The status of corporate social responsibility research in public relations: A content analysis of published articles in eleven scholarly journals from 1980 to 2015

•A content analysis of trends in corporate social responsibility research in public relations.•Theoretically grounded studies still do not represent the majority of CSR research while the stakeholder theory is most often invoked.•A balance between qualitative and quantitative research is evident, with an increase in mixed-method approaches.•Research topics involving CSR effects and descriptions of CSR practices and communication have received significant attention while research topics involving the role of public relations and perceptions of stakeholders have decreased.•A broad spectrum of public relations scholarship in CSR research exists outside the United States.

This quantitative content analysis of 133 articles published in eleven academic journals sheds light on the research topics, theories, methods, and authorship in corporate social responsibility (CSR) research in public relations scholarship. The findings indicate that CSR research in public relations has increased dramatically since 2006. Although theoretically grounded studies still do not represent the majority of the research in this area, the stakeholder theory is the one that is most often invoked, followed by legitimacy and attribution theories. Regarding the methodological approach, a balance between qualitative and quantitative research is evident, with a recent increase in mixed-method approaches. Content analysis was the most often used, followed by experiment, survey, comprehensive literature review, and case study. Research topics that involve CSR effects as well as descriptions of CSR practices and communication have consistently received significant attention. However, research topics that involve the role of public relations and perceptions of stakeholders have decreased in recent years. The work from the most productive researchers and institutions suggests that a broad spectrum of public relations scholarship in CSR research exists outside the United States.