A demographic examination of societal views regarding corporate social responsibility in the US forest products industry

As corporate social responsibility (CSR) becomes an increasingly mainstream proposition for business organizations, it is becoming increasingly important to develop sector-specific knowledge as well as to explore different aspects of this concept. Adopting an issues management approach, we have discussed that understanding perceptions and expectations of various demographic segments about business performance along relevant social and environmental issues is a research gap in the broader field of CSR. This is particularly true for forest products industry in the US where there is very little research done in the field. For filling this gap, data was collected from the residents within the states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana. Results indicate that varying degrees of differences exist in different demographic categories (gender, education level, place of residence, and age). These results have important implications for the US forest products sector, especially as companies formulate their socio-environmental strategy and communication.