A Content Analysis of CSR Themes on Major Corporations' Websites

Abstract

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become a crucial business practice worldwide. This paper analyzes CSR themes collected from the official websites of the Asian and European corporations on the Fortune 500 list. While there is existing research comparing the CSR themes from different companies, no comparative analysis of the top companies from Europe and Asia, which has adopted content analysis focusing on company website, is publicly available as of Spring 2022. The aim of this research is to discover the popular themes among the top companies, interpret how they define CSR, and pinpoint meaningful connections between location, profits, size, and CSR themes. Analyses of 179 Asian and 159 European companies from the CNN Fortune Global list show that most companies call their CSR efforts sustainability. In addition, European companies have more CSR themes than Asian companies and are more likely to prioritize themes related to diversity and the environment. As the company's size increases, the number of CSR themes decreases. As a company's profit range increases, the number of CSR themes on its website decreases, though it is not a strong relationship.