Corporate social responsibility: An examination of business students’ perceptions of materialism

This research is a replication of a study undertaken by Kolodinsky, Madden, Zisk and Henkel (2010), which took place in a large, south-eastern US university. From this study, one factor, “Materialism” was shown to affect business students’ attitudes about the social responsibilities of business. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has become a prominent issue for corporations, as society is increasingly demanding that organisations act responsibly. The following paper presents an examination into undergraduate business students’ current attitudes towards CSR in particular materialism. The study found that business students’ overall perceptions of CSR in particular materiality, lead to a positive attitude towards CSR. This research adds to the current literature on CSR, by providing an Australian business student perspective on the importance of CSR in relation to materialism.