Corporate social responsibility: finding the middle ground

Purpose - This study seeks to examine CSR theorists' criteria from the corporate executive's perspective. It aims to find out how corporate executives perceive CSR and how they would like to be perceived as CSR implementers. Design/methodology/approach - The study uses Delphi research and data analysis to build up three sets of questionnaires. It was only the first set where the author introduced his questions but the other two sets were created from the executives' answers in previous stage. It is then all about executives' perception; no one has put words in their mouths. The study compares KLD (the famous research and analytics company) criteria which are used to celebrate annually the 100 best corporate citizens list with the participating executives' criteria. Findings - The study found that executives lean more towards self‐regulation and self‐determination. Panelists disregarded any suggestion of regulating executives' salary/compensation as CSR criteria. They reject CSR criteria as a measure of good, bad, or ugly performance. They focus more on non‐profit organizations and their charitable contributions. However, the study was able to identify great agreement in the area of transparency, ethical practices, consumer rights, and diversity. Research limitations/implications - The study picked up its sample of executives from the high tech industry, mainly in Silicon Valley, California. The panelists did not represent a random and mixed sample of executives from different industries. Originality/value - The study might be the first Delphi research conducted online to suit time‐constrained, busy panelists who know how to use the internet effectively.