Determinants and Consequences of Corporate Social Responsibility Assurance : A Systematic Review of Archival Research

Purpose - This paper analyses the governance-related and financial determinants and consequences of Corporate Social Responsibility Assurance (CSRA). Design/methodology/approach – Based on a legitimacy theoretical framework and on the business case argument, the authors conduct a structured literature review and include 66 quantitative peer-reviewed empirical (archival) studies on key CSRA proxies (CSRA adoption, choice of CSR assuror and CSRA quality).Findings – In line with the business case for CSRA, the literature review indicates that 1) internal corporate governance, 2) country-related governance, and specific financial determinants as 3) reporting, 4) firm size and 5) industry (sensitivity) have a positive impact on CSRA adoption.Research limitations/applications – A detailed analysis of CSRA proxies is needed in future archival research in order to differentiate between symbolic and substantive use of CSRA. In view of the current regulatory initiatives on CSR reporting and their decision usefulness, future research should also analyse in greater depth CSRA proxies as moderator and mediator variables.Practical implications - With regard to the increased stakeholder demand on CSRA since the financial crisis of 2008-09, firms should be aware of the value added of CSRA in order to increase the decision usefulness of their CSR reports and firm reputation.Originality/value – The analysis makes useful contributions to prior literature by focusing on empirical quantitative (archival) research method, structuring research on the business case for CSRA with respect to its governance and financial determinants and consequences for firms, and stressing moderator analysis in archival CSRA research