CSR strategies for (re)gaining legitimacy

Abstract

In times when numerous scandals have challenged companies’ social legitimacy, CSR might serve as a legitimacy booster. But which is the most effective CSR strategy for improving legitimacy? This study examines how corporate social responsibility activity (CSRA) and corporate social responsibility communication (CSRC) impact legitimacy. The empirical results indicate that neither CSRA nor CSRC has a standalone effect; nonetheless, CSR is important for legitimacy: A CSR strategy that combines high levels of CSRA with low levels of CSRC emerges as the most effective for (re)gaining legitimacy, while an opposite strategy that combines low levels of CSRA with high levels of CSRC emerges as the worst.