Selected Views Embracing RESPONSE Insights and Findings

“The European Academy of Business in Society continues to play a very important role in research and education on CSR in Europe. Project RESPONSE has looked closer than ever before at stakeholder expectations of business, at business responses to those expectations and at all the implications this has for competitiveness. As such it addresses questions that are at the very heart of European policy on CSR."

"We have had high expectations of Project RESPONSE and we have not been disappointed. The findings themselves have great value and should provide a sound evidence base for companies to combine a progressive approach to sustainability with high performance and competitiveness” said Günter Verheugen, Vice-President and Commissioner for Enterprise and Industry, European Commission. Please find here the video with the entire speech.

Gilbert Lenssen, President, EABIS added "Project RESPONSE has been the most comprehensive CSR study ever done in terms of its research design. We especially applaud the innovative, collaborative design and governance, and getting both the outside in/inside out view of all the stakeholders engaged. EABIS has been pleased to support the academic research team in its efforts to learn more about how to make the relationship between business and society a productive one."

“Project RESPONSE has been a novel, cooperative effort between business and academia which can potentially improve both the way we think about and the way we practice CSR. It has combined academic rigour with managerial relevance to understand the factors that might help businesses and stakeholders to proceed in the same direction. Even more importantly, it has enabled us all to see how we can integrate CSR into business more fully, including the way we educate managers going forward” stated Frank Brown, Dean, INSEAD

Jean-Philippe Courtois, President, Microsoft International gave a business perspective "I believe the conclusions of Project RESPONSE are not only about corporate responsibility, but point to the key role of innovation in driving new market development in response to evolving societal needs. The RESPONSE team has provided valuable insights which make clear that we must raise the level of understanding between firms and stakeholders and clarify roles throughout the value chain. This knowledge should in turn help us all improve our core business strategies and inform how we approach future partnerships, fostering more collaboration among all stakeholders. I commend the RESPONSE project partners for achieving a very important milestone in the CSR research agenda."

RESPONSE has been a regular feature of all the most important academic conferences, including the Academy of Management, the Strategic Management Society. 

In the Academy of Management 2006 conference, RESPONSE was selected for two important events: The first one is a so-called “practice development workshop” focusing on the methodological and measurement issues related to the perception gaps in the notion of CSR and the use of the software Decision Explorer to tackle these issues. The second is a showcase symposium jointly supported by the strategy division and the “Social issues in management” focusing on the link between CSR and business strategy.

In 2007, RESPONSE has been singled out for presentation in an ALL ACADEMY Symposium at the yearly Academy of Management conference in Philadelphia, the highest academic honour for a research project.

In terms of managerial impact, RESPONSE has been presented at all the yearly conference of the European Academy of Business In Society since 2004 and at the Ethical Corporation conference in 2006.

Download the Response Executive Briefing.