Binnenland·duurzaam-ondernemen.nl·29 okt 2024

Marloes Korendijk (RUG): 'Beyond the Chief Sustainability Officer: Examining the role of CSOs on CSR'

More and more companies are appointing Chief Sustainability Officers (CSOs). But what makes the presence of CSOs effective for companies’ corporate social responsibility (CSR)? PhD candidate Marloes Korendijk (University of Groningen, RUG) explores this together with Professor Rian Drogendijk, who is the Director of Graduate Studies at the Faculty of Economics and Business. They examine how the relationship between CSOs and their companies’ CSR activities is shaped by firm-level factors such as board diversity and the presence of a CSR committee, as well as country-level factors like CSR standards. Additionally, the researchers investigate whether the CSO’s role is merely symbolic for CSR communication or if they have a tangible impact on CSR outcomes.