RESPONSE - Insead

Recommendations Recommendations for future academic research
1. Limit the existing classroom approaches based on cognitive engagement through case
discussion and knowledge sharing to when the priority is to build awareness among
managers and employees of the many issues related to CSR.
2. If, however, the objective is to develop social consciousness in managers and
corporate leaders, one should recognise that this is a very different learning objective,
which needs to be addressed with different pedagogical approaches and tools. It is
about working on the fundamental antecedents to individual behaviour, rather than
directly on the behaviour itself. Cognitive engagement through class discussions might
have little or no impact on deeply rooted factors such as personal values, emotional
dispositions and (cognitive) decision­making biases.
3. We recommend that business schools and corporate universities experiment with
different pedagogical approaches based on experiential learning as well as
personalised coaching designed to elicit a profound reflection on personal values and
psychological traits. The aim is to develop not only self­knowledge, but “meta­
knowledge”, the ability to constantly witness ones’ thoughts, emotions and actions and
the strength to uphold ones’ values and principles. To this end, the data we analyzed
seems to suggest, words might actually get in the way and (mental) silence might be
the most appropriate learning milieu.
11.4 Recommendations for future academic research
At the end of such a large and complex research project, one is tempted to dwell on all the various
findings and insights developed from the analysis of the massive amount of data collected and
analysed. The truth of the matter, of course, is that the questions that have been left unanswered, are
much more numerous than the questions to which we feel we have been able to give at least an initial
answer.
Below we develop a list of pointers to future scholars engaged in this fascinating and rapidly evolving
field of work, broken down between content and process issues for future research projects:
For what concerns the content of future research the key indications can be summarized as follows:
1. CSR Cognition. The results show for the first time how important cognition is in
explaining the characteristics of the CSR process as well as the quality of its outcomes.
Future research could build on these initial findings to further understand (a) how
managerial and stakeholders’ understanding about corporate responsibility can be
measured and validated, (b) how it evolves over time, (c) how it shapes the way firms
behave and (d) what outcomes it generates in terms of social and financial
performance.
2. CSR Integration. The integration of CSR principles and processes within operating
routines and strategic decision­making is another area in which the RESPONSE data
suggests future research should study more in depth. How is that integration really
happening within business organizations? What are the barriers and the enabling
factors for its successful realization? What are the outcomes to expect in terms of
social and financial performance and what factors might influence the quality of the
outcomes?
3. The Individual Level. RESPONSE has also highlighted in both theoretical and
empirical terms the need to study CSR not only as an organizational process but as an
individual behaviour. We trust future scholars will build on these initial insights to
further our understanding of the factors explaining socially responsible behaviour in
managers, as well as of the outcomes for the organization and for its social
counterparts.
4. Learning CSR. The last area where we feel RESPONSE has broken new ground for
future scholarship to advance is the assessment of learning processes at both the
individual and organizational levels of analysis. Whereas the learning experiments
have shown the feasibility and the importance of studying different approaches to the
problem of developing social consciousness in managers, this study has not been able
to evaluate with the desired precision the impact of knowledge development and
diffusion processes at the organizational level. We trust future scholars will be willing
RESPONSE: understanding and responding to societal demands on corporate responsibility
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