Gender differences in customer expectations and perceptions of corporate social responsibility

Abstract

The literature on business ethics, corporate social responsibility and sustainability includes many studies on gender differences, however the results are often contrasting. In particular, there has not yet been full agreement on the role and significance of gender differences in customer expectations and perceptions of responsible corporate conduct. An extensive review of the research on the subject reveals that the published studies have not dealt with the substantive significance of gender differences, and as a result, the size of such differences is unknown. The current study analyses both the statistical and the substantive significance of gender differences in customer expectations and perceptions of corporate responsibility, also examining the influence of age and education. The analysis is carried out on a remarkably large sample of 908 clients, pertaining to 12 of the largest Italian banks. The overall resultsshow that there is a small substantive difference between women's and men's average expectations, with women showing higher average values than men. This result holds generally true with variation of education levels and age groups. Young females show the highest average values of expectations, and the significance of gender differences decreases with age. In contrast, the perception of corporate social responsibility does not show significant gender differences, either at the general level or when the analyses are repeated by education levels and age groups. The paper introduces the use of a standardized measure of effect size for analysing the substantive significance of gender differences in customer expectations and perceptions of corporate social responsibility. This novel approach increases results reliability and, accordingly, the effectiveness of company or policy maker strategies in designing, planning, implementing and assessing sustainability initiatives.

The Role of Corporate Support for Employee Volunteering in Strengthening the Impact of Green Human Resource Management Practices on Corporate Social Responsibility in the Egyptian Firms

“…Past studies referred to demographic variables (such as age, gender, experience, and company size) which have an impact on CSR and CSEV. In addition, various studies have referred that women take part in voluntary activities more than men, because they have more time available and greater readiness to help others (Dolnicar et al ., ; Calabrese et al ., ). On the other hand, age difference has an impact on the motivation of people to engage in CSR and CSEV activities (Briggs et al ., ).…”

Business contribution to the Sustainable Development Agenda: Organizational factors related to early adoption of SDG reporting

“…Conversely, Cucari et al (2018) show that gender diversity on boards is negatively correlated with CSR disclosure, and Khan (2010) does not find any significant effect. However, the general opinion in the literature is that women demand higher levels of sustainability (Calabrese, Costa, & Rosati, 2016;Lämsä, Vehkaperä, Puttonen, & Pesonen, 2008;Rosati, Costa, Calabrese, & Pedersen, 2018) and are more prone to use moral reasoning and to behave ethically, especially in situations where behavior is not delineated by any clear organizational policy (Smith & Rogers, 2000). Therefore, we posit that H 3a .…”

The perception of corporate social responsibility and employee engagement: Examining the underlying mechanism

“…As a result, it is essential to consider the effect of gender differences in the relationship between CSR and EE. According to the gender socialization approach, the moral orientation of individuals can significantly be influenced by gender (Calabrese, Costa, & Rosati, ). Contradicting views have been seen in existing studies pertaining to the impact of gender differences in CSR expectations and perceptions.…”

“…As a result, it is essential to consider the effect of gender differences in the relationship between CSR and EE. According to the gender socialization approach, the moral orientation of individuals can significantly be influenced by gender (Calabrese, Costa, & Rosati, 2016).…”