporate social responsibility and reputation in the title and/or abstract, with no date exclusions, and analyzes 33 articles in detail. By analyzing the literature, the paper identifies areas for future research in CSR and contributes to theory development.