Valuations of Corporate Social Responsibility in Poland
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Submission date: 1970-01-01
Acceptance date: 2022-12-12
Publication date: 2023-03-20
Polish Sociological Review 2023;221(1):47-74
KEYWORDS
ABSTRACT
This study contributes to the ongoing research on CSR valuation and the emergence of indices associated
with socially responsible investments (SRI) and corporate social responsibility. Valuation played an important
role in the creation of business criteria for investing in the companies listed in the Respect Index of the Warsaw
Stock Exchange. The study reveals how responsibility has been transformed into liquidity criteria that ground the
Index’s performance. Despite standardization in CSR reporting, the most recognized discourse on the legitimacy
of CSR has revealed a diversity of justifications for the meaning companies declare and pursue. Thus, there are
parallel practices of CSR valuation: reports demonstrate a diversity of values and their justification while the
index enhances the drive for the business case in CSR policies. Despite these differences, the research reveals
the power of numbers: quantifications that describe specific CSR activities simultaneously eliminate a company’s
issues and challenges. Given that CSR activities are amorphous in nature, the quantification and collection of data
in their regard does not mean that the activities and their reporting address the major challenges companies face
nor claims articulated in their environment.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The author would like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their invaluable comments and suggestions.
FUNDING
National Science Center Poland (NCN), within grant no. UMO-2012/05/D/HS6/02760.